William Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet Power Point Guided Notes
Slide 1—Basic Information
1. Born on April 23, 1564 and Died on April 23, 1616.
2. William Shakespeare was born in __________.
3. Except for the ____________, Shakespeare is the most quoted author and poet.
4. He is credited for writing 37 plays and 154 sonnets. (Not on slide)
5. Shakespeare wrote tragedies, comedies, romances, and some critics even give him a 4th category of histories. (Not on slide)
Slide 2—Being a Husband and a Father
4. His marriage to Anne Hathaway was considered, according to some historians as scandalous or looked down upon. Based on the information that you read on slide 2, what do you think are 2 possible reasons why?
A.
B.
5. Why would Shakespeare possibly be considered as a deadbeat dad or “a dad from a distance”?
Slide 3—Entertainment in England
6. Theater was one of the popular forms of entertainment in London while Shakespeare was writing and acting in plays. List 2 other popular forms of entertainment the theater had to compete with to get fans or followers?
A. B. C.
Slides 4-7 Living Conditions and Personal Hygiene in London
7. Why would you not want to take a swim in London’s Thames River?
8. Why do you not see any trees in the picture?
9. What diseases flourished during this time?
10. Many children died before what age?
11. Why do think this is? (Not on the slide) Take a Guess
12. Based on Slide 6, why do you think bathing was dangerous during this time? (Just guess if you cannot figure it out)
13. How did the poor get their clothes?
14. What did you notice that would freak most teenager out today about clothing for the peasants or average person in London? (Look at Clothes Slide—Slide 7)
Slides 8-11—Theater and Acting in London
15. Plays and skits were performed in courtyard or inns; however, the first theater was built in _____ and was called _________________.
16. Set design was limited so what did the director and actors rely on instead?
17. The Globe theater, a place Shakespeare acually owned part of and did most of his acting and writing his plays using this theater’s structure and stage design, was built in _________ and was considered on the wrong side of town just across the Thames River.
18. What was the name of the acting company for whom Shakespeare acted and wrote?
19. How much did it cost for commoners or peasants to see a play?
20. Based on the pictures of the Globe Theater below, why do you think plays were performed during the day? They were often performed on Sundays and would hold two performances in the daytime.
21. Why were all parts, during this time period, played by men?
22. Who played the female roles in the plays?
23. A poor audience member attending a play is called _________________.
24. If women wanted to attend plays, what did they have to do?
25. What did the peasants standing on the ground do to the actors if the play was horrible?
Slides 12-13—Information about the play Romeo and Juliet
26. Is this play a tragedy or comedy?
27. The play was written in ____________ and set in ___________, Italy.
28. Some of the themes in the play are ________ control versus rebellious ______; fate vs freewill; impulsive behavior versus ________-___________.
29. Shakespeare did not come up with the idea of this play by himself. Instead borrowed from a ____________ written by Brooke and gave the story new life and beauty.
30. The story is about an Italian couple. (Interesting Fact)
Slides 14-16—Queen Elizabeth I
31. The Elizabethan era is named after Queen Elizabeth I. She loved theater; if she did not, then we probably would not know who William Shakespeare is. During this era, there was also a love for the supernatural, believing in fate and destiny, “reading the signs,” and witchcraft. You can see this supernatural view in Shakespeare’s play that we will be reading. (Fun Fact)
32. Queen Elizabeth I was the daughter of King ____________ and Ann Boleyn who lost her __________ because she was accused of treason.
33. Queen Elizabeth’s younger sister was nicknames “Bloody Mary.” (FYI) Queen Elizabeth was also known as the Virgin Queen because she never married; however, this title was not true because she had many “secret” affairs but never wanted to be ruled by her husband who would have become the King of England on their wedding day. So, she remained unwed. (Fun Fact)
34. Between 1500-1650, there was a “rebirth” of ________, __________, and science. This is known as the ______________ Period.
25. Queen Elizabeth’s father King Henry VIII was a ______________ man.