UNIT 44 - Shakespeare and his time .pptx

Introduction for unit 44 Oposiciones inglés secundaria.

1. UNIT 44. SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIME.   INTRODUCTION SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIME Elizabethan drama The Globe

2. INTRODUCTION “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” The initial verse of the 18 th sonnet by shakespeare could be used nowadays to reflect the author. Shakespeare is undoubtedly the most famous and influential author in the history of literature. He supposed a change, a flash of light, far from the medieval darkness. The present unit aims to provide a detailed account on the figure of william shakespeare (1564-1616), his life and works, and his relationship with the elizabethan period. This was a time of religious turmoil, full of new discoveries and social changes. Shakespeare proved to be a master at adapting these facts to the audience of his time, presenting works that are important not only for their literary value but also from a historical and social point of view. Nowadays shakespeare’s life and works are as fascinating as they were four centuries ago and the unanswered mysteries that surround him have added a legendary myth to the figure of the bard. This topic is within the framework of the current legislation (ORGANIC LAW 3/2020, ROYAL DECREE 217/2022, ANDALUSIAN EDUCATIVE LAW 17/2007) where culture, history and literature are important issues for the communicative interaction of a foreign language.

3. SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIME The Crown situation from 1328 to 1603 involved important wars such as The Hundred Years’ Wars, which confronted England against France; struggles against the Scots; and the War of the Roses, which dealt with the Royal families of York and Lancaster. The Dynasty of Tudor ruled during this period, with Henry VIII as main figure. He asked Rome for the divorce from Catherine of Aragon (unable to produce a male heir) to marry Ann Boleyn. After being rejected by the Catholic Church, he went ahead with the new marriage and was excommunicated, making himself the Supreme Head of the Church of England. After his death, his son Edward VI, son of his third wife Juana Seymour, went on imposing the protestant reformation until he died at 16 years old. In the following years, Mary Tudor, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, returned to Catholicism. She was known as Bloody Mary for executing over 300 protestants to impose the Catholic religion. Finally, Elizabeth I, Ann Boleyn’s daughter, who had been declared illegitimate by Rome, imposed Protestantism. She died without offspring so, she was the last of the Tudor Dynasty (Abrams, 2018). The History plays by Shakespeare concerned with these internal social wars and struggles with France. Shakespeare’s plays served as a kind of propaganda for national unity under the strong figure of a king. If the Royal House did not provide a strong monarch, two things could happen: chaos (as in Richard III) or a nobleman who considers himself better than any other gets the power (as in Henry IV or Henry V). So, a powerful king was the only solution to avoid internal striving (Alexander, 2000).

4. Elizabethan Drama Following Poplawski (2017), due to the Protestant Reformation, drama had to move out of the church. The new drama, called Elizabethan drama, explores the interest of a large new audience, a mix of cultures and social classes, so it left apart the drama based on the Bible. Drama became a commercial entertainment run by companies who had to act under patronage. They would act at the house of the lord or in theatres which were normally outside the cities. The actors were all male, so female roles were played by young men whose voices had not changed yet. At first, they did not make money since audiences melted away as the hat went around. Finally, people had to pay for standing in front of the stage and the audience would participate by cheering, hissing, or even, throwing vegetables. Apart from Shakespeare, we could mention other playwrights of the time, such as John Lily or Christopher Marlowe, but none of them have become as popular and influential as Shakespeare did. The Globe The actor-manager James Burbage built the first permanent theatre, called The Theatre. When Shakespeare was in London, he joined the troupe. After James Burbage’s death, his sons demolished the main theatre and used its materials to build the new one, The Globe. To afford it, Burbage’s sons had to share shares with the actors and Shakespeare was one of them. The Globe was destroyed in a fire during the representation of Shakespeare’s play Henry VIII in 1613 and Shakespeare sold his shares. The Globe was the venue where most Shakespeare’s plays were first represented. It became so important that, after being destroyed, it has been reconstructed, becoming even a central monument in nowadays London.