Directions: Answer the Following Questions While Reading Pages 536-541 in Your Text

Name ______

Mr. Cecala

Eng. 10

Shakespeare- Intro. Handout

Directions: Answer the following questions while reading pages 536-541 in your text.

1. Why is Shakespeare “regarded as the greatest writer in the English language”?

 Richness of language

 He understood human concerns

 Wrote about relevant topics [timeless]

2. List and explain THREE facts about Shakespeare.

 Born during Renaissance

 Married Anne Hathaway

 Wrote 37 plays

 Wrote 154 sonnets

 Lord Chamberlain’s Men

3. What historical period did Shakespeare live? Briefly explain this period.

 Elizabethan Period or Renaissance

 Time of rebirth/exploration (in arts, classics, ect.)

4. Briefly describe Shakespeare’s theater.

 Thatch roof

 Open in the center (for sunlight) 2

 Smaller circular theater

 Orchestra pit for groundkeepers

 3 Levels; higher up = more money/power

o theater was small so they could still see well, but opposite from today

5. Who were the Groundlings? Explain.

 Poor people who paid 1 cent to see the plays

 Stood down by the stage

 Uneducated & poor

6. Looking at the picture on page 540, what do the letters B, H and M represent?

 B = the yard or orchestra pit

 H = stage

 M = Entrance doors for actors

 **had a place for everything

7. Complete the following sentences:

A performance of Julius Caesar …included realistic sound effects for thunder and battle noises

The actor playing Caesar…would have a pig’s bladder filled with blood

8. Explain conventions and give an example of one.

 Convention = accepted practices

 Accepted agreement between artist and audience 3

9. Identify two similarities and two differences between the Greek theater and the Elizabethan theater.

 Similarities

o Performances during day for light

o Women not allowed to act

o Plays in poetic form

 Differences

o More special effects & elaborate scenary (E)

o Indoor theater (E)

o Hole in roof (E)

o No Chorus (E)

o Had 3 actors (G)

o No violence (G)

10. What is an “anachronism” and give two examples Shakespeare used?

 Anachronism = something mentioned in a play that does not fit the time period