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Since Homer, no poet has come near Shakespeare in originality, freshness, opulence, and boldness of imagery. It is this that forms, in a large part, the surpassing beauty of his poetry; it is in this that much of his finest idealizing centres. But, though Shakespeare largely uses all the other figures of speech, I shall draw most of what I have to say of his style in this respect, under the two heads of Simile and Metaphor, since all that can properly be called imagery is resolvable into these. Shakespeare uses both a great deal, In a metaphor, on the other hand, the two parts, instead of lying side by side, are drawn together and incorporated into one. The idea and the image, the thought and the illustration, are not kept distinct, but the idea is incarnated in the image, so that the image bears the same relation to the idea as the body does to the soul. In other words, the two parts are completely identified, their qualities interfused and interpenetrating, so that they become one. Thus a metaphor proceeds by ascribing to a given object certain actions or qualities which are not literally true of that object, and which have in reference to it only the truth of analogy.

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No Sweat Shakespeare offers you a minor survey of some of the key figures who were writing at the same time as Shakespeare.

Ben Jonson became one of Shakespeare’s closest friends. Try and imagine that Shakespeare had never existed: it’s difficult but it could have happened. That time would still be seen as the golden age of English drama, and perhaps we would now be giving Ben Jonson the kind of attention that Shakespeare enjoys.

Shakespeare was the godfather of Ben Jonson’s son and Jonson was eating and drinking with his friend in his house in Stratford a few days before Shakespeare’s death. He was eight years younger than Shakespeare, and like Shakespeare, he did not have a university education. His father died, leaving the family destitute and Jonson took up the trade of bricklaying when he was old enough to work. He gave that up and went to the Netherlands and joined up as a soldier. Tired of that, he returned to England and fell into acting. He was quite a rough fellow: in 1598 he was arrested for killing a fellow actor in a duel, and in 1603, while performing at the royal court, he was kicked out for unruly behaviour.

No-one knows for sure how he came to meet Shakespeare but it’s thought that he submitted a play to Shakespeare’s company. We do know, though, that the two playwrights hit it off and became close friends. We also know that Shakespeare performed in one of Jonson’s plays, Everyman in His Humour, but we don’t know which role Shakespeare took. Ben Jonson was well travelled and well read and it seems that they talked a great deal about travel and books. Jonson recommended books and lent some to Shakespeare. Shakespeare was a great user of books while writing his plays.

Jonson died in 1637. His legacy is a body of some of the finest plays in the English language and some of the most famous, most quoted, poems. The major plays, which are regularly performed on English stages, are: Every Man in His Humour, Eastward Ho, The Alchemist and Bartholomew Fair.

Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher are usually thought of together because of their long collaboration. They were younger than Shakespeare, Beaumont born in 1584 and Fletcher in 1579. They were both university educated and so were somewhat out of place in London’s theatreland. In fact, Fletcher’s father, Richard Fletcher, was the bishop of London and Beaumont’s father was a judge. It is thought that Shakespeare took an interest in the young playwrights and edited some of their plays, which his company performed. Shakespeare evidently admired Fletcher because they collaborated on The Life of King Henry the Eighth, The Two Noble Kinsmen and Cardenio. The latter has been attributed to Fletcher but we now know that it was written in collaboration with Shakespeare.

Beaumont and Fletcher’s legacy is impressive and includes Philsater, The Knight of the Burning Pestle, and The Maid’s Tragedy among their plays. When Beaumont died in 1616 Webster went on to collaborate with Jonson and Massinger. He was involved in the writing of forty-two plays and died of the plague in 1625. He is buried in Southwark Cathedral.

Philip Massinger, born in 1584, was generally considered by his contemporaries to be the best playwright of the time, after Shakespeare. Most of his plays have been lost, but his masterpiece, The Roman Actor, survives. His partnership with Fletcher resulted in about twenty plays. He is also buried in Southwark Cathedral, in the same grave as his friend and partner, John Fletcher.

