Week 4 - Language & Fun Facts
Shakespeare's Language Click the link to watch a short video about how Shakespeare helped to develop the English Language if you have headphones. Otherwise, read the transcript below. Respond to the prompt below in writing. youtu.be/JI6Uxg0n8fg Video Transcript -- Shakespeare's influence on the English language William Shakespeare is renowned for his majestic works of English literature and without him the way we speak and express ourselves would be of utter difference. His pieces have had a profound impact on the English language, introducing us to a variety of words that would be in existent if he had not lived. Many people complain of the difficulty of understanding Shakespearean language. However, to the surprise of many a lot of his words are incorporated into our daily lives. Through Shakespeare's works we were introduced to over 3,000 words of the English language including: gossip from amid some a midsummer night's dream and heart of gold from Henry VIII. His impact on English literature influenced how we experience and process the world around us through these additions to our vocabulary. There is a prediction by Max Muller a Victorian word expert that approximately 3000 of Shakespeare's words used in his plays were created by him by merging existing words of foreign languages into a style of English language. Some words that Shakespeare created include: accused, assassination, addiction, amazement, bedroom, champion, excitement, generous, majesty, eyeball, exposure, dawn, puking, torture, and undress. Not only did he create many words, but many commonly used idioms originated from phrases coined by Shakespeare for his plays. For example “for goodness sake” from Henry VIII; “good riddance” from Troilus and Cressida’ “knock knock who's there?” from Macbeth; “wild-goose chase” from Romeo and Juliet; and “break the ice” from The Taming of the Shrew Shakespeare. All of these influence the way we speak. He also had a large impact on the structure of plays, specifically the structure of tragedies. Shakespeare introduced many aspects and refined the five act structure which illustrates the way the storyline of a tragedy play is created. This structure has now been used for hundreds of years and thus portrays the influence that Shakespeare has had not only on the English language but also on the way it is used. Shakespeare is a renowned personality who has had a great impact on all. Not only did he give us plays, poems, words, phrases, structures, and expression; he gave us language which is used in our lives if not every day then at least very often. Additionally, his plays continued to have a profound impact on our lives. For example on the content of movies and stories of today. With comparisons such as Hamlet and the Lion King, 10 Things I Hate About You and the Shroud. It is clear to see that William Shakespeare is one of the most influential figures to contribute to the English language. Prompt: Explain what role Shakespeare played in the development of vocabulary. Give 5 examples for support. Shakespeare Fun Facts Read the information below to find out about 10 things you might not know about Shakespeare. Then respond in writing to the prompt below. 1. Shakespeare’s father held a lot of different jobs, and at one point got paid to drink beer. The son of a tenant farmer, John Shakespeare was nothing if not upwardly mobile. He arrived in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1551 and began dabbling in various trades, selling leather goods, wool, malt and corn. In 1556 he was appointed the borough’s official “ale taster,” meaning he was responsible for inspecting bread and malt liquors. The next year he took another big step up the social ladder by marrying Mary Arden, the daughter of an aristocratic farmer who happened to be his father’s former boss. John later became a moneylender and held a series of municipal positions, serving for some time as the mayor of Stratford. In the 1570s he fell into debt and ran into legal problems for reasons that remain unclear. 2. Shakespeare married an older woman. In November 1582, 18-year-old William wed Anne Hathaway, a farmer’s daughter eight years his senior. Instead of the customary three times, the couple’s intention to marry was only announced at church once—evidence that the union was hastily arranged. The Shakespeares welcomed a daughter, Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith followed in February 1585. Little is known about the relationship between William and Anne, besides that they often lived apart and he only bequeathed her his “second-best bed” in his will. 3. Shakespeare’s parents were probably illiterate, and his children almost certainly were. Nobody knows for sure, but it’s quite likely that John and Mary Shakespeare never learned to read or write, as was often the case for people of their standing during the Elizabethan era. Some have argued that John’s civic duties would have required basic literacy, but in any event he always signed his name with a mark. William, on the other hand, attended Stratford’s local grammar school, where he mastered reading, writing and Latin. His wife and their two children who lived to adulthood, Susanna and Judith, are thought to have been illiterate, though Susanna could scrawl her signature. 