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TOPIC 44. SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIME. THE MOST REPRESENTATIVE WORKS, https…
TOPIC 44. SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIME. THE MOST REPRESENTATIVE WORKS
INTRODUCTION
Shakespeare's time was characterised by the social and religious consequences of the Reformation.
English people had to suffer unemployment,
migration to cities, and greater class distinction. About half the population was literate. Printing helped to establish a standard literary language (called the London southeaster dialect), and to develop reading and writing skills.
William Shakespeare was born 6 years after Queen Elizabeth I had ascended the throne, he was contemporary with the high period of the English Renaissance. He was an English playwright, poet, and actor, and he is generally acknowledged to be the greatest of English writers and one of the most extraordinary creators in human history.
LITERATURE IN ELIZABETHIAN'S PERIOD
represented the height of the English Renaissance. Due to humanist principles, there was a revival of interest in Classical literature and the presence of the anthropocentric themes,
MORALITY PLAYS
are allegorical dramas where characters
personify moral qualities
(such as virtues and vices) or abstractions (like Death or Youth).
They were composed individually with a primarily
religious purpose
, overtly
didactic
.
. Thus, they depicted the Christian struggle between good and evil
but they also have a good deal of rough
humour
They were
performed by quasi-professional groups of actors who relied on public support
, produced by travelers or even by servants.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm4dOI7X44s
INTERLUDES
are
short, humorous, dramatic Christmastime
plays
. They are pieces performed at courts between acts of longer plays or during banquets in noble households.
They were written blending
entertainment
with social commentary.
some of them heavily depended upon French farce.
Acted by professional actors and troupes
MYSTERY PLAYS
were medieval dramas composed in cycles, each representing a different biblical event
. They're endeavoured
to make the christian religion more real
to the unlearned by dramatising Biblical stories and by showing what these meant in terms of human experience.
They were acted by amateur actors of the local trade guilds, ordinarily on wagons in the town streets during religious festivals.
https://youtu.be/TjlYxlsVAOw?t=163
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALbQbnpya4M
Roman
Drama
was a development of the drama into a sophisticated art form
influenced by the classics
: Latin comedies and dramas, emphasising rethorical skill and elaborate language. They're
performed in academic settings or private courts.
In the mid-16th, 2 authors published their works based upon the Latin comedies:
Nicolas
Udall
wrote a classical comedy in English:
"Ralph Roister Doister"
, which contains a classical cowardly braggart soldier.
John Still
wrote "
Grammar Gurton's Needle
"
, a lively/vivid/native English material put into the regular form of Roman playwrights
Plautus and Terence
.
English
drama
evolved from liturgical plays to Secular performances.
the first tragedy was called "
Gordobuc
" by
Sackville & Norton
. It was set in the
legendary
very early
period
of English history shared by Shakespeare's "King Lear". Its hero divides his kingdom among his children with disastrous results (as in King Lear). It is
written in blank verse.
Theatres. The Elizabethan Playhouse
The
fusion of classical form with the English content created a mature and artistic drama.
Earlier liturgical dramas had been acted by members of the clergy in the church. Then, performances moved out of the church, and
actors
of plays were seen as vagabonds subject to arrest. To avoid that, the professional acting companies of Shakespeare's time (including his own) attached themselves to a nobleman.
The
first
accepted and successful
companies
were those of
boys
. The adult actors played in houses, the hall of an Inn of Court, on makeshift stages or in London inn-
yards
. In 1576, the Theatre was built outside of London and, by the last decade of the sixteenth century, there were 8 theatres in London.
The
shape
of a typical Elizabethan theatre was
round/square/octagonal
and very simple in structure.
PARTS
: a main
platform
, the inner and upper
stages
, a tiring house (where actors changed customes), a
balcony
for the actors, trapdoors (for sudden appearances),
groundlings
for the lower classes, a
gallery
for wealthier patrons, and a
roof
(the heavens).
. Also, a
flag
was flown on performance days to signal that a play was being performed.
The main
features
of a Elizabethan theatre are:
open
-air amphitheatre, person-scenes,
women barred
by law from stage, splendid
costumes
,
machines
were used for raising and descends on stage, very
simple
stage props.
Private houses appeared for a wealthier audience
and they offered more facilities to the audience, such as: seats for the public, a roof to protect it from rain, musicians who produced their own music, and stage lightning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K66AFyeSoYE&t=542s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0SBg-KG4C4
https://youtu.be/3lBQKRa4SHg?si=7YpF4qBOM8f7ESSS
REFERENCES
Grlica, T. (2013). “THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING LITERATURE IN A HIGH-SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT WITH THE INCORPORATION OF FILM AND MULTIMEDIA INTO THE PROCESS”.
Conde, S. J., & Sanchez, R. J. (2013). "A history of the English language". Routledge.
Francis, W. N. (1983). "The English language". W. W. Norton & Company.
