Jan 03, 2016
Shakespeare
He was not of an age but for all time.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
His plays have never been equaled in their dramatic power, philosophical depth, and characterization
His poetry has enriched and amplified the English language
A writer for all time
Influences and Types Humanism: confidence in human
powers as reflected in classical texts Reformation: doubt that human
endeavors amount to very much at all
Shakespeare’s plays fit four categories: tragedies, comedies, histories, and romances
The Sonnets Wrote 142 Sonnets Changed and adapted the original
format created by Petrarch Ridiculed the traditional version of
beauty, in favor of a more earthier version
Also used the sonnet for meditations about the passage of time
England
Under the rule of Elizabeth I, England became a world power
Defeated the Spanish Armada Became unsurpassed in theater Public theaters were disapproved of
by the Puritans and so had to be placed outside the London city limits
Revival of Drama
Plays representing stories of the Bible become more elaborate: “mystery plays”
“Morality plays” replace them with stories of allegorical characters
Humanists bring back interest in the ancient Greek plays
Plays written in English combined the classical elements and medieval, Roman and English elements
Renaissance Drama Companies of professional actors begin
staging plays Licensed theater companies were formed:
protected by a noble patron Grow in popularity, despite Protestant
disapproval Theaters placed outside city limits to
avoid limits placed by the city leaders All classes of people go see the plays
Renaissance Theater The Globe built in 1599, many of
Shakespeare’s plays performed there No artificial lighting—plays had to be
performed during the afternoon Semicircular in shape with a platform
stage that juts out into the courtyard Lower-class people stand in the “pit” Upper classes sit in the galleries above
More About the Theater
Orchestra was generally on stage Designed not just for the elite but for all
classes of society Few props, no backgrounds Wore clothing of the time, usually donated
clothes from the royal patron No females, all female roles acted by
males Less formal, more like a nightclub than
now
Othello
First produced in 1604 Created a hero who falls without
any hope of redemption: a tragic hero
Sets the play in Venice: a place of luxury and corruption, but full of people from faraway lands
Iago: the villain, is a Venetian Othello: the hero, is black
Why Venice? As a center of trade, Venice was full of
people from faraway places Othello was a black Moor—someone
from sub-Saharan Africa
Not uncommon in Renaissance England
Common biases were that they were uncivilized, highly sexed, without religion
Term “black”: unclean, ugly, evil — “white”: beautiful, ideal, pure
Africans in England
Rialto Bridge, Venice, Italy
Black and White Symbolism
Symbolism plays on the audience’s misconceptions
Presents a black man who is inwardly pure, and a white man who is evil
Difficulty of distinguishing being from seeming is a major theme for the play
The alleged super-sexuality of Africans is also a misconception as Othello is faithful to Desdemona, but Iago is unfaithful to his wife
Tragic Hero
Othello is a typical tragic hero because he moves from a state of power and good to one of degradation where he can no longer endure his life
Like Oedipus he experiences a revelation of self-knowledge, and turns his hand on himself
Combination of fate and character is seen in the combination of Othello’s character and the plotted malice of Iago
Poetic Verse
Play is written in “blank verse” or iambic pentameter
Consists of unrhymed lines of ten syllables: a weak stress is followed by a strong stress
Shakespeare also uses prose and rhyming lines in the play
Blank verse is usually reserved for the main characters, while prose is often used for the servants and lesser characters
Music in Othello
Shakespeare used music to establish the scene and help set the mood
Instrumental music: associated with the world of action
Vocal music: used for the inner world of the character
Music could show more effectively how the character was feeling than just the lines alone could
Madrigals
Originally Italian Compositions of part music, with words
that spoke of love, war, birth, and death Combined poetry with street songs Accompanied by the lute Used to entertain at court, streets, during
carnivals and festivals, and at homes of middle class
Madrigalisms: musical sounds that correspond to the words sung—word “higher” would be sung higher
Music
Printing press made music available to the middle class at home and abroad
No longer need a court composer to create music just for you
Famous English madrigal composers were: John Dowland, William Byrd, and Orlando Gibbons
Favorite works of all time was Thomas Morley’s “Now is the Month of Maying”