4. Nobody knows what Shakespeare did between 1585 and 1592. To the dismay of his biographers, Shakespeare disappears from the historical record between 1585, when his twins’ baptism was recorded, and 1592, when the playwright Robert Greene denounced him in a pamphlet as an “upstart crow.” The insult suggests he’d already made a name for himself on the London stage by then. What did the newly married father and future literary icon do during those seven “lost” years? Historians have speculated that he worked as a schoolteacher, studied law, traveled across continental Europe or joined an acting troupe that was passing through Stratford. According to one 17th-century account, he fled his hometown after poaching deer from a local politician’s estate. 5. Shakespeare’s plays feature the first written instances of hundreds of familiar terms. William Shakespeare is believed to have influenced the English language more than any other writer in history, coining—or, at the very least, popularizing—terms and phrases that still regularly crop up in everyday conversation. Examples include the words “fashionable” (“Troilus and Cressida”), “sanctimonious” (“Measure for Measure”), “eyeball” (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”) and “lackluster” (“As You Like It”); and the expressions “foregone conclusion” (“Othello”), “in a pickle” (“The Tempest”), “wild goose chase” (“Romeo and Juliet”) and “one fell swoop” (“Macbeth”). He is also credited with inventing the given names Olivia, Miranda, Jessica and Cordelia, which have become common over the years (as well as others, such as Nerissa and Titania, which have not). 6. We probably don’t spell Shakespeare’s name correctly—but, then again, neither did he. Sources from William Shakespeare’s lifetime spell his last name in more than 80 different ways, ranging from “Shappere” to “Shaxberd.” In the handful of signatures that have survived, the Bard never spelled his own name “William Shakespeare,” using variations or abbreviations such as “Willm Shakp,” “Willm Shakspere” and “William Shakspeare” instead. However it’s spelled, Shakespeare is thought to derive from the Old English words “schakken” (“to brandish”) and “speer” (“spear”), and probably referred to a confrontational or argumentative person. 7. Shakespeare’s epitaph wards off would-be grave robbers with a curse. William Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52—not bad for an era when the average life expectancy ranged between 30 and 40 years. We may never know what killed him, although an acquaintance wrote that the Bard fell ill after a night of heavy drinking with fellow playwright Ben Jonson. Despite his swift demise, Shakespeare supposedly had the wherewithal to pen the epitaph over his tomb, which is located inside a Stratford church. Intended to thwart the numerous grave robbers who plundered England’s cemeteries at the time, the verse reads: “Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbeare, / To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, / And cursed be he that moves my bones.” It must have done the trick, since Shakespeare’s remains have yet to be disturbed. 8. Shakespeare wore a gold hoop earring—or so we think. Our notion of William Shakespeare’s appearance comes from several 17th-century portraits that may or may not have been painted while the Bard himself sat behind the canvas. In one of the most famous depictions, known as the Chandos portrait after its onetime owner, the subject has a full beard, a receding hairline, loosened shirt-ties and a shiny gold hoop dangling from his left ear. Even back in Shakespeare’s time, earrings on men were trendy hallmarks of a bohemian lifestyle, as evidenced by images of other Elizabethan artists. The fashion may have been inspired by sailors, who sported a single gold earring to cover funeral costs in case they died at sea. 9. North America’s 200 million starlings have Shakespeare to thank for their existence. William Shakespeare’s works contain more than 600 references to various types of birds, from swans and doves to sparrows and turkeys. The starling—a lustrous songbird with a gift for mimicry, native to Europe and western Asia—makes just one appearance, in “Henry IV, Part 1.” In 1890 an American “bardolator” named Eugene Schiffelin decided to import every kind of bird mentioned in Shakespeare’s oeuvre but absent from the United States. As part of this project, he released two flocks of 60 starlings in New York’s Central Park. One hundred twenty years later, the highly adaptable species has taken over the skies, becoming invasive and driving some native birds to the brink of extinction. 10. Some people think Shakespeare was a fraud. How did a provincial commoner who had never gone to college or ventured outside Stratford become one of the most prolific, worldly and eloquent writers in history? Even early in his career, Shakespeare was spinning tales that displayed in-depth knowledge of international affairs, European capitals and history, as well as familiarity with the royal court and high society. For this reason, some theorists have suggested that one or several authors wishing to conceal their true identity used the person of William Shakespeare as a front. Proposed candidates include Edward De Vere, Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe and Mary Sidney Herbert. Most scholars and literary historians remain skeptical about this hypothesis, although many suspect Shakespeare sometimes collaborated with other playwrights. Prompt: Write down two or more facts you found to be the most interesting or surprising, and explain what you learned about them.