Thomas Kyd

Thomas Kyd, born in 1558, is remembered for his wonderful, popular and influential play, The Spanish Tragedy, which towers above everything except Shakespeare’s best plays. It set the standard for that popular form, the revenge tragedy. Indeed, one can see what an important influence it was on Shakespeare’s great creation, Hamlet. It includes ghosts, insanity, murder, conspiracy and suicide and is a blueprint for the Jacobean plays of cruelty and violence. It is impossible to overerestimate its influence on the development of English drama. He died in poverty in 1594.

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Synecdoche and metonymy in Shakespeare’s works is often very confusing to a new student because he

creates uses for words that they usually do not perform. This technique is often complicated and yet very

subtle, which makes it difficult of a new student to dissect and understand. An example of these devices in

one of Shakespeare’s plays can be found in The Merchant of Venice. In warning his daughter, Jessica, to

ignore the Christian revelries in the streets below, Shylock says:

Lock up my doors; and when you hear the drum

And the vile squealing of the wry-necked fife,

Clamber not you up to the casements then… (I, v, ll. 30-32)

The phrase of importance in this quote is “the wry-necked fife.” When a reader examines this phrase it does

not seem to make sense; a fife is a cylinder-shaped instrument, there is no part of it that can be called a neck.

The phrase then must be taken to refer to the fife-player, who has to twist his or her neck to play the fife. Fife,

therefore, is a synecdoche for fife-player, much as boards is for stage. The trouble with understanding this

phrase is that “vile squealing” logically refers to the sound of the fife, not the fife-player, and the reader

might be led to take fife as the instrument because of the parallel reference to “drum” in the previous line.

The best solution to this quandary is that Shakespeare uses the word fife to refer to both the instrument and the

player. Both the player and the instrument are needed to complete the wordplay in this phrase, which, though

difficult to understand to new readers, cannot be seen as a flaw since Shakespeare manages to convey two

meanings with one word. This remarkable example of synecdoche illuminates Shakespeare’s mastery of

“verbal economy.”

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The age of Shakespeare was a great time in English history.. William Shakespeare ranks as the most popular author in the English language. To his millions of admirers, he is also the greatest. Since his death in 1616, no other writer has surpassed his ability to capture the human soul in words, and no other writer has been more read, more written about, and more debated. Shortly after Shakespeare died, his esteemed contemporary Ben Jonson wrote of him, “He was not of an age, but for all time.”.Down through the ages, important essayists, poets, dramatists, and critics have acclaimed Shakespeare as a virtuoso of unparalleled creative and technical skill. His works have become a part of us and if they had never been written our lives and our language would have been so much the poorer.

The last half of the XVI and the beginning of the XVll centuries are known as the golden age of English literature. It was the time of the English Renaissance, and sometimes it is even called "the age of Shakespeare".

William Shakespeare, the greatest and most famous of English writers, and probably the greatest playwright who has ever lived, was born in Stratford-on-Avon. In spite of his fame we know very little about his life. The things that we know about Shakespeare's life begin with the date when he was baptised in the church of Stratford, on April 26, 1564, when he was only a few days old. So he is believed to have been born on April 23.

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Early MnE is characterized by preserving the ME forms 2 p.s. –est ans 2 p.s. –th\-eth. The 1^st one disappeared during the 17^th century. The 2^nd one developed into the –s form. Thou hopest corresponds to you hope, he hopeth –to he hopes. The auxiliaries be,do,nave are used in 2^nd p.s.:bee'st,be'est,dost,hast. Be corresponds to be,been,are: Be my horses ready(KL) When men been?(Per). The last froms was archaic even in Sh time. Past tense is expressed by forms wast and wert: Thou wast never with me? (KL) I would thou wert a man's tailor(2 H)

Have is represented in forms both by forms of PE and by ha',hast,hath,hadst.

Doth was still strong form in ME period as is used more frequently than does. Do-did are used 9 times more thatn didst and didest. Modal verbs were used mostly in present forms сan-canst 182 times, may-mayst 75, should-shoulds 80, would-woo 78,wouldst -135. Total: can 1272, may 1705, should 1646, would 2395. Will -5071 whereas 'st only 763,wilt- 328, wot 31

The pecularity of using the contracted forms reveals the antagonist's linguistic characteristics and the rhyme: be'st inst of beest, ha' isn’t of have, 'ce and 's inst of shall, 'chill inst of will etc.

Many modern verbs brought from Latin were assimilated to the system of the receiving language which can be seen in changing of forms of words during the historical development. Thus Shakespeare uses latin loans dedicate,confiscate,consummate,contract,situate,unite which have the past forms and PII forms without –ated ending but for the little exception: The arms unite(Edward III); This body consecrate (Comedy of Errors) etc.

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The works of William Shakespeare were divided into three categories - comedies, tragedies and histories. History themed Plays brought massive audiences to the theatre. Globe Theatre actors specialised in performing in History plays. These actors not only required acting skills but were also expected to be able to display excellent fencing skills. The acoustics at the Globe Theatre were poor so they needed strong voices and their acting styles required exaggerated gestures. The most famous History play actors were also skilled in the tragedies of the Elizabethan era and included: Richard Burbage, William Shakespeare, Will Sly, John Lowin, John Heminges, Henry Condell, Alex Cooke. Plays: King John, Richard II,Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2,Henry V, Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2, Henry VI, Part 3, Richard III, Henry VIII.

Shakespeare was living in the reign of Elizabeth I, the last monarch of the house of Tudor, and his history plays are often regarded as Tudor propaganda because they show the dangers of civil war and celebrate the founders of the Tudor dynasty. In particular, Richard III depicts the last member of the rival house of York as an evil monster ("that bottled spider, that foul bunchback'd toad"), a depiction disputed by many modern historians, while portraying the usurper, Henry VII in glowing terms. Political bias is also clear in Henry VIII, which ends with an effusive celebration of the birth of Elizabeth. However, Shakespeare's celebration of Tudor order is less important in these plays than his presentation of the spectacular decline of the medieval world. Moreover, some of Shakespeare's histories—and notably Richard III—point out that this medieval world came to its end when opportunism and machiavelism infiltrated its politics. By nostalgically evoking the late Middle Ages, these plays described the political and social evolution that had led to the actual methods of Tudor rule, so that it is possible to consider history plays as a biased criticism of their own country.

With the exceptions of King John and King Henry VIII (coauthored with John Fletcher), the histories or historical plays cover the Wars of the Roses, a series of violent civil wars fought over the English Crown. (King John stands as an odd man out, but it is a play more about character than plot.)

The Tudor Dynasty

The history starts with Edward III, whose army defeated the French at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, establishing England as a great military power, and picks up the story again in 1398, two years before Richard II is deposed. It then moves to 1485, when Henry VII defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth and established the Tudor dynasty.

Henry VII was Elizabeth I's grandfather, and he went to considerable effort to legitimize his right to the throne of England by force of arms. King Henry VIII is about the birth of Queen Elizabeth as a result of divorce.

The plays cleave quite rigidly to the Tudor party line. Shakespeare was certainly no fool and was not about to upset his patron queen or suggest that she was somehow not the legitimate heir to the throne, regardless of historical truth.

The Lancaster Dynasty

As has been stated before, plays about kings and dynasties were not written in chronological order. The King Henry VI trilogy and King Richard III were written close together near the start of Shakespeare's career (around 1589–1593). They cover the fall of the Lancaster dynasty — that is, events in English history between 1422 and 1485. Then, about three years later (around 1595–1599), came King Richard II, and after another couple of years King Henry IV, Parts I and II, and then finally King Henry V. This second series, written at the height of Shakespeare's powers, moves back in time to examine the rise of the Lancastrians, covering English history from 1398 to 1420.

Sources of Historical Material

Shakespeare was not reluctant to use a number of different sources in writing his history plays. His primary source for historical material is generally agreed to be Raphael Holinshed's massive work, The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, published in 1586–1587. Holinshed's accounts read more like an encyclopedia, yet his well-researched book provided the chronology of events that allowed Shakespeare to reproduce, or change, history to suit his dramatic purpose. Shakespeare wasn't the only one to use Holinshed's work. Other playwrights found within the covers of the book a wealth of material. Nor was Holinshed the only historical chronicler who was popular during Shakespeare's time.

