Welcome to Shakespeare’s world!

A world of•History•Tragedy•Comedy

Historical Background

RenaissanceElizabethan England

1558 - 1603

It all started with a guy named Henry. He changed the world, but his daughter ruled the world

Once upon a time…

King Henry VII and his wife had to find a proper wife for their oldest son, Arthur (Henry VIII’s big brother). They chose a Spanish princess, Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. (Remember Columbus? Same people).

Arthur marries Catherine, but...

• He dies within 1 year and...• never has a child, so...• Catherine is proclaimed “pure” and

given in marriage to Arthur’s younger brother--

Henry VIII

Henry VIII

• There are many pregnancies w/ Catherine of Aragon, but

• only 1 child lives… Mary.• Henry grows bored & wants a male heir, but• Catholicism forbids divorce, so• Henry appeals to the Pope for an annulment. He

claims that his marriage is invalid because Catherine was his brother’s widow.

* The Pope refuses, soHenry VIII...

* renounces Catholicism & changes the country’s religion, founding the Church of England. Then he…

* grants himself a divorce & marries Anne Boleyn. She’s French, so everybody hates

her. * Makes himself head of church instead of

Pope. He’s already head of state.* Once again, many pregnancies, one survives…

Elizabeth!

To sum up, Henry VIII marries 6 times• Catherine of Aragon: divorced (bears daughter-- Mary)• Anne Boleyn: beheaded but first bears

daughter-- Elizabeth

• Kathryn Howard: dies• Anne of Cleves: divorced• Jane Seymour: beheaded• Catherine Parr: outlives him

Surviving children:

MaryElizabeth

EdwardWho will succeed Henry VIII?

Edward VI, rules from age 9-age 15, then dies; no heirs

Mary I (“Bloody Mary”)* not as bad as she sounds* restores Catholicism* Marries Philip II of Spain; dies childless after a very unhappy life

begins as a troubled nation• severe poverty

• outbreaks of bubonic plague

• most people can’t read

Elizabeth I

1558 - 1603

Can one woman

really make a

difference?

From chaos to orderAn Elizabethan theme

Elizabeth ("Glorianna")

* reigns for 45 years-enormously popular

* ends religious violence

* defeats Spanish Armada (1558)

* encourages the arts; a renaissance!

Chain of BeingGod

Angels

Man

Animals

Plants

Inanimate objects

• Elizabeth is very well educated.•Her interests include history, science, art, literature, philosophy

• A shrewd political strategist, she never marries (The Virgin Queen), but uses her status as a single monarch to encourage alliances w/ other nations whose leaders hope to win her hand.

Additionally:

Life in Elizabethan England

What to do today...Morning agenda:

1. Public execution at dawn

2. Bear-baiting before lunch

3. Street carnival on the way to theatre

“I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king: a king of England!”

Elizabeth I

She, too, dies without an heir,

but that’s another story!

Now it’s time to...

William Shakespeare23 April 1564 - 23 April

1616

William Shakespeare

actor

playwright

director

producer

poet

husband

father

Assorted Facts:

• Marries Anne Hathaway - 1582 (he’s 18, she’s 26)

• Has 3 children: Susannah, Hamnet, Judith

• Born in Stratford-upon-Avon

The Globe Theatre• Built in 1599

• Built outside London: Puritan influence (corrupts morals)

•Modeled after courtyards of inns

Shakespeare’s Plays:

sssssssssssss37 total, in 3 categories:

•Histories (England is hero)•Tragedies (lots of people die)

•Comedies: romantic misadventures mistaken identities clown/buffoon character women outwitting men

ssssssssssssss

Not a history exactly, nor a TRAGEDY precisely,

but a

Comedy…of sorts

The Merchant of Venice

Background

Edict of Expulsion Act: Edward I expelled all Jews from the kingdom of England in 1290. It is quite likely that Shakespeare had never met a Jewish person. This ban extended until 1656.The countries in which Jews were permitted to live, including the republic of Venice, imposed many restrictions:

• They lived outside the cities in ghettos.• They were required to wear distinguishing symbols on

clothing when leaving ghetto area.• They were restricted to practicing only a handful of

trades.

Trades Permitted

• operating pawn shop

• lending money (Now it might be called investment banking or venture capitalism. In our society, these people are among the most admired and powerful.)

• operating printing press (Hebrew press)

• trading in textiles

• practicing medicine

How Does Shakespeare Fit?

• William Shakespeare was born on or around April 23, 1564 and died April 23, 1616

• If Jews were not allowed into England until 1656, how could he write about them in this play?

Note:

• Officially, there were no Jews in 16th century England because they had been banished. Some say fewer than 200 Jews lived in Elizabethan England, concealing their religious practices and often meeting in small secret communities to maintain their identity as Jews among themselves.

• Jews were a popular target of hatred in this time, as is common for any outsider in a society. This hostility was taken for granted in Shakespeare’s time and perhaps particularly exacerbated by an infamous trial and public execution.

The Queen’s Physician

Queen Elizabeth’s physician, Rodrigo Lopez, a Portuguese Jew who lived as a convert to Christianity but met secretly with other Jews, was accused and found guilty of attempting to poison the queen and was executed in 1594. The false accusation stemmed from a personal vendetta from the Earl of Essex, but that’s another story.Popular sentiment in England encouraged Jews to be vilified.

“If you prick us, do we not bleed?”• Many have used Act III, Scene 1, Line 63-64 as

justification for a simplistic attempt to cast Shakespeare as being above the type of institutionalized prejudice that was widely accepted in his day: Jews and Christians are both human and therefore should be treated equally.

• Honestly, Shakespeare was a man of his time. Shylock’s

characterization reveals common prejudices. If we explore 3.63-72 in their context, it becomes clear that Shylock means to exact revenge in precisely the same way his Gentile enemies would, hardly the plea for reconciliation through common humanity that some would call it.

“If you prick us, do we not bleed?”

• Careful reading of the text reveals such matter-of-fact persecution, such expected societal contempt for all Jews, as should make us exceedingly uncomfortable. Upon consideration, we probably won’t like Antonio or Bassanio as much as Shakespeare perhaps intended.

• We can and should hold Shylock up to scrutiny, inferring whether his difficult personality preceded or resulted from the persecution he suffered. A strong and complex villain, but a villain nonetheless, Shylock’s characterization and treatment make this one of the most problematic of Shakespeare’s plays.

Justice or Mercy?

• Which do you think is more important for society? Why?

• Which do you think is more important for relationships? Why?

Exposition •The republic of Venice in the late 16th century•Chief concerns: Money, love, marriage, money, racial and religious superiority, and finally… MONEY!(includes all property)

Major Characters

*Antonio *Shylock*Bassanio *Jessica*Portia *Lorenzo*Gratiano*Nerissa

Minor Characters*Lancelet Gobbo *friends/companions* Gobbo *foreign suitors *Tubal *messengers

Antonio

Connected to: Connection:BassanioGratianoShylockPortia Lorenzo

BassanioConnected to: Connection:AntonioGratianoShylockPortia Lorenzo

Shylock

Connected to: Connection:AntonioBassanioJessicaLorenzoTubalPortia

Portia

Connected to: Connection:NerissaBassanioShylock

Themes and Such

Think of possible themes you have encountered in literature/film concerning the following:

money friendship, love, and marriage boundaries: inclusion vs. exclusion (the

condition of being an outsider) family and cultural loyalty identity perspective