Encyclopaedia
Britannica
: about Shakespeare
DIDACTIC TRANSPOSITION
This topic can be worked in the language classroom through communicative tasks in which the students are given the chance to watch and listen to a film based on one of the works from Shakespeare or they will read aloud any of the adapted versions of Shakespeare's plays. This will provide students with the cultural knowledge necessary to be able to adapt the linguistic contents they learn to those belonging to a more non-linguistic field but also crucial for the learning of the FL.
In addition, this topic is interesting to see Shakespeare's influences in Andalusian and Spanish works from other writers, fostering the valuation and appreciation of how other cultures can affect our own.
SHAKESPEARE'S TIME
=
decline of feudalism, but a strong central authority, of order, and practical solutions to problems.
16th-c. England was the age of the
Tudor
sovereigns (1485-1603).
English place in the world shifted due to new land discoveries (Columbus discovering America), field where the English were not pioneering but they
became great colonisers and merchant adventurers
.
Henry VIII made
commercial treaties with European countries and England moved from being a sheep-raising country to manufacture and export significant amounts of cloth
. London grew into a metropolitan market with more sophisticated commercial institutions.
HUMANISM
Sir Thomas More
was a great leader of this intellectual movement (which emphasised reason, education and the revival of classical knowledge to reform society). He wrote "
Utopia
" in Latin, which was an appeal to all of Europe to reconsider social institutions in the light of reason and to achieve economic equality and peace.
Erasmus
of Rotterdam was a friend of More who spent time in England and had strong influence (after his Testament's translation), advocating for education based upon the classics and the Bible. He believed education had to be liberal and practical; designed to prepare able people for the duties of government.
Queen
Elizabeth
is an outstanding example of this education, with her command of languages and practical sense of the problems of diplomacy). However, the Tudors inherited a medieval view of the world (they thought that everyone had their natural place in the unity of the whole, both in the family and the state, which should be governed by a single head).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVe3tgX0RNk&t=281s
ENGLISH
REFORMATION
was:
a set of
events in the 16th century that led to the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church
The split was caused by Henry VIII's dynastic moves: he championed against Luther and his opinions,
he needed a legitimate son and he couldn't get one without the divorce
which Rome refused him (he required oaths of allegiance to
become supreme head of the ENglish Church
).
Therefore, Sir Thomas More refused to acknowledge Henry as supreme head of the Church of England and the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon
(for this, More was convicted of treason and hence executed).
On top of that, Thomas Cromwell dissolved the monasteries and distributed the property to a group of supporters who remained anti-papacy, further weakening the church's power
As a
result
,
Henry's
actions led to the
establishment of the Anglican Church
, declaring himself its Supreme
head
. He laid the foundation for Anglican Christianity, changing English History.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR1-j7pa4mM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkp7TPZHjyA
https://youtu.be/mcZVRxrBIkk?si=swX0mc3rJk52sGFI
NATIONALISM. ELIZABETH I
She
ruled from 1558 until 1603
, the Golden Age of English history, marked by political stability and the height of English Renaissance. She strategically positioned
England
as a balancing power between Spain and France, navigating European tensions such as The Protestant Uprising.
There was
opposition
: The
papal
bull of 1570, (excommunicating Elizabeth and relieving her subjects of their loyalty to her), along with the
Ridolfi
Plot of 1571 (which was meant to bring to the throne her Catholic sister Mary Queen of Scots). However, it
resulted in unified Englishmen rallying to her
and Elizabeth became a symbol of Englishness and nationalism, celebrated for her beauty, wisdom and divine right to rule.
In 1588, the defeat of the great Spanish Armada
solidified England's naval dominance and Elizabeth's powerful legacy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfgeLdXA87I&t=73s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvCd6yi1Bao
https://youtu.be/g5ftViSh9sU?si=Aj3LURvu_GT1WR2S
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvlZZeTMjK0&t=120s
JAMES I
Upon Elizabeth's death, ENgland welcomed James I (who was already king of Scotland) and his family. His reign sealed the union of the Scottish and English monarchies
, marking the start of the stuarts. James was more liberal in his favours than Elizabeth, granting over 300 knighthoods before even reaching London in his procession from Scotland to England.
Though he was a simple-mannered and unkempt figure, James' extravagant and indulgent lifestyle put unsupportable strains on royal finances (already crippled by war, inflation and Elizabeth's sale of Crown Lands).
He had literary aspirations and encouraged and participated in the translation of the Bible into English (1611):
The King James Bible
because he wanted a unified English translations, free of errors and bias.
He was strongly committed to a peace policy including religious freedom, and tried to avoid involving in religious wars, ending England's war with Spain in 1604. However, his reign saw the infamous
Gunpowder Plot
of 1605, a failed attempt by a group of English Catholics to assassinate the king and blow up the Parliament
James' reign saw the expansion of England in America, with the first colony named after him as Jamestown.