As he matured as a playwright, Shakespeare focused more on building character and less on plot or historical events. He realized that a fictious Falstaff and an imagined Boar's Head tavern where Fat Jack drank with Prince Hal were worth more dramatically than a phony re-creation of battle.

One of the principal questions that preoccupy the characters in the history plays is the divine right of kings, that is, whether or not the king of England is appointed by God. This linchpin philosophy of social order was not challenged until the overthrow of Charles I during the English Civil War in 1642. If a king is divinely appointed, the theory goes, then his overthrow or murder will come to haunt the king who gains the throne through such blasphemous means.

This ghost manifests itself in Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and King Richard III, and it hovers over King Richard II and its sequels. The murder of the former King Richard II will haunt King Henry IV for the rest of his life, and only his son Henry V can redeem the curse.

When Shakespeare next returned to history, it was not to Holinshed's England, but to the Rome of Plutarch and Ovid for Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. Rightly, they are considered tragedies rather than histories because they so firmly focus on character.

The Wars of the Roses

To best follow the eight Shakespeare plays that trace the Wars of the Roses it's helpful to understand the historical events they re-create. For over 100 years, England's royal family was split into two struggling factions: the Lancaster family, symbolized by a red rose, and the York family, symbolized by a white rose.

The problems began in the late fourteenth century, with the death of King Edward III. Edward had seven sons, and the third and fourth sons became dynastic heads: John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and his younger brother Edmund, Duke of York.

Edward III was succeeded by Richard II, who was descended from Edward's oldest son, and was neither a Yorkist nor a Lancastrian. Richard ruled for several years before he was overthrown by his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, the son of John of Gaunt. Bolingbroke became Henry IV and founded the Lancastrian dynasty. Henry IV was in turn succeeded by his son, Henry V, who was succeeded by his son, Henry VI.

In the late fifteenth century, fighting broke out again, this time between Lancastrians and Yorkists. After a bloody struggle, the Yorkists Edward, Clarence, and their younger brother Richard murdered Henry VI (along with his son and destined heir, Edward, Prince of Wales).

The oldest of the York brothers took the throne as King Edward IV. After he died, his younger brother Richard III took the throne, and he remained there until he was defeated in battle by Henry, Duke of Richmond, who became Henry VII and established peace and the Tudor dynasty.

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In English one word can be and a noun, and

adjective, and verb. In this regard the era is especially allocated

Shakespeare. That was time when the large quantity of words was given the new

grammatical functions. Among the contemporaries Shakespeare and here costs on

first place. Figurativeness of language of Shakespeare is caused, including

that at it the word especially easily passes from one grammatical

categories in another.

So, for example, from any noun or an adjective can

to be educated a verb (usually in active value) that was in general

it is characteristic for authors of an era of Elizabeth: “And ’gins to pale his uneffectual

fire...” (I, 5). From "pale" adjective Shakespeare forms to verb

"pale" (to do pale).

From "night" noun Shakespeare forms an involved form "nighted

(benighted)":“ Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off”

(I, 2) that means "thy night-like color".

Adjectives are freely used at Shakespeare as adverbs:

“I do know, when the blood burns, how prodigal the soul lends the

tongue vows.” (I, 3)

“And you, my sinews, grow not instant old.” (I, 5)

Besides, adjectives are often used as nouns,

even in singular: “... ’twas caviare to the general...” (II, 2)

(„ … this play was caviar for crowd …”).

Intransitive verbs at Shakespeare get sometimes the transitional

value. For example, "to toil" can (work) to mean „to exhaust itself

work”:

“Why this same strict and observant watch so nightly toils the subject

of the land?” (I, 1)

(„Why nightly standing on the guard exhausts citizens of the country?”)

In rare instances transitive verbs were used in the intransitive

value, for example, verb "to lack (to be needed)":

“ … and what so poor a man as Hamlet is may do to express his love and

friending to you, God willing, shan't lack.” (I, 5)

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Shakespeare's Tragedies

William Shakespeare started writing tragedies because he thought the tragic plots used by other English writers were lacking artistic purpose and form. He used the fall of a notable person as the main focus in his tragedies. Suspense and climax were an added attraction for the audience. His work was extraordinary in that it was not of the norm for the time. A reader with even little knowledge of his work would recognize one of the tragedies as a work of Shakespeare.

