Hamlet and the Elizabethan Era Shakespeare William Shakespeare (1564-1616) lived during - PowerPoint Presentation

Hamlet and the Elizabethan Era

Shakespeare William Shakespeare (1564-1616) lived during the Elizabethan age, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in England. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, a town in the heart of England. William was the third of eight children of John Shakespeare, a well-to-do butcher and whittawer (maker, worker, seller of leather goods), and Mary Arden.

Love and Marriage At the age of 18, Shakespeare fell in love with and married Anne Hathaway who was 26.

Love and Marriage Shakespeare and Anne had three children Susanna, the oldest Twins: Hamnet and Judith Hamnet died as a child

Shakespeare became an actor and established his career between 1582-1592 Part of a theatre troupe called Lord Chamberlin's Men which became The King’s Men Began playwriting in 1590 with his history plays (1590-1593) Wrote a total of 37 plays Died April 23, 1616 Shakespeare

The globe theatre Constructed in 1599 On the banks of the Thames River near London Octagonal Shape Cost a certain number of pennies depending on where one watched the play Red Flag=History White Flag=Comedy Black Flag=Tragedy

The Globe Theatre Globe Audience Capacity - the Globe theatre could hold 1500 people in the audience and this number expanded to 3000 with the people who crowded outside the theatres Royalty - Queen Elizabeth I loved watching plays but these were generally performed in indoor playhouses for her pleasure. The Nobles - Upper Class Nobles would have paid for the better seats in the Lord's rooms paying 5d for the privilege The Lower Classes, the Commoners, were called the Groundlings and would have stood in the theatre pit and paid 1d entrance fee. They put 1 penny in a box at the theatre entrance - hence the term 'Box Office'

The world of hamlet Women were treated as property and could own nothing (unless they were widowed) Only options for women: Brothel, Nunnery, marriage Husbands could beat wives. No real divorce options for women. Laws were in place that determined what a person could wear, where they could live, what they could eat; all based on social standing and class Marriages are arranged. The upper class, courtier marriages, had to be approved by the monarch. Esp. under Elizabeth

The world of hamlet People who were caught attempting suicide would have been put on trial and punished. S uicide was ILLEGAL .If you were successful in your suicide attempt, you would be buried in disgrace outside of the city limits and it would be officially agreed upon that you were a condemned soul. This is a difficult concept to really understand in our culture, but honor was a really big deal in Elizabethan England. Arguably, honor was everything because it affected everything.

So WHY do we have to read Hamlet now?

So you can be a boss like cher

Because you use these phrases…

Because you have watched…

Because at some point in your life you… Felt like no one understood what you were going through Were confused by a member of the opposite sex’s words and/or actions Heard rumors and/or participated in gossip Fought with a parent or guardian Had no idea what you were doing

Are we on the same page now? Good, let’s begin!

soliloquy A soliloquy is an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, esp. by a character in a play.

Hamlet’s first Soliloquy http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kuF1-tyaAE

“Is there a ghost” by Band of horses

The other family Polonius Laertes Ophelia

The Other Family Polonius is the king’s advisor. He is extremely long-winded. Laertes is Polonius’s son who is studying in France Ophelia is Polonius’s son and Laertes’s sister. She has relations with Hamlet but is constantly being warned by her family that he is bad news.

Rosencrantz &Guildenstern Hamlet’s friends from school Claudius asks them to spy on Hamlet Provide comedic relief

aside An aside a remark or passage by a character in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters in the play.

Words, words, words

allusion An allusion is a reference to another work of literature.

Allusions in the players scene Hamlet asks the players (actors) to perform a speech from Virgil’s The Aeneid . The speech is about Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles who goes to Troy to avenge his father’s death by killing Priam . One of the players then describes Hecuba, Priam’s wife, when she discovers her husband’s death, and is very emotional.

The players

“to be” Mash-up

To be or not to be

Dumb show A dumb show is a short piece of silent action or mime included in a play. A common device in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, it was sometimes used to summarize the succeeding spoken scene, as in the dumb show preceding the players' main performance in Hamlet (Act III, scene ii ).

Play within a play

Bloody deed

Ophelia sings

Ophelia

How it all ends… http :// www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9VZp7IFfXQ (2009) http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNWODAIBs7s (1990)