Shakespeare and Elizabethan Era: Life, Plays, Language
Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Era
Queen Elizabeth I reigned during Shakespeare’s lifetime. She enjoyed plays, dances, and other forms of entertainment. She was particularly fond of Shakespeare’s plays. In some of his plays, Shakespeare cleverly included passages referencing the Queen and events that occurred during their time.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Summary
- In Athens, Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius, who is her parents’ choice, and elopes to the woods with Lysander.
- Helena, aware of the plan and in love with Demetrius, tells him of Hermia’s elopement; he heads to the woods, and she follows.
- The fairy king and queen, Oberon and Titania, quarrel. Oberon sends Puck to sprinkle a love potion on Titania; Puck complies and also bespells Lysander and Demetrius.
- Titania falls for Nick Bottom, who Puck has given a donkey’s head, while Lysander and Demetrius fall for Helena. A betrayed Hermia chases Helena while the men fight.
- Oberon removes the enchantments on all but Demetrius. Duke Theseus and Hippolyta celebrate their wedding with the lovers.
Key Characters
Oberon: The king of the fairies, Oberon is initially at odds with his wife, Titania, because she refuses to relinquish control of a young Indian prince whom he wants for a knight. Oberon’s desire for revenge on Titania leads him to send Puck to obtain the love-potion flower that creates so much of the play’s confusion and farce.
Shakespeare’s Works and Influences
Company: Lord Chamberlain. Plays: Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet
Evolution of the English Language
Beowulf: Old English (450-1100 A.D.)
The Canterbury Tales: Middle English (1100-1500, Norman Conquest in 1066)
Modern English: 1500 to the present (Shakespeare)
Samuel Johnson: Dictionary
Elizabethan Daily Life
In a typical Elizabethan household, all work had to be done during daylight hours. The houses were generally small, with only one or two rooms. The main dish was usually meat.
Literary Terms
Blank verse: Verse that does not rhyme. If a verse rhymes, it is called rhyming verse.
Two inventions that slowed the change of language are the dictionary and the printing press.
Slang: An informal vocabulary made up of non-standard word usage and invented words.
Theatre Terminology
Thrust stage: A stage surrounded by the audience.
Gallery: A balcony with a roof in an open-air theatre where audience members may sit to watch a play.
Plague: An outbreak of infectious disease with a high death rate.
Mythology
Chalu of Belius: God creates all; he is the most important.
- God
- King
- Rest
Shakespeare’s Nickname
The Bard: Shakespeare, the playwright.
About William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist.[2] He is often called England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon.”[3][nb 2] His extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 38 plays,[nb 3] 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.
Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon.