First Performed |
Plays |
First Printed |
1590-91
|
Henry VI,
Part I (H)
|
1594?
|
1590-91
|
Henry VI,
Part II (H)
|
1594?
|
1591-92
|
Henry VI,
Part III (H)
|
1623
|
1592-93
|
Richard III (T)
|
1597
|
1592-93
|
Comedy of
Errors (C)
|
1623
|
1593-94
|
Titus
Andronicus (T)
|
1594
|
1593-94
|
1623
|
|
1594-95
|
1623
|
|
1594-95
|
1598?
|
|
1594-95
|
Romeo and
Juliet (T)
|
1597
|
1595-96
|
Richard II (T)
|
1597
|
1595-96
|
1600
|
|
1596-97
|
King John (H)
|
1623
|
1596-97
|
1600
|
|
1597-98
|
Henry IV,
Part I (H)
|
1598
|
1597-98
|
1600
|
|
1598-99
|
1600
|
|
1598-99
|
Henry V (H)
|
1600
|
1599-1600
|
Julius
Caesar (T)
|
1623
|
1599-1600
|
As You Like
It (C)
|
1623
|
1599-1600
|
Twelfth
Night (C)
|
1623
|
1600-01
|
Hamlet (T)
|
1603
|
1600-01
|
1602
|
|
1601-02
|
1609
|
|
1602-03
|
1623
|
|
1604-05
|
1623
|
|
1604-05
|
Othello (T)
|
1622
|
1605-06
|
King Lear (T)
|
1608
|
1605-06
|
Macbeth (T)
|
1623
|
1606-07
|
1623
|
|
1607-08
|
Coriolanus (T)
|
1623
|
1607-08
|
Timon of
Athens (T)
|
1623
|
1608-09
|
Pericles (R)
|
1609
|
1609-10
|
Cymbeline (T)
|
1623
|
1610-11
|
1623
|
|
1611-12
|
The Tempest (R)
|
1623
|
1612-13
|
Henry VIII (H)
|
1623
|
1612-13
|
1634
|
This chart shows samples of the changes in English.
#1 is Old English or Anglo-Saxon (circa 450-1066 CE).
#2 is Middle English (circa 1066-1450 AD).
#3 is Modern English from about the time of Shakespeare.
#4 is another sample of Modern English, but it is more recent than #3.
Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare
Bassianus, brother to Saturninus, in love with Lavinia
Titus Andronicus, a Roman, general against the Goths
Marcus Andronicus, tribune of the people, and brother to Titus
Lucius, Quintus, Martius, Mutius, sons to Titus Andronicus
Lavinia, daughter to Titus Andronicus
Young Lucius, a boy, son to Lucius
Tamora, queen of the Goths
Alarbus, Demetrius, Chiron, sons to Tamora
Aaron, a Moor, beloved by Tamora
I think it is really interesting that we only know five major facts about him. When they had said that it made me think of Jane Austen and how we don’t know much about her either. I also learned about the differences between Old English and Modern English and which one Shakespeare used. I didn’t realize there were many versions of the English language. I only thought there was Old English and the English we have now but even then I didn’t rally know where the cut off was. I thought Titus Andronicus seemed really interesting and completely different than the other works by him that I’ve read like Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer’s Night Dream. It was interesting to learn that he had written other things than a comedy or a romantic play.
ReplyDeleteI was kind of surprised that we only know 5 facts for sure about William Shakespeare because I would have assumed they would have treated him similarly to how we treat celebrities and learned everything about him. I also really didn’t know anything about any of his other plays because I had only ever read A Midsummer’s Nights Dream and Romeo and Juliet. I had no idea that Shakespeare wrote so many different types of plays and I assumed most of the plays he had written were all basically the same as those two. I also didn’t even know he had written so many plays and he was able to write them so quickly. While hearing about his play Titus Adronicus, I was shocked by how different the play was from Romeo and Juliet even though they were both tragedies. I also found it crazy how he could even think to come up with something like Twelfth Night because the story was just all over the place but in the end it all worked together.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that even though Skakespeare is known worldwide, very little is known about him personally. When I was younger and up to when we watched the documentary explaining a little about Shakespeare’s work, I didn’t know that he was one if not the best play writers in history. One historian summed it up well, saying how Shakespeare understood what made people tick; In other words, what would get people's interest. This was especially a good skill to have since you were trying to impress the queen in order for people to think it’s the trendy thing to do. Even though there is little known about Shakespeare’s personal life, many people admire his work and we are able to get a glimpse of what Shakespeare would think from his writing. Not only was Shakespeare able to write amazing plays that would keep the audience interested, but also add his own poetic flair to the point where no one has been able to match his writing ability.
ReplyDeleteKnowing Shakespeare is one of the worlds greatest playwrights is crazy that we know so little about him. 5 major facts is all we know. Starting this unit I did not know many things about Shakespeare. I had only read a Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet. I did not realize how many pieces Shakespeare produced. He has written a variety of different genres of plays yet they are all very popular. Some of his tragedies can be from “blood baths” to love stories. Many people love Shakespeare's work even knowing so little about his personal life. Just like Jane Austen, we know so little about the both of them but, still they are known as some of the best playwrights. I also did not know there were multiple versions of Old English, I always thought there was only one version. It was very fascinating to find out how many plays he actually wrote and how each one is so different, yet they were all big hits.
