William Shakespeare and Julius Caesar

Background  for…  

� The  works  of  William  Shakespeare  are  among  the  greatest  achievements  of  the  Renaissance.    

� Developments  in  science  and  exploration  during  the  Renaissance  upset  the  religious  and  political  order  of  the  day.    

Renaissance….  � Astronomers  such  as  Copernicus  and  Galileo  questioned  long-­‐held  believers  to  prove  that  the  world  was  round,  and  that  it  circled  the  sun.    

� Columbus  and  Magellan  braved  the  seas  to  explore  new  lands  and  seek  new  trade  routes.    

� Martin  Luther  and  John  Calvin  challenged  the  authority  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  spurred  the  Protestant  Reformation    

Renaissance  Writers….  � Such  as  Miguel  de  Cervantes  and  William  Shakespeare  wrote  insightfully  about  complex  human  personalities  in  fiction  and  drama    

The Renaissance in England � Was  slow  coming  because  of  a  civil  war  between  two  great  families  or  houses,  claiming  the  English  throne:  the  House  of  York  and  the  House  of  Lancaster    

� The  conflict  ended  in  1485  when  Henry  Tudor  of  the  House  of  Lancaster  took  the  throne  as  King  Henry  VII.    

� He  was  succeeded  by  Henry  the  VIII,  whose  reign  was  filled  with  turmoil.    

Henry the VIII (8th) � Sought  a  divorce  from  the  Spanish  Princess,  Catherine  of  Aragon,  so  that  he  could  remarry  and  have  a  son.  He  was  convinced  only  a  male  was  strong  enough  to  hold  the  throne.  

� The  Pope  refused  to  grant  the  divorce.  Henry  renounced  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  made  England  a  Protestant  nation.    

Henry’s  second  marriage…  � To  a  woman  named  Anne  Boleyn,  produced  a  daughter,  not  a  son,  named  Elizabeth.    

� When  Elizabeth  took  the  throne,  she  proved  to  be  one  of  the  strongest  monarchs  that  England  has  ever  known.    

The reign of Elizabeth I �  Is  often  seen  as  the  golden  age  in  English  History.    � Elizabeth  brought  political  and  economic  stability  to  the  county,  thus  allowing  commerce  and  culture  to  thrive.    

� Literature  thrived,  peaking  with  the  plays  of  William  Shakespeare.  

THEATRE in Elizabethan England

� Elizabethan  audiences  included  all  levels  of  society,  from  the  “groundlings”  who  paid  a  penny  entrance  fee,  to  the  nobility.    

� During  the  Middle  Ages,  simple  religious  plays  were  performed  at  Inns.    

�  In  early  Elizabethan  times,  acting  companies  still  traveled  the  countryside  to  perform  their  plays.    

 

Theatre continued §  The best theatre companies acquired noble

patrons, or sponsors, who then invited the troupes to perform in their homes

§  At the same time, Elizabethan dramatists began to use the tragedies and comedies of ancient Greece and Rome as models for their plays.

§  By the end of the 1th century, many talented playwrights had emerged, included of course, William Shakespeare.

England’s  first  theatre…  � The  first  public  theatre  opened  in  1576  � Known  as  “The  Theatre”  � Built  by  an  actor  named  James  Burbage    � Built  outside  London  city  walls  in  an  area  called  Shoreditch  

� Some  of  Shakespeare’s  earliest  plays  were  first  performed  here,  including  The  Tragedy  of  Romeo  and  Juliet    

When  the  lease  expired…  � Richard  Burbage  (son  of  James  Burbage)  moved  the  company  to  Southwark,  just  across  the  River  Thames.  

� Burbage  built  a  bigger  and  better  theatre    �  It  opened  in  1599  and  was  called  the  Globe.    � Under  that  name,  it  would  become  the  most  famous  theater  in  the  history  of  the  English  stage,  for  many  of  Shakespeare’s  plays  were  first  performed  there.    

About  the  theater…  � Was  either  round  or  octagonal,  with  a  central  stage  open  to  the  sky    

� The  stage  opened  to  a  pit,  where  theater  goes  called  groundlings  would  pay  just  a  penny  to  stand  and  watch  the  play    

� There  were  galleries,  where  those  who  paid  more  could  watch  the  play  under  shelter  from  the  weather  

Staging the play §  Actors entered and left the stage from doors at stage

level §  The stage also had a trap door through which

mysterious characters, such as ghosts or witches, could disappear suddenly.

§  No artificial light was used, so plays were held in the afternoon.

§  No scenery, instead the setting was communicated through dialogue

§  Special effects were simple, and scene changes were rapid

§  Productions lasted about 2 hours §  Women were not allowed to act, so younger men or

boys often played the female roles (women were allowed beginning in 1660)

§  Few scene changes but elaborate costumes

The Blackfriars �  In  1609,  Shakespeare’s  acting  company  began  staging  plays  in  the  Blackfriars  Theater  as  well  the  Globe.    �  Located  in  London    �  Indoor  space  with  no  open  area  �  Relied  entirely  on  wealthier  people    � One  of  England’s  first  theaters  to  use  artificial  

lighting,  which  allowed  for  nighttime  performances.    

William Shakespeare

The  life  of...  

1564-1616 � Shakespeare’s  plays  and  poetry  are  regarded  as  some  of  the  finest  works  ever  written  in  English    

� 4  centuries  after  his  death,  his  plays  are  still  read  and  performed  every  single  day    

Stratford-upon-Avon �  Born  to  Mary  Arden  and  John  on  April  23,  1564  and  died  on  

April  23,  1616  �  Don’t  know  actual  birthday,  we  just  assume.      �  Baptized  April  26  at  Holy  Trinity  Church  in  Stratford.  

