AN INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE..

As an introduction to our text study of Romeo and Juliet this is a brief look at what life was like in the Elizabethan age, the time William Shakespeare was writing his plays.
 

Complete each of the following sections:

LANGUAGE IN ELIZABETHAN TIMES

PLAYHOUSES

LIFE OF SHAKESPEARE

 

THEN, select ONE of the following areas to research:

PROFILE OF ELIZABETH I

CLOTHING IN ELIZABETHAN TIMES

EVENTS OF THE TIME

WEAPONS IN ELIZABETHAN TIMES

BELIEFS

 

General sites where you will find useful information:

 

Shakespeare, Chill With Will

http://library.thinkquest.org/19539/front.htm

 

Shakespeare's Life and Times Home Page

http://web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLTnoframes/intro/introsubj.html

 

Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet

http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/

 

Surfing with the Bard Student Zone

http://www.ulen.com/shakespeare/students/

 

LANGUAGE IN ELIZABETHAN TIMES

What did the language sound like?

What words do we no longer use?

Terminology – write the definitions of three terms you are unfamiliar with.

What sort of swear words did they use? (Curses)

Were there class differences in the way people spoke?

 

INTERNET SITES:

 

Elizabethan Accents

http://www.renfaire.com/Language/index.html

 

Language: Idiomatic Idiosyncrasies

http://renaissance.dm.net/compendium/8.html

 

Shakespeare Resource Center - The Language of Shakespeare

http://www.bardweb.net/words.html

 

Terminology

http://www.blackgold.ab.ca/schools/beaumonthigh/english33/terminology.html

 

Elizabethan Insults

http://www.renfaire.com/Language/insults.html/

 

Elizabethan Curse Generator

http://www.tower.org/insult/insult.html

 

Shakespearean Insults

http://www.randyworld.com/shakespeare/

 

PLAYHOUSES

What were the names of some of the playhouses and actors?

How did the playhouses differ from present day theatres?

What was unusual about the actors then?

  

INTERNET SITES

 

Illustrations of Stages

http://www.rdg.ac.uk/globe/Data-Base/Images/PrintsStages.html

 

Shakespeare and the Globe

http://www.rdg.ac.uk/AcaDepts/ln/Globe/

 

Shakespeare and the Globe Then and Now

http://search.eb.com/shakespeare/ind_globe.html

 

The Swan

http://www.rdg.ac.uk/globe/Data-Base/Images/Renaissance/Frontispieces/DeWitt.html

 

Shakespeare Resource Center - Shakespeare's Globe

http://www.bardweb.net/globe.html

 

LIFE OF SHAKESPEARE


You can ask many questions here! Try your own.

 

INTERNET SITES

 

The Stratford-on-Avon guide to William Shakespeare

http://www.stratford.co.uk/bard1.html

 

The Seven Ages of Shakespeare's Life

http://castle.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLTnoframes/life/lifesubj.html

 

A Shakespeare Timeline

http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/timeline/timeline.htm

 

Shakespeare Resource Center - The Man

http://www.bardweb.net/man.html

 

Shakespeare's Life- a Pen & Sword page

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~pip/will.html

 

William Shakespeare

http://168.216.219.18/projects/shakesp/SHAKESP.HTM

 

PROFILE OF ELIZABETH I

Where was she born?

Who were her parents?

How did she come to be queen?

Who were her advisers?

Did she marry anyone?

What was her relationship with Mary?

How long did she reign?

 

INTERNET SITES


Elizabeth I: British Monarchs

http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon45.html

 

The Life of Elizabeth I

http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/eliza.htm

 

The Virgin Queen

http://tudor.simplenet.com/elizabeth/

 

EVENTS OF THE TIME

Who were explorers at that time? What did they do?

What was a famous battle in Elizabethan times?

Describe the conflict in the Church at the time.

Who were the enemies of Elizabeth I?

 

INTERNET SITES


Elizabeth, the Movie

http://www.elizabeth-themovie.com/index.html

 

The Life and Times of Queen Elizabeth I

http://www.bangor.ac.uk/~hip01c/Elizabeth.htm

 

Shakespeare Resource Center - Elizabethan England

http://www.bardweb.net/england.html

 

Elizabethan English Historical Figures and Events

http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/histevents.html

 

The Elizabethan Era

http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/life.htm#History

 

BELIEFS

A person who had an influence on what the Elizabethans believed was a man named Dionysius. Find out about him and his ideas on how the world was ordered on

The Holy Angels site

http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPag/reading/angels.html

 

What were the four humours? Work out which humours go with which characters in your play, for example, if you are studying Romeo and Juliet, what humour does Mercutio have?

 

Many of Shakespeare's plays refer to the supernatural, and Elizabethans would have understood the references very easily. Check out some of the references to the supernatural at this site

The Supernatural

http://www.personal.psu.edu./faculty/p/e/peg5/super_nat.html

 

INTERNET SITES:


Elizabethan Medical Beliefs

http://www2.cwrl.utexas.edu/~scoggins/britishprojects/kinglear/emb.html

 

Humours

http://www2.cwrl.utexas.edu/~scoggins/britishprojects/kinglear/humours.html

 

Medical Beliefs and Practices

http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/Medbelprac.html

CLOTHING IN ELIZABETHAN TIMES

Difference between rich and poor people's clothing

What fabrics were used?

What were some unusual garments?

What did the garments look like?


INTERNET SITES:


Elizabethan Period Costumes

http://www.renfaire.com/Costume/


Costuming and Needlework Links

http://tudor.simplenet.com/links/sew.html

 

Elizabethan Costuming Page

http://www.dnaco.net./~aleed/corsets/general.html


Fashions: Women and Men

http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/fashionwm.html

 

Elizabethan Clothing

http://www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.us/Renaissance/Town/Clothing/ClothingElizabethan.html

WEAPONS IN ELIZABETHAN TIMES

What sorts of weapons were used then?

What were they made of?

Who carried them?

What was the deadliest weapon?


INTERNET SITES


Warfare and Weaponry

http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/p/e/peg5/weapons.html