A hero today is seen as a person who is idolized. Nowadays, a hero does not have to have wealth or certain political beliefs, but instead can be regarded as a hero for his/her actions and inner strength. However, in the plays of Shakespeare, the tragic hero is always a noble man who enjoys some status and prosperity in society but possesses some moral weakness or flaw which leads to his downfall. External circumstances such as fate also play a part in the hero's fall. Evil agents often act upon the hero and the forces of good, causing the hero to make wrong decisions. Innocent people always feel the fall in tragedies, as well.

The four most famous Shakespeare tragedies are King Lear, Hamlet, Othello, and Macbeth.

Hamlet is about an emotionally scarred young man trying to avenge the murder of his father, the king. The ghost of Hamlet's father appears to Hamlet, telling him that he was murdered by his brother, Claudius, who has now become the king. Claudius has also married Gertrude, the old king's widow and Hamlet's mother.

Hamlet is appalled by his mother's actions and by what the ghost tells him about Claudius's cold-blooded murder of his own brother. To buy time to plot his revenge, Hamlet takes on an "antic disposition," acting like a madman and alienating himself from the young woman he loves, Ophelia. Finally, his opportunity to publicly reveal Claudius's guilt comes when a troupe of actors come to Elsinore. Hamlet gets them to stage a play which parallels the murder of his father. The play itself reveals that Hamlet knows the truth about his father's death; the king's horrified reaction reveals his guilt.

Furious and alarmed, Claudius decides to send Hamlet to England with orders secretly demanding Hamlet's death. Hamlet confronts his mother about her role in his father's murder and her marriage to Claudius, which Hamlet sees as incestuous and a betrayal of his father. As tempers, emotions, and voices rise, Hamlet hears a noise from behind the arras (tapestry) in the room. Thinking Claudius is in hiding, Hamlet thrusts his sword through the tapestry, killing Polonius, an agent of the king and the father of Ophelia and her brother, Laertes.

The ship on which Hamlet travels to England is boarded by a band of pirates, who release him (but not before Hamlet substitutes his own death order with an order for the execution of his "friends" who were taking him to his death). Hamlet returns to Denmark just in time to see the funeral procession of Ophelia, who has drowned. It is suspected that Ophelia's death is a suicide. Hamlet is confronted by Laertes, who holds him responsible for the deaths of his father and his sister.

A "sporting" duel between Hamlet and Laertes is set up, but Laertes poisons the tip of his sword in order to kill Hamlet during the fight. Claudius, too, wants to take no chances, and he prepares a poisoned cup for Hamlet to drink from. During the fight, Gertrude accidentally drinks from the poisoned cup and collapses. The swords of Hamlet and Laertes are switched, and both Hamlet and Laertes are mortally wounded. Before he dies, however, Hamlet stabs Claudius and also forces him to swallow the poisoned drink.

Othello, a Moor serving as a general in the military of Venice, is victimized as a result of his love for Desdemona, the daughter of a Venetian statesman. The villain of the play is Iago, a career military man who plots revenge against Othello, Desdemona, and Michael Cassio because Othello has promoted Cassio to lieutenant, a position to which Iago feels he is entitled.

Othello's elopement with Desdemona sets in motion a long line of devious scams orchestrated by Iago. The action of the play moves to Cyprus, where an anticipated military battle is over before it begins. Iago manages to get Cassio drunk at a celebration where he had strict orders to refrain from drinking and to be on guard. When a fight breaks out (again set up by Iago) and the alarm bell is rung, Othello angrily strips Cassio of his title of lieutenant.

Cassio is devastated and humiliated by Othello's action, and Desdemona intervenes on his behalf to convince Othello that Cassio's punishment does not fit his crime. At the same time, Iago begins to imply to Othello that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. Iago continues to manipulate Othello, raising his suspicions until he is in a jealous rage. At the same time, Iago is also manipulating both Desdemona and Cassio.