�  He  grew  up  in  Stratford-­‐upon-­‐Avon,  about  100  miles  northwest  of  London    

�  He  was  one  of  8  children    �  In  1582,  he  married  Anne  Hathway  (he  was  18,  she  was  26)  

and  with  her  had  3  children,  including  a  set  of  twins    �  1583  –  Susanna  �  1585  –  Judith(girl)  and  Hamnet  (boy)  

The Man � His  history  goes  blank  from  1585  to  1592  � By  1592  –  had  moved  to  London  and  started  off  as  an  actor    �  Robert  Greene  note  –  pg  763  in  lit  book  

� By  1594  –  was  the  principal  playwright  of  the  Lord  Chamberlain’s  Men,  the  Burbages’  acting  company.    

� King  James  took  over  patronage  of  the  company  and  called  it  The  King’s  Men    

� His  early  works  include:  The  Taming  of  the  Shrew  (romantic  comedy)  and  Romeo  and  Juliet  (romantic  tragedy)    

� He  wrote  sonnets,  narrative  poems,  songs,  and  plays  

� He  wrote  37  plays  and  154  sonnets    �  Also  wrote  parts  of  another  play,  so  #  of  plays  is  

sometimes  listed  as  38  

� Plays  were  not  routinely  published  after  productions  as  they  generally  are  now    

� Plays  became  the  property  of  the  theatre  performing  them,  and  theatres  were  not  eager  to  have  rival  companies  perform  them    

His  plays…  � He  wrote  four  kinds  of  plays:  

�  Tragedies  � Histories    �  Romances  �  Comedies    

7 characteristics of a tragedy §  It is serious, but uplifting §  The reader can feel the tension §  Evil is center stage and seems to win §  The main character cannot tell the

difference between reality and illusion §  That failure to see clearly is a death matter §  Tension between people causes death §  It attempts to explain love and what it feels

like to be human

Ways to better understand Shakespeare � Try  to  imagine  the  scene  on  stage  � Keep  track  of  the  characters  by  referring  to  the  character  list    

� Pay  attention  to  the  words  at  the  bottom  of  the  page  called  annotations    

� Read  it  out  loud  � Don’t  try  to  understand  every  word    

The Play: The results of violence

Julius  Caesar    

Assassination � The  murder  of  a  public  figure  is  an  act  that  can  take  place  in  a  split  second  yet  change  the  course  of  history    

� What  are  some  political  assassinations  that  you  know  of?    �  JC  is  a  play  about  the  assassination  of  a  Roman  general  and  dictator    

� Dictator  =  tyrant,  but  the  word  originally  referred  to  any  leader  who  was  given  supreme  authority  by  the  Roman  Senate  on  a  temporary  basis  in  times  of  emergency    

� Shakespeare  drew  his  material  from  The  Parallel  Lives,  written  by  Plutarch    

� Greek  and  Roman  history  and  culture  had  a  great  appeal  from  the  English  of  the  Elizabethan  Age.  They  tended  to  see  their  own  age  mirrored  in  those  great  ancient  civilizations    

Rome in Caesar’s Day � The  Roman  world  in  Caesar’s  time  was  continually  at  war    

�  In  the  U.S.  today,  who  are  the  generals  of  the  military  ultimately  responsible  to?    

� 2,000  years  ago  in  Rome,  generals  had  enormous  individual  power  (They  basically  did  whatever  they  wanted)    

� Sometimes  these  generals  turned  on  one  another  because  they  were  battling  for….  

POWER!!! � A  battle  for  power  is  what  happened  when  the  generals  Caesar  and  Pompey  clashed  in  the  civil  war  that  began  in  49  B.C.    

� The  two  generals  (along  with  Crassus)  brought  order  to  a  weakened  gov’t    by  forming  the  First  Triumvirate  (a  3  man  gov’t)  

� Caesar  was  eager  for  even  more  POWER  and  he  realized  he  could  only  gain  more  power  through  conquests  and  money    

Caesar and Power � For  8  years  he  roamed  Europe,  subjugating  France,  Belgium,  and  parts  of  Holland,  Germany,  and  Switzerland    

� He  amasses  huge  sums  of  money  which  he  sent  back  to  Rome  to  gain  favor  with  the  people    

� While  Caesar  considered  himself  a  defender  of  the  people,  he  really  only  gained  support  and  power  through  bribes  and  handouts    

� Meanwhile,  Pompey  (jealous  of  Caesar)  threw  his  weight  behind  the  Senate,  which  was  wary  of  Caesar  and  his  actions    

� Caesar  refused  the  Senate’s  order  to  give  up  his  command  and  become  a  private  citizen    

� Modern  day  senate  vs  leader?    �  Instead,  Caesar  marched  his  army  on  Rome,  and  chased  Pompey  all  the  way  to  Egypt  where  he  was  murdered  before  Caesar  could  capture  him    

� Caesar  fell  in  love  with  Cleopatra  and  established  her  on  the  throne  of  Egypt  under  his  protection  

� When  he  returned  to  Rome,  he  was  named  dictator  for  10  years  

� He  saw  that  his  supporters  became  senators    � His  desire  for  power  became  obsessive    � He  had  a  bust  made  of  himself    � Was  named  dictator  for  life    

No love for Caesar??? �  While the common people loved Caesar, a

number of Roman citizens found his AMBITION deplorable

�  The Romans had done away with kings and had set up a republican gov’t – they did not like the idea of another king

�  As his arrogance and drive for power became unbearable to certain senators, they made plans to assassinate him on March 15, 44 B.C.

� Shakespeare’s  play  opens  a  month  before  the  murder.