Week 2 Lesson 1 Shakespeare

[Daniel]

Notes from Week 2 Lesson 1 containing Shakespeare and Richard II

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[Daniel]

English Language Review
-Pre 5th Century
Brythonic + Goidelic
-5th- 10th Century
Anglo-Saxon + a little (Brythonic + Goidelic) = Old-English
-Post 1066
Old French/Latin + Anglo-Saxon + a little (Brythonic + Goidelic) = Middle-English

Pre 5th Century
Brythonic + Goidelic
5th- 10th Century
Anglo-Saxon + a little (Brythonic + Goidelic) = Old-English
Post 1066
Old French/Latin + Anglo-Saxon + a little (Brythonic + Goidelic) = Middle-English


Oure Hooste saugh that he was dronke of ale
(The Miller's Prologue- The Canterbury Tales)
Host – Middle English from Old French from Latin (hospere)
Drunk – Middle English from Old English/Anglo-Saxon (Dronken)

This boy will be famous. There won't be a child in our world that won't know his name. There will be books about him, he will be a legend.
(Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone)

Legend – Middle English from Old French(Legende) from Medieval Latin(Legenda)
Famous – Middle English from Latin (famosus)
World – Middle English from Old English (weorold)


Stratford-upon- Avon
Strat / ford / - up / on - Avon

Strat= Anglo Saxon for ‘Street’ (Straet)
Ford= Anglo-saxon for ‘Shallow land’
Up and On= Both Anglo-Saxon
Avon= Brythonic for ‘River’


William Shakespeare

Was born in 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon
At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith.
Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men.
His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems.


The History of Shakespeare
The Tudors and the Divine Right of Kings
The Tudor monarchy began with Henry VII, succeeded by Henry VIII, then Edward, Mary and finally Elizabeth
Shakespeare was born towards the end of the The Tudor reign, when Elizabeth was on the throne
Henry VIII had abolished the Church, declaring himself both head of state and head of church. : The Act of Supremacy in 1534 declared that the King was "the only Supreme Head in Earth of the Church of England"
One of the most popular of Shakespeare’s history plays is King Richard II, a play that is often used to highlight the anxiety of the time regarding the reign of Queen Elizabeth, otherwise known as The Virgin Queen having never married. Questions of succession were rampant as the Queen had not produced an heir and was, in some circles, regarded as weak and naïve.

Critical Thinking

Historical Criticism : (Marxism / Realism / Parody/ Satire)
This places the text in an historical context. This could relate to anything happening at the same point im time as when the text was written. For instance, ‘I think The Miller’s Tale is a condemnation of upper-rank ideals by lower-rank peasant sensibility in the 14th Century.’

Author-based Criticism (Psycho-analysis / Personal History)
This looks at the text from the point of view of the author, and looks for signs of the author’s personality in the text.For instance, ‘I think Beowulf was written by a religious priest that wanted to explain mysterious deaths through the use of monsters and that God will ultimately defeat the evil demons.’

Textual Criticism (Feminism / New Criticism / Allegory)
This looks only at the text itself and disregards both author and historical context. It believes that the text is independent of these.For instance, ‘I think The Tragedy of King Richard II is a warning against absolute monarchy or dictatorship, warning that the people will overthrow a ruler they deem to be too ruthless or ignorant of the people’.



Critical Vocabulary: ‘The text’ – Most of the time, we use ‘the text’ as a descriptive marker when referring to a piece of literature instead of something like ‘the book’, ‘the poem’ or ‘the article’