Untitled Flashcards Set

April 23, 1564 - Shakespeare was born.

April 23, 1616 - Shakespeare died.

William Shakespeare - playwright and poet; regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the greatest playwright in the world. 

Stratford-upon-Avon - Town in England where Shakespeare was born and is buried; current home of Lord Chamberlain’s Men.

Lord Chamberlain’s men (now known as the King’s Men) - London-based acting troupe with which Shakespeare acted and performed his plays; changed to the King’s Men in 1603 when King James I became a patron.

The Globe - Famous circular theater in London known as “the wooden O” where many of Shakespeare’s plays were first performed; opened in 1599. 

Anne Hathaway - Shakespeare’s wife 1582 till his death in 1616; had 3 children with William; also a poet. 

Bubonic plague - Referenced in many of Shakespeare’s plays. Killed ⅕ of Stratford’s population the year he was born; closed theaters in England 1592-1594; continued to break out most summers throughout his life.

Women in Shakespeare plays - Played onstage by adolescent boys as women were not permitted to act. In his plays, they are often strong and challenge their gender roles.

Allusions - In his plays, Shakespeare’s references to mythology and the Bible; in our modern culture, references to Shakepeare’s works, phrases, and characters.

Puritans - A religious group that opposed plays, believing acting was deceiving and a distraction from spiritual life and that theaters were a breeding ground for sinful and immoral behavior. Shakespeare criticized them through some of his characters.

Bawdy - A type of humor, usually vulgar or inappropriate, used in Shakespeare’s comedies.

Comedy - Genre of Shakespeare play that involves humor, romance, mistaken identity, and a happy ending. 

Tragedy - Genre of Shakespeare play in which the main characters grapple with a conflict that leads to their death. 

History - Genre of Shakespeare play written about actual historical figures, but fictionally embellished.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Comedy written by Shakespeare that is set in Athens and in an enchanted forest; follows love stories, and acting troupe, and a group of fairies.

Elizabethan England - an era in England during Queen Elizabeth I's reign; “Golden Age” of peace, prosperity, and an “English Renaissance” of artistic and intellectual growth

Sonnet - means “little song”; 14 line poem in iambic pentameter that uses a rhyme scheme and is often about love

Greek mythology - a collection of fictionalized stories about the gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece; People in Shakespeare’s time were superstitious and fascinated by it. 

Theseus - A figure from Greek mythology; King of Athens

Hippolyta - A figure from Greek mythology; Queen of the Amazons

Fairies (in Elizabethan England) - Small spirits who played tricks on humans and who were thought to have control over the human world.