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Shakespeare's LoveRead the article below. Answer the three questions on your Web Quest guide. 1. Who was Shakespeare's wife and what do we know about her? List at least 3 facts. 2. Why does Shakespeare go to London? 3. What happened to Anne's Cottage? Here Is All on Anne Hathaway…Shakespeare’s Mysterious Wife by Omnia Ahmed William Shakespeare is a prolific poet and playwright, who kept his private life in darkness. In his death anniversary, here is what you need to know about Shakespeare’s only wife Anne Hathaway. Anne Hathaway’s Early Life Anne Hathaway was born in 1556 and grew up in one-story farmhouse on a 90-acre farm in Shottery, a short distance from Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. She was the oldest daughter in a large family. It is believed that her mother died when she was ten. Moreover, her father was a yeoman farmer, and a very well-respected member of the Shottery community. When he died in 1581, he left Anne, who was also known as Agnes, sum of money, an amount of £6 13s 4d (six pounds, thirteen shillings and four pence), to be paid “at the day of her marriage.” Marriage In 1582, Hathaway married Shakespeare when she was already three months pregnant with their first child. They had a shotgun wedding. The marriage was considered unusual at that time, as Shakespeare was just 18 years old and so had to obtain his father’s permission to marry Hathaway, who was 26. To avoid the scandal of having a child out of wedlock, the couple obtained special permission from the Bishop’s Court in Worcester to speed up proceedings and so married outside of their home parish. Friends and family had to financially guarantee the wedding and sign a surety for £40—a huge sum in those days. After wedding, Hathaway had moved in with Shakespeare and his parents to live in the family home on Henley Street, in which she shared the household chores with her mother-in-law, Mary, her sister-in-law, Joan, and cared for her children. Children Their first daughter, Susanna, was born six months after their marriage. The following year, Hathaway became pregnant with twins, Hamnet and Judit. Hamnet died at age of 11 from the plague, and four years later Shakespeare wrote “Hamlet”, a play which may have been inspired by the grief of losing his son. Shakespeare’s Leaving to London In 1588, Shakespeare left his hometown, travelling to London to pursue a career as an actor and playwright. The couple had no more children together, as they lived apart until Shakespeare returned to Stratford in 1611 after achieving financial success as an actor, poet and playwright. Death Hathaway lived the life she had dreamed of as an upper middle-class housewife with her husband, children and grandchildren. She was socially respected, energetic and in good spirits until 1616 when her husband died unexpectedly at the age of 52. Six years later, she celebrated her husband’s success when his bust was installed near the altar at Trinity Church, where he was buried. In 1623, at the age of 67, Hathaway died and was also buried at Trinity Church next to her husband. Apparently, they were closer in death than they were in life. Shakespeare’s Will Shakespeare’s will was famously examined by Carol Ann Duffy in her 1999 poem, ‘Anne Hathaway’, from her collection The World’s Wife. When he died on 23rd April 1616, the playwright left his ‘second best bed…’ to his wife . “Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed with the furniture,” according to the will. Anne Hathaway’s Cottage Hathaway’s family farm, known as Newlands Farm, was purchased by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1892 following her brother’s death. The cottage has been running as a museum dedicated to her and Shakespeare’s legacy. Visitors to the 500-year old house can learn about her early years and her life with her husband, take a look around the tearooms, and follow the garden’s sculpture trail, which features depictions of famous Shakespearean characters. Shakespeare's Career By 1592, aged 28, Shakespeare was in London and already established as both an actor and a dramatist. Most of his plays were performed at The Globe Theater. Click the link below to read about The Globe Theater.
www.shakespearesglobe.com/discover/about-us/globe-theatre/#overview Based on what you read, write at least five pieces of information that you learned about Shakespeare's famous theatre. Be sure to include information about the construction, the history of the theatre, fun facts, and what is happening with The Globe Theatre today. Week 2 - Birthplace/Family & Education
Shakespeare's Birthplace/Family Visit Shakespeare's birth trust in Stratford-Upon-Avon by clicking the following link: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-birthplace/about-shakespeares-birthplace/ Family, legal & property records https://shakespearedocumented.folger.edu/resource/family-legal-property-records After you have read this, imagine that you are young William Shakespeare. Describe your home, family, and town based on the information you learned. Make at least five direct references to your reading. Shakespeare's Education Learn about Shakespeare's schooling by clicking on the link below: https://www.literarygenius.info/education-of-william-shakespeare.htm After your have read this, write a paragraph comparing Shakespeare's education to your own. What similarities or differences are there? Use at least five specific references to your reading. |
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