You might think this is crazy but I don't. I typed 3 pages of this text in my textbook and after the text there are questions I need you to check thanks sorry for so much.
Shakespeare's World
England in Shakespeare's Day
William Shakespeare is widely considered to be the greatest writer in the England language and the greatest playwright of all time. His plays have been produced more often and in more countries than those of any other author. Shakespeare lived in England during the flowering of intellectual activity known as the Renaissance. The European Renaissance was marked by a renewed interest in science, commerce, philosophy, and the arts. Basic to Renaissance thinking was a new emphasis on that individual and on freedom of choice. The Renaissance movement began in 14th century Italy and gradually moved north and west toward England, where it reached its peak during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Shakespeare started his literary career during Elizabethan's reign, a period that lasted from 1558 to 1603 and is often called the Elizabethan Age. Elizabeth was the last member of England's royal house of Tudor, which began with her grandfather, King Henry VII. Henry VII had brought stability and prosperity to his kingdom, and it was during his reign that Renaissance ideas began taking hold in England. However, political and religious problems surfaced during the riegn of Elizabeth's father, Henry VII, and continued into the early years of Elizabeth's own reign. Luckily, Elizabeth proved to be a strong monarch, able to guide England along a more moderate and prosperous course. It was a course that most Elizabethans, including William Shakespeare, seem to have appreciated. Like her grandfather and father before her, Elizabeth I was a strong supporter of English culture. As a result, artists of all types including playwrights, poets, painters, sculptors, musicians, and architects were held in high esteem. Taking the cue from their monarch, members of England's upper class often became patrons, or finacncial sponsors of the arts. In the early 1590's, Shakespeare began acting in and writing plays for a theater company sponsored by two men who had both held the office of England's Lord Chamberlain, a high-ranking position in Elizabeth's court. The company was called the Lord Chamberlain's men, and Elizabeth herself attended some of its productions.
Theater in Shakespeare's Day
Through acting companies toured throughout England, London was the center of the Elizabethan stage. In 1576, well before Shakespeare became affiliated with the Lord Chamberlain's Men, the company built England's first theater in the suburbs of London; by the end of the 1590s, London boasted more theaters than any other European capital. One reason the London theaters did so well was that ehy attracted an audience of rich and poor alike. In fact, the Elizabethan theater was one of the few forms of entertanment available to working- class people of the day, and one of the few places where the working class and educated upper class could mix. Shakespeare appealed to English audience members of all classes by including a great deal of variety in his plays: poetic speeches, exciting action, fast-paced humor, vivid character portryals, and wise observations about human nature and universal human concerns. Thus, while he was respected by the rich and powerful people of his day, he also became very popular with the common people. In 1599, Shakespeare and the other shareholders, or part owners, of the Lord Chamberlain's Men became joint owners of the company's new home. The theater company settled into the Glove Theatre, on the banks of the River Thames in central London. The Glove was a three-story wooden stucture with an open-air courtyard in the center. Actors performed on a raised platform stage within the courtyard. The theater could hold as many as three-thousand spectators, many of whom stood in the part of the courtyard near the stage known as the pit. These customers, called groundlings, paid the lowest admission charge, usually just a penny. Richer theatergoers paid more and sat in the partially enclosed galleries, or inner balconies, which surrounded most of the courtyard. Audiences became emotionally invloved in performances, openly showing their pleasure or their disappointment. They cheered, booed, hissed, and sometimes threw rotten vegetables. They applauded agile sword fighting and dramatic sound effects, such as blares of trumpets, drum rolls, and claps of thunder. Elizabethan theater relied heavily on the audience's imagination. Most theaters had no curtains, no artificial lighting, and very little scenery. Instead, props, sound effects, and sometimes lines of dialogue let the audience know when and where a scene took place. However, while the staging was simple, it was hardly dull. Swords, shields, brightly colored banners, and elegant custumes often added to the spectacle. The costumes also helped audiences imagine that woment were playing the female roles, which in fact were played by young male actors. In Shakespeare's day, no women belonged to English acting companies, for it was considered improper for women to appear on stage. The boys who played female roles underwent rigorous training in acting, singing, and dancing. Before they could play a role such as Juliet in a first-rate company, they had to learn to move gracefully and speak convincingly.
Shakespeare's Impact on The English Language
Shakespeare was a master of dramatic language and a great Experimenter with spoken English. He was clever and imaginative, playing with words and their meanings and creating striking images that, once heard or read, are rarely forgotten. Shakespeare contributed more words, phrases, and expressions to the English language than any other writer. Some of these words were his own invention, including assassination, bump, and lonely. Other expressions might have been part of the everyday speech of Elizabethan England, but Shakespeare was the first to use them in writing, and their inclusion in his plays gave them a permanent place in the language. May of these phrases and expressions have become so common that people use them without realizing that they are quoting Shakespeare. In fact, the expressions have become "household words"---- a term first used in Shakespeare's historical play Henry V. Other expressions that have become part of the language include "dead as a doornail" (Henry VI, Part 2), "laughing-stock" (The Merry Wives of Windsor), "the green-eyed monster"(Othello), and "for goodness' sake" (Henry VIII). Sakespeares's fine ear for the English lanuage prompted the British writer Geroge Orwell to call him a "word musician."