ReplyDeleteMaddy Francis
From learning about Shakespeare in middle school and freshman year, I remembered that historians didn’t really know much about him. Besides what was written in his works and then any background they could find on his father. I enjoyed watching the video for the movie Shakespeare in Love. It’s interesting to hear about how his works are so different than his competitors during his time. I guess he’s considered to be the first writer to put comedies and tragedies together. I loved that the video talked about the Queen’s love for the theater. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t think plays would be popular, and I don’t think Shakespeare would be a celebrity either. Super interesting to find out that they didn’t have a real set when they used to perform the plays. I loved the costumes that they had in the movie Shakespeare in Love. Interesting to learn that only people of a higher status wore bright colors like purple, because dyes were so expensive. Watching the Macbeth trailer made me excited to read the play. I hope I enjoy reading this play. I’ve had trouble reading Shakespeare in the past.
ReplyDeleteIt is bizarre that we know more information about Shakespeare’s father than we do of Shakespeare himself. Before our discussion, I didn’t know much about Shakespeare, but now I know that he is considered one of the best playwrights ever. Based on the video we watched in class, it is interesting how he was able to make a name for himself by mixing the idea of comedies and tragedies together to create Romeo and Juliet. The movie trailer of Macbeth tells me that this play is going to be violent and under the tragedies category. I also didn’t know that there were four different types of English, Old English, Middle English, Modern English from the Shakespeare era, and even more Modern English. Between the two Modern Englishes, there are quite a few differences. Overall I can’t wait to start to read Macbeth and start this unit on Shakespeare.
ReplyDeleteAfter previous years of reading famous plays written by William Shakespeare, I knew that he was an extremely gifted and talented man when it came to literature. However, I did not fully understand the magnitude of his knowledge on literature. He was able to write close to perfect plays, and do many other things with the plays like write the entire script in iambic pentameter, because he was able to get a feeling of how the human brain worked and what types of writing pleased and intrigued the brain the most. With this information, he wrote many hits that are still raved about today by many people around the world. Also, when it comes to the types of plays that he wrote, I found it interesting that he would write different genres of plays in certain orders so he was able to please as many people as he could in the shortest amount of time. For example, he would write comedies once in a while to remain of the good side of Queen Elizabeth as she loved his comedies. But, he also would write tragedies and plays that included a lot of bloodshed because he knew that the majority of the population was waiting for his next play that included violence so they could please the primitive, violent sides of themselves. Shakespeare was a very intelligent man in the world of literature and I am very excited to be able to go into depth about how and why he created each play that we will be reviewing this year.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Shakespeare is a well known writer all over the world for his perfectly written plays that blended many different themes to create very entertaining plays for people from the queen to normal people. Although, he is well known all over the world, not much is known about him; in fact we know more about his father than Shakespeare himself. Throughout his career we know he wrote at least 37 plays, although not all were hits “Romeo and Juliet” changed how we view english even today. The play “Romeo and Juliet” is still written today and is a very well known play about young love. Shakespeare wrote about a range of different topics and themes and blended them together in his plays. He would even write about 2 or 3 plays a year and some had perfect sonnets that would fit seamlessly into the plot as well as being written in Iambic Pentameter. To put all of this into perspective, Shakespeare was alive during the time that the black plague was spreading, fear and blood and gore was apart of everyone's lives and he made it into his plays; some of his plays would have a plot in which close to everyone dies. Although William Shakespeare was around hundreds of years ago his writings and plays have made a huge impact on how we view and read english even today.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare was one of the most well-known writers of all time; he is famous for many of his novels and play writes, such as the classic “Romeo and Juliet”. Yet, his background remains a mystery for many centuries. The fact that we know more about his father than we do about Shakespeare is shocking.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes Shakespeare stands out from the others is the ability to display complicated human relationships in the form of play. He has also written the play in a variety of genres, attracting many more audience, developing the modern entertainment we know today.
He also knows what people wanted and how to please them. For example, people of the 16th century were interested in seeing bloodshed in plays, they even watched public executions or punishments to rubberneck. Shakespeare acknowledge that, and included this element in his plays.