He was succeeded by the second son, Charles (who was to be overthrown by a Puritan-dominated Parliament and its army)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jENswh8jzBY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN7-EvgKAsk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc3A8hPlRqw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9JW-RE4-ZE
SHAKESPEARE
life
he was son of a prosperous glover (and leather worker, trading farm products) who later became the presiding officer of the Corporation. He also held civic positions, such as alderman and town's bailiff.
her mother was a farmer's daughter.
he attended the
local grammar school
where he was taught correct English (the commonest form of education in the Tudor age)
He
married Ann Hathaway
and they had 3 children.
He
left to London and became an actor
and professional playwright in 1592. He joined the Chamberlain's Men (who later were called the King's Men when James I ascended to the throne), mainly working for the Globe (theatre he helped to build, open in 1599). Then he started writing plays too.
He was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon in 1564.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS2ndY5WJXA&pp=ygUodmVudXMgYW5kIGFkb25pcyBzaGFrZXNwZWFyZSBjcmFzaGNvdXJzZdIHCQmECQGHKiGM7w%3D%3D
In 1593, the
plague
killed thousands and theatres were closed. During this time, Shakespeare started writing poems (
sonnets
) instead of plays.
works
usually divided into
5 acts
(exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution)
PHASE 4:
problem plays
, increased complexity and ambiguity, sombre in tone:
(Girard, 1991)
PHASE 3:
the great tragedies
: a fully developed style with
complex characterizations, moral ambiguity, profound exploration of human nature, and intense emotional resonance
:
(Bradley, 1904)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD5goS69LT4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTu39aMg_mU
PHASE 2: more mature style with more flexible syntax and rhythm
: more concentrated imagery; more forceful characterisation; a
mixture of comedies and history plays
.
PHASE 5: the romances or
reconciliation plays
; tragedy transformed into a reflective reconciliation of the opposing elements (Ryan, 1965)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvznOeSyESU&pp=ygUnd2h5IHNob3VsZCB5b3UgcmVhZCB0ZWQgZWQgc2hha2VzcGVhcmUg
PHASE 1: experimental with a variety of different modes, characterised by florid language and a simple dramatic structure; written in
end-stopped blank verse and with quite a lot of rhymed lines
.
SONGS AND SONNETS
were the Shakespeare's final collection of 154 poems. They explored
themes
of
love
and regret, beauty, politics, time and immortality. Likely written for private readership, they present
2
contrasting
series
:
one about uncontrollable lust for a married woman of dark complexion, and another one about conflicted love for a fair young man.
They showcase Shakespeare's lyric genius, his ready humour and sensitivity to the sights and sounds of English life.
Composed in
iambic pentameter
, the sonnets feature 3 quatrains followed by a final couplet, with metaphors reinforced by their structure and rhetorical strategies. Shakespeare employed the
volta
, or thematic shift, often occurs between the third quatrain and the couplet, adding depth and resolution to his poems.
The
vocabulary
is simple yet paired with a rich metaphorical style and diverse imagery. The
moods
include
delight, pride, melancholy, shame, disgust, fear
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDpW1sHrBaU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5lsuyUNu_4&t=112s&pp=ygUnd2h5IHNob3VsZCB5b3UgcmVhZCB0ZWQgZWQgc2hha2VzcGVhcmUg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU4r5Qd0HtE&pp=ygUodmVudXMgYW5kIGFkb25pcyBzaGFrZXNwZWFyZSBjcmFzaGNvdXJzZQ%3D%3D
LANGUAGE
= both the state of English around 1600 and Shakespeare's use of it. It's renowned for its richness, wordplay, puns and impact on the English language
Though no play embodies the full range of Shakespeare's linguistic ideas and practices, "Richard II" is notably concerned with the powers, limits and dangers of Shakespeare's language.
Shakespeare's
vocabulary
is estimated around
1,700 words
; he drew on Renaissance technical terms, derivations, compounds, archaisms, polysemy, etymological meanings, and idioms.
Spelling (
orthography
),
no apostrophe for possessives
; variations in the letters v/u according to position (something similar happened with letters i/j).
silent final e
(robbes).
In
pronunciation and rhyme
, early editions showed indistinguishable vowels (
band
/
bond
), and
consonants
(
murders
/
murthers
), leading to similar pronunciations and enhanced flexibility in rhyme schemes.
syntax
: flexible
playing with word order
, the polarity of adjectives and verbs; transitivity;
subject-verb concord; negation and the use of
do
; relative pronouns and conjunctions; verb inflection; personal pronouns; and strong/weak verbs. Archaic verb endings (-s/-th)
His
influence
still lives in the English language, with many
expressions
he created that we still use today, such as "
break the ice
".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMkuUADWW2A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsvcXwcrHt0
https://youtu.be/7hGbNcAvT60?si=2oqzh3463t1qi6za
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp3HeCfHz1I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkOOX2iGsGA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zZU-ofEiOE
