Romeo & Juliet

Romeo & Juliet LO: to consider a Shakespearian

audiences’ point if view

Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4Week 1overview

Shakespeare’s time- putting the play in context

OCR GCSE Literature Unit A1661:literary Heritage Linked Texts

Elizabethan England and Shakespeare’s London.

STARTER TASK: watch the short clip and then fill in the blanks using the words from the table.

Shakespeare’sLondon

I prithee gentle kinsfolk, ye must make note of the

rotten audience of my time. Look well to the

pages that follow...

Shakespeare arrived in London in 1588. At that time, places like Euston and Paddington were tiny villages on the outskirts of England’s capital city. London itself covered just one square mile of land!

Then... Now...

Life in London was just like it is in any capital city today – hectic! People got around on foot or horseback – they crossed the river by boat as there was only one bridge.

• London Bridge was more than a convenient crossing in Shakespeare's time. It was a residential street and shopping centre too.

• The bridge's stone structure supported houses and shops built of timber and brick.

• A gate at the south end reminded Shakespeare and his fellow Londoners that Elizabethan justice could be harsh. The heads of executed criminals were displayed here.

• People in London were used to such violent sights. On a Law Day they might watch as many as 30 public executions.

• A good executioner could hang, draw and quarter a victim, pulling out the condemned person’s intestines and holding them up to their dying face . . .

Sometimes, the people would choose to visit St. Mary’s of Bethlehem, or ‘Bedlam’ – the local lunatic asylum.

They would then pay a penny for a sharp stick which could be used to poke the ‘lunatics’, provoking these poor people to ‘dance’!

• Southwark was just beyond the range of London's local law-makers. It was the haunt of the Elizabethan pleasure-seekers. Among their destinations were the Hope, Rose, Swan and Globe theatres.

• Public alehouses, bawdy houses, and bear-baiting pits also featured here. Establishments like these irritated the authorities in Shakespeare's time, and were the focus for many an unruly crowd.

Arranging contests between animals was a common form of recreation. It was thought particularly suitable entertainment for royalty!

A bear or bull was tied to a stake and attacked by one or more dogs.

It was sometimes made more ferocious by having pepper blown up its nostrils. The bear took vicious revenge on the on-lookers if it managed to pull free - as sometimes happened!

This picture shows what the Elizabethan theatres were like inside. Only a few members of the audience sat under cover. Most stood up in the open air.

Shakespeare’sLondon

So... What types of people was I writing

for?

Shakespeare’sLondon

Who do I write for today?

Why has Shakespeare been changed so dramatically in

these films?

Shakespeare’s audience

Modern audience

How do they view a play

Shakespeare is more versatile for a modern audience as it reaches such a variety of people. Film, written text and the theatre are now available and are catered to appeal to audiences of different religions, ages, races, languages and social groups. We can watch at home alone, in groups and sometimes even have interaction with the characters.

How is the audiences’ interest held?

The actors had to work hard as their performances were crucial. They had to act and project their voices at at all times to ensure the audience (many of them standing) would remain interested for two hours or more!

Complete the table in pairs.

Romeo & Juliet LO: to consider a Shakespearian

audiences’ point if view

Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4Week 1overview

Shakespeare’s time- putting the play in context

OCR GCSE Literature Unit A1661:literary Heritage Linked Texts