3rd He loveth They love They are They are Scholarship about Shakespeare Other” vs Contemporary” Shakespeare’s role in the literary canon “Ancient “Our – Bloom: Shakespeare seems almost SUPER-human Garber: Shakespeare writes mirrors, malleable and timeless tales of humans and of histories Boose: an institutionalized site for politics, cultural wars, and argument Performance as Art, as Life, as Spectacle Perhaps the most studied of writers Politics and History Impacting Shakespeare’s Work Tudor Family Protestant England Shakespeare’s work tends to be light and humorous – – King VIII, his son King Edward IV (2nd born) and daughter Queen Elizabeth I (3rd born). Elizabethan Era = Golden Age of Theatre in England Exception: Queen Mary I, Mary,” Henry’s 1st born, ruling 1553-1558 in a short-lived “Bloody restoration to Roman Catholicism Stuart Family Scottish/Catholicism, Jacobean = dark, violent, cruel tragedies – James the IV of Scotland becomes James I of England, after Elizabeth’s death in 1603 The Entire Era is Theatrical. Theatre was important for the time, not original with Shakespeare. as Pivotal Text Hamlet a philosophical text turning point toward richer, darker tragedies Shakespeare’s language forms, perfecting inwardness (interiority becomes a force) 600 new words, 2/3 he would never use again in other plays a play, not only a play, although what one sees vs hears is elemental to this “hear” “see” more sophisticated representation of life/drama Fortinbras might be the only freshly original character Many mythological and contemporary Hamlets Theatrically more advanced Simultaneous entrances and exits Writing Style Blank Verse unrhymed iambic pentameter (5 feet, alternating stress/unstressed syllables, per line) – suggestive of a heartbeat, a naturalness Metrical Disorder breaks in the line that signify meaning (so pay attention then) – Rhymed Couplets two end-stopped lines that rhyme – an end, marking the end of a scene psychological, accentuating a lofty message a sing-song element, to indicate lightness and artificiality method of something blocked/stopped – intimacy, private class marker shed nobility to speak to lower class – madness
3rd He loveth They love They are They are Scholarship about Shakespeare “Ancient Other” vs “Our Contemporary” – Shakespeare’s role in the literary canon Bloom: Shakespeare seems almost SUPER-human Garber: Shakespeare writes mirrors, malleable and timeless tales of humans and of histories Boose: an institutionalized site for politics, cultural wars, and argument Performance as Art, as Life, as Spectacle Perhaps the most studied of writers Politics and History Impacting Shakespeare’s Work Tudor Family – Protestant England – Shakespeare’s work tends to be light and humorous King VIII, his son King Edward IV (2nd born) and daughter Queen Elizabeth I (3rd born). Elizabethan Era = Golden Age of Theatre in England Exception: Queen Mary I, “Bloody Mary,” Henry’s 1st born, ruling 1553-1558 in a short-lived restoration to Roman Catholicism Stuart Family – Scottish/Catholicism, Jacobean = dark, violent, cruel tragedies James the IV of Scotland becomes James I of England, after Elizabeth’s death in 1603 The Entire Era is Theatrical. Theatre was important for the time, not original with Shakespeare. Hamlet as Pivotal Text a philosophical text turning point toward richer, darker tragedies Shakespeare’s language forms, perfecting inwardness (interiority becomes a force) 600 new words, 2/3 he would never use again in other plays “hear” a play, not only “see” a play, although what one sees vs hears is elemental to this more sophisticated representation of life/drama Fortinbras might be the only freshly original character Many mythological and contemporary Hamlets Theatrically more advanced Simultaneous entrances and exits Writing Style Blank Verse – unrhymed iambic pentameter (5 feet, alternating stress/unstressed syllables, per line) suggestive of a heartbeat, a naturalness Metrical Disorder – breaks in the line that signify meaning (so pay attention then) Rhymed Couplets – two end-stopped lines that rhyme an end, marking the end of a scene psychological, accentuating a lofty message a sing-song element, to indicate lightness and artificiality – method of something blocked/stopped intimacy, private class marker – shed nobility to speak to lower class madness
shakespeare-timeline-and-hamlet-reading-notes.docx