MRS. WHITEHEAD SPRING 2015 Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare Born in Stratford Upon Avon in 1564 No one is sure on what day, but we assume that Shakespeare.

MRS. WHITEHEADSPRING 2015

Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare

Born in Stratford Upon Avon in 1564 No one is sure on what day, but we assume that

Shakespeare was born April 23, three days before he was baptized.

Playwright, Poet, Actor Shakespeare was known for having a number of

different roles in his acting troupe The Lord Chamberlain’s Men (later known as the King’s Men)

Influential in building The Globe, one of the most successful theaters of the time period.

Shakespeare Has the Same Birthday as

John Cena – Actor and former professional wrestler

George Lopez – Comedian, actorShirley Temple – Child actor from the early

days of filmMichael Moore – Filmmaker and

documentarianJames Buchanan – Former U.S. president

Monarchies

Shakespeare wrote during the time of two well known British Monarchs. Queen Elizabeth (the Elizabethan period)

Known as the “Virgin Queen” because she never chose a husband

The primary reason that British literature flourished during the period

King James I (the Jacobean period) Primary contributor to the colonization of America Influential in religion, translating the bible so that

common people could read it. The “King James Bible” was named in his honor

Literature

Plays (~38) Histories - Stories that have most of their foundation in

fact, with a some drama thrown in Comedies - Meant to entertain the audience, usually has

some sort of supernatural occurrences, usually ends in a wedding

Tragedies - Meant to teach the audience a lesson, usually ends with death or a funeral

Sonnets (154) Consists of 14 lines Every other line rhymes, except for the last two which are

rhymed The length of the line is called Iambic Pentameter

5 sets of unstressed/stressed syllables

Sonnet 18

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate:Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines,By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;But thy eternal summer shall not fadeNor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st; So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Sonnet 18

1. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?  A2. Thou art more lovely and more temperate: B

3. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, A4. And summer's lease hath all too short a date:  B

5. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, C6. And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;  D7. And every fair from fair sometime declines, C8. By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd; D

9. But thy eternal summer shall not fade E10. Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; F11. Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st I his shade, E12. When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;  F

13. So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, G14. So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. G

Romeo and Juliet

Shakespearean Tragedy about two Italian Teenagers that are in love.

Written and performed sometime between 1591 and 1595 The Exact date is unknown, because records were not

kept on Shakespeare’s plays during his lifetime The first time the play is published is in the “quarto

version” in 1597

Plot

Two families (the Montagues and the Capulets) in the city of Verona, Italy have a feud dating back before anyone can remember.

Members of the families, including servants have been getting into fights in the street for no reason.

A lovesick Romeo Montague is coerced into going to a party at the Capulet mansion, and falls in love with his enemies’ daughter, Juliet Capulet.

You can imagine where this goes from here.

Setting

Main Characters

Romeo – Lovesick 15-16 year oldJuliet – Sheltered 13 year oldTybalt – Juliet’s cousin, hates the MontaguesMercutio – Romeo’s best friend, member of

the royal familyBenvolio – Romeo’s cousin, hates fightingParis – Wants to marry JulietFamilies – Montagues, Capulets, Royal FamilyServants – Not really members of the family,

but think they are

A Warning

This section of the class is going to be a little difficult. The English used in Romeo and Juliet is not the modern English that you are used to, but if you can follow along you should be fine. The longer you work with the language the easier it becomes, and if you don’t ask questions you won’t be able to learn. If there is anything that doesn’t make sense to you, please talk to me, and we’ll try to work it all out. You’re all capable of the material, so don’t get bogged down with the language!