Grace Shih
I was surprised to hear that we know very little about Shakespeare and his overall background. The five big facts we know about him still don’t truly show us is who he really was. While watching the film in class, it was interesting to see his plays in action. I found it fascinating that people at that time were so into violence and bloodshed. Shakespeare did a good job of incorporating what people were interested in into his plays. Romeo and Juliet was a very well written play which was a mixture of a comedy and a tragedy. I liked how Shakespeare told the reader at the beginning of the play how it ends. This makes the reader wish for a different outcome even though they know how it will end. These techniques he used made people love reading and watching his plays; making him one of the greatest playwrights in history.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I’m actually very surprised with everything I learned about Shakespeare. He’s such a diverse person in regard to what it is he writes, and he doesn’t make things so formulaic either. Sure he would stick to it sometimes, but I believe what attracted people most to him wasn’t necessarily the story, but the fact that it was different. If you look at Romeo and Juliet for instance, you see more and more that it seems like a typical forbidden love story, until the very end where everything goes wrong and they kill themselves. It’s essentially a massive plot twist. Everyone knows it’s going to happen, but Shakespeare still gets people on the edge of their seats, praying that they don’t die and beat the fate sealed by the story. It’s a hope, but not necessarily a reality, and only really skilled writers are capable of doing that. Even with Titus he’s not so formulaic. He talks about a fictional succession to Rome, that in reality never should’ve happened because the Emperor’s command is the Emperor’s command, but whatever. It’s evident by the ways he gets the audience on their seats and shocks them that he’s not being formulaic about things. For instance: WHO THE F*** KILLS THEIR DAUGHTER IN THE MIDDLE OF DINNER. Jesus, I mean I could understand the whole meat pies, Sweeney Todd type vibes, but that piece was definitely a shocker. And we don’t even know what really inspired him to take the creatistic liberties that he did. The mystery of Shakespeare I suppose. Unless Doctor Who or Mr. Peabody is around we’re not gonna find out anything that’s entirely truthful about William Shakespeare. What annoys me the most though is that it’s really hard to figure out the meaning without context of the author's life. I mean I’ll still find it, it’ll just take longer. PLUS THE GUY WROTE SO MUCH STUFF THAT HE’S LIKE A LIVING COMPUTER. How I’m supposed to find meaning for everything he did I have no clue, so congrats William Shakespeare, you actually burnt out my brain and caused it to have to reset. Maybe one day I’ll figure you out, one day after everyone else is burnt out of William Shakespeare. So pretty much never because he has too much content to be burnt out of.
ReplyDelete- Paul Yannalfo
After learning about William Shakespeare and that we only know five things about him surprised me, I couldn’t help but relate Shakespear to Jane Austen. The fact that they are both such great writers and we know so little about both of them. Before learning about him the only plays I knew of were A Mid Summers Nights Dream, and Romeo and Juliet. Now I know that he has a greate number of plays. I find it very interesting that a playwright from hundred of years ago can take up such a big part of today’s literature. While learning bout Shakespeare I also learned that old English is almost a completely different language. I can’t believe how quickly Shakespeare was able to produce his plays.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe I have a very deep understanding of Shakespeare. In the ninth grade, I read Romeo and Juliet in English class. My first impression of his literature was that it was very difficult to understand because he uses old English. However, after seeing the film, I slowly understood the book of Romeo and Juliet. In many TV shows, we often hear people say that "children are so innocent", but oftentimes, the fate of the child is the most tragic. Due to their family conflicts, Romeo and Juliet could not find a place to be together. Love urged them to leave the family and eventually drove them to death. The hatred in their families has doomed them to their destiny, and there is much helplessness hidden behind the pain. The story of Romeo and Juliet is not only a play, but it was also a portrayal of societal dynamics at that time. One small fact about Shakespeare is that he married a woman named Anne Hathaway. Hundreds of years later, actress Anne Hathaway's husband's face looks very similar to Shakespeare.
ReplyDeleteShakesphere is one of the most interesting people the world has ever seen. He created these amazing plays with dialogue out of this world. He seemed to have the world’s creativity in the palm of his hand. However, despite how famous he was, we have little information about him. For me, I think that it just adds to how interesting shakespeare really is. I like how mysterious his background is because we can then debate and theorize his true origins. I also like how much detail is put into his plays. Nobody would ever think someone would be able to think of the ideas he has imagined. A tragic love story, a bloody feud between roman generals, and a tale about a simple war general rises to the position of king. All of these stories in the mind of one individual who brought his imagination to life.
ReplyDeleteBen Weeden
After learning more about Shakespeare Ive noticed that he is one of the most interesting and great minded writers that the world has seen. His creative mindset and plays that brought hundreds of people together have built an empire for novels and plays around the world. To this day we still don't have a lot of information on him and his life as a hole. In my opinion Shakespeares play writes have really confusing but really interesting language that no other writer use. He has wrote some crazy love stories but also some grafic and bloody stories that give the audience a show. This term should be very interesting and I am excited to learn more about Shakespeare and Macbeth.
ReplyDeleteNick Criniti
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how little we know about his personal life, despite how famous he is. I was also surprised at how much he actually wrote over his lifetime, with not only the plays but the sonnets as well. The fact that he could swap between the different genres of play and even mix them and still write amazing pieces is cool as well. The different types of old english were intriguing and it makes me wonder how we managed to get from what looks like a completely different language to what we have now. Most of my experience with Shakespeare has been through comedies so I’m excited to see how one of his tragedies plays out.
ReplyDeleteParker Houston
I have learned a lot about Shakespeare from reading many of his work, throughout my life. We have studied his work, we have learned many facts about him, but the surprising thing is that we know more about his father than we do about William. We have used many of his works in movies and TV. We have even "parodied" his works to create new ones. I can see that we will be using his works for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing people complain about his works are his use of old English, but in reality it is very modern compared to actual Old English. I hope to read more of his plays and poems down the road, they are very interesting and different.