Fill in the blank questions (all answers in the text above)
1. Willaim Shakespeare is widely thought to be the greatest ---------- in the English language and the greatest ------- of all time.
Answer 1: Writer
Answer 2: playwright
2. His plays have been -------- more and in more ------- than any other author(writer).
Answer 1: produced
Answer 2: countries
3.The flowering of intellectual activity was known as the --------.
Answer: Renaissance
4. The Renaissance movement began in the ----- century in Italy and gradually moved to -------.
Answer 1: 14th
Answer 2: England
5. The Renaissance reached it's peak during the reign of ----------- the -----.
Answer 1: Queen Elizabeth
Answer 2: 1st
6. Elizabeth's reign lasted from ------ to ------- and is often called the -----------.
Answer 1: 1558
Answer 2: 1603
Answer 3: Elizabethan Age
7.Because Elizabeth I was a strong supporter of English culture, these types of artists flourished and thrived. -------, ---------, ---------, --------, -------, --------.
Answer 1: Playwrights
Answer 2: Poets
Answer 3: Painters
Answer 4: Sculptors
Answer 5: Musicians
Answer 6: Architects
8. Name the England's upper class who were financial sponsors of the arts.
Answer: Taking the cue from their monarch, members of England's upper class often became patrons, or financial sponsors of the arts.
9. -------, ------- was the center of the Elizabethan Stage.
Answer 1: England
Answer 2: London
10. One reason the London theaters did so well was --------------------------------.
Answer: that they attracted an audience of rich and poor alike.
11. The ---------- ------ was one of the few forms of entertainment available to working- class people of the day, and one of the few places where the working class and educated upper class could mix.
Answer 1: Elizabethan
Answer 2: Theater
12. Shakespeare appealed to English audiences and members of all classes by including a great deal of variety in his plays. Ex. ---------, --------, -----------,----------,---------,-----------,---------, --------------------.
Answer 1: Poetic speaking
Answer 2: Exciting action
Answer 3: Fast-paced humor
Answer 4: Vivid Character portrayals
Answer 5: wise observations about human nature and universal human concerns.
(I don't see a 6 or 7 answer in the text do you?
13. Why was Shakespeare a master of dramatic language and a great experimenter with spoken language?
Answer: Shakespeare was a master of dramatic language and a great experimenter with spoken language because he was clever and imaginative playing with words and their meanings and creating striking images that once heard or read are rarely forgotten.
14. Shakespeare contributed more -------, -------, and ---------, to the English language than any other writer.
Answer 1: Words
Answer 2: Phrases
Answer 3: Expressions
15. Name some of the words that were his own invention. ----------, ------------, and ---------.
Answer 1: Assassination
Answer 2: Bump
Answer 3: Lonely
16. The term --------- was a term first used in Shakespeares historical play of Henry V.
Answer: "household words"
17. Other expressions that became part of the language are
------------------(play)--------
------------------(play)--------
------------------(play)--------
------------------(Play)--------
Answer (row 1): "dead as a doornail, Henry VI, Part 2
Answer (row 2): " laughing-stock", The Merry Wives of Windsor
Answer (row 3): "the green-eyed monster", Othello
Answer (row 4): "for goodness' sake", Henry VIII
18. Elizabethan theater relied heavily on the audience's imagination because thee was no -----------, -------,and --------.
Answer 1: curtains
Answer 2: artificial lighting
Answer 3: Very little scenery
19. Instead ----------, ---------, --------, and sometimes ----------, let the audience know when and where a scene took place.
Answer 1: props
Answer 2: sound effects
(I don't see a third do you?)
Answer 4: lines of a dialogue let the audience know when and where a scene took place.
20. Staging was simple but it wasn't dull because ------, --------, ------------- and --------- added to the spectacle.
Answer 1: swords
Ansewr 2: shields
Answer 3: brightly colored banners
Answer 4: elegant costumes often
21. In Shakespeare's day no women belonged to English acting companies, for it was considered ---------------------.
Answer: improper for women to appear on stage.
22. Describe the structure of the Globe theater and who sat where.
Answer: The Globe theater was a three story wooden structure with ans open air courtyard in the center. Actors performed on a raised platform stage within the courtyard. The theater could hold as many as three thousand spectators, many whom stood in the part of the courtyard near the stage known as the pit. These customers called groundlings paid the lowest admission charge usually just a penny. Richer theatergoers paid more and sat partically enclosed galleries, or inner balconies which surrounded most of the courtyard.
23. Who were groundlings?
Answer: The customers who paid the lowest admission.
24. One reason the London theaters did so well was they attracted ----------------------.
Answer: an audience of rich and poor alike.
25. Name som,e of the unusual ways audiences showed their approvals of productions (If you did some of those things today, you might get a free set of stainless steel bracelts from uniformed officials)
Answer: They cheered, booed, hissed, and sometimes threw rotten vegetables.