english quiz - preparation for R+J

background information to help w/ understanding Romeo and Juliet, along with terms/characteristics of Shakespeare's writing

total plays Shakespeare wrote

37 plays (genres included histories, comedies, and tragedies)

along with being a writer, Shakespeare was also a _______

successful businessman. He built the largest open amphitheater, known as the Globe theater.

number of sonnets Shakespeare wrote

154 total sonnets

Shakespeare’s cause of death

the cause is unknown, but it is believed that he died on his birthday

Shakespeare’s achievements

* credited with introducing over 3,000 words to the English language
* became an established writer by the 1590s

Shakespeare’s birth

scholars believe he was born on or near April 23rd 1564, in England

Queen Elizabeth I

born in Greenwich in 1533. She was the daughter of Henry the 8th and Anne Boleyn. She was highly educated and could speak many languages fluently.

how did Queen Elizabeth I become queen?

* Edward VI became king after Henry the 8th died
* Edward VI died and Mary (Queen Elizabeth’s older half sister) took the throne
* Mary had Queen Elizabeth imprisoned because she was Protestant (Mary wanted to return England to Christianity)
* Mary died of illness, and the throne went to Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth I achievements

* returned England to Protestant rule (maintained the Church of England and incorporated some Christian ideas)
* during her reign, England saw a golden age (trade expanded, exploration increased, etc.)
* the arts flourished (poetry, theater, music)
* led the England navy in defeating the Spanish invaders

Queen Elizabeth I later years

* had Mary executed
* declined marriage and stated that “her country was her priority”
* James I of Scotland (son of Mary) became king after Queen Elizabeth died

King Henry the 8th required his wives to be

* powerful, but not too powerful
* clever, spirited, and opinionated, but not overly so
* young and social, but not too social otherwise Henry would charge them with adultery
* intelligent, but not too intelligent otherwise Henry would feel intimidated

Henry had so many wives because he needed to produce a male heir

the Movable Type Printing press

allowed for more widespread access to literature and books themselves (this contributed to the success of the Renaissance)

paterfamilias (“all social and political order stemmed from the exercise of the father’s authority over the family”)

a belief during the Renaissance where fathers were established as the heads of families

the ideas of humanism and teachings of rhetoric…

…increased during the Renaissance

the Renaissance was largely inspired by the ancient/classical time period

* ancient greek and latin was taught/studied
* girls sometimes joined their brothers in being tutored
* more common for women to have some education

universities focused on teaching ____ rather than the typical philosophy and theology

humanism

the change of humanism

humanism went from ideas of the study of humans to more politics-based (thanks to Desiderius Erasmus)

republic of letters

a growing community of (international) humanists in Europe

Niccolo Machiavelli

* wrote ‘The Prince’, a humanist work that was very different as it was not typical Christian political ideas
* he believed that it was better for a leader to be feared rather than loved
* focused on how a prince could maintain power and order (what is effective rather than what is noble)

Thomas More

* wrote ‘Utopia’, where reason and cooperation have replaced struggles for glory and power
* believed that humanistic analysis could lead to prosperity and peace

‘The Book of the City of Ladies’

* written by Christine de Pizan
* highlighted the belief that women could be virtuous leaders, rational beings, basically that women could be leaders/kings/fighters just as men could.

during the Renaissance, ideas conflicted in that…

idealism and realism were compared to each other (i.e, should a person strive to be loved or feared? is it more important for a community to be fair or stable?)

* a person’s experiences affected the lens through which they saw these questions/issues/ideas

the renaissance

* rediscovery of philosophy (ancient/classical times), literature, and art
* began to question God and societal norms

King Henry the 8th

* the Pope rejected divorce (went against Catholic beliefs)
* King Henry had a traumatic brain injury
* Ann Boleyn gave birth to no sons, and Henry had her executed for “adultery and treason”
* Henry remarried from here and executed many of his wives until he was given a son (heir)

elision

the skipping of syllables to shorten words, with the omission indicated by the apostrophe

pronouns

thou, thee, thy, thine, and thyself (thou is the informal form)

syntax

an art form used for poetic and dramatic purposes - the order of words

verse

writing arranged with a metrical rhythm (also known as poetry)

prose

speech not in lines of verse, such as everyday language (may be used to convey urgency, informality, or disorganization)

blank verse

lines that are often unrhymed and not grouped into stanzas

iambic pentameter

a metric rhythm, 10 syllable’s made up of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable

couplets

two lines that are in the same meter and represent a complete thought (will often end a scene, foreshadowing or summarizing)

soliloquy

when a speaker says their thoughts aloud alone (OTHER CHARACTERS CANNOT HEAR THIS)

* reveals the character’s true personality and motives
* may sway our view of the character

monologue

when a character makes a long speech to other character(s)

* true thoughts and intentions are NOT revealed

motif

recurring images/words/pairs that produce patterns and express themes