At Iago's prodding, Othello demands that Desdemona produce a handkerchief which was Othello's first gift to her (and which he has caused to be dropped during his first fit of rage). Desdemona cannot comprehend Othello's fury and his public mistreatment of her. The handkerchief actually has fallen into Iago's hands, given to him unwittingly by his wife Emilia, Desdemona's lady in waiting. Iago has managed to plant it in Cassio's chamber as "evidence" of the affair between Cassio and Desdemona. Othello becomes convinced that Iago is right about Desdemona and Cassio and vows that Desdemona must die. Iago promises to take care of Cassio for him.

In the final act of the play, Othello awakens the sleeping Desdemona with a kiss and finally accuses her outright of infidelity. Although she denies any involvement with Cassio and swears her love for her husband, Othello refuses to believe her, suffocating her with a pillow. Emilia enters the bed chamber and insists to Othello that Desdemona was a faithful wife. Emilia soon realizes that the villain behind the false accusations is her own husband. When she defends Desdemona's honor and blames her husband to the officials who gather at the scene, Iago stabs her in the back and escapes. In anguish, Othello kills himself, asking that he be remembered as one who once did good service for Venice, and one who "loved not wisely, but too well." In an unusual twist for a Shakespearean tragedy, the true villain, Iago, does not die at the end, although he is to be taken away and tortured.

Macbeth is about a noble warrior who gets caught up in a struggle for power. Supernatural events and Macbeth's ruthless wife play a major role in his downfall.

The play begins by immediately linking Macbeth to the forces of evil and the supernatural in the form of three witches. Macbeth has demonstrated his bravery and loyalty by leading King Duncan's armies to victory over a the forces of a scheming traitor. Shortly afterwards, he and his friend Banquo are confronted by the witches, who tell him that he will be given the title of Thane of Cawdor and will become king. The witches' message to Banquo is not clear: he will be "lesser than Macbeth, but greater," and his sons will be kings. Macbeth takes the witches' statements as truth when he is given the title of Thane of Cawdor as a reward for his valor in battle.

Macbeth realizes that the only way he can become king is to kill Duncan, and he is torn between his ambition and his fear that one murder will lead to many others. Lady Macbeth,just as ambitious and more ruthless than her husband, finally goads him into committing the murder, devising a plan for Macbeth to kill the king as he sleeps and put the blame on Duncan's guards.

Macbeth goes through with the murder of Duncan, but the act marks the beginning of his descent into guilt, paranoia, psychological disturbance, and tyranny. He is taken over by a relentless ambition for power and continues to eliminate everyone that he regards as a threat. His worst acts are the hired assassination of his friend Banquo and the slaughter of the family of Macduff, a noble who has been openly opposed to him. Macbeth's first fear proves true: the murder of Duncan teaches "bloody instruction," and Macbeth finds himself getting deeper and deeper into his tyranny and its bloodbath. Macbeth publicly reveals his guilt when the ghost of Banquo appears to him (and to him only) at a celebration feast; Macbeth's bizarre behavior as he "confronts" the ghost makes it clear to everyone that he has been involved in the murders of Duncan and Banquo.

In desperation, Macbeth returns to the witches for more information about his future, but rather than telling him anything directly, they conjure several apparitions which seem to reassure him. He is told to beware Macduff, but he is also told that "no man born of woman" will harm him and that he will never be defeated until the trees of Great Birnam Wood come to Dunsinane castle. The witches' last apparition seems to reemphasize the first prophecy that Banquo's sons will be kings.

As the forces of good, led by Macduff and Malcolm, Duncan's son and the rightful heir to the throne, gather strength and prepare to attack Macbeth's castle, Macbeth's world begins to fall apart. Lady Macbeth goes insane, overwhelmed by guilt for the actions that she helped to start. The woman who once told her husband that "a little water will clear us of this deed" walks in her sleep, wringing her hands and trying to wash away the blood and guilt. She eventually takes her own life, and Macbeth begins to sense the futility of his evil actions, realizing that he has lost everything, including his soul, in his bloody pursuit of power.

When the approaching army camouflages itself in tree branches from Birnam Wood to invade the castle, Macbeth finally comes face to face with Macduff. Desperately clinging to his last hope, Macbeth tells Macduff that no man born of woman can kill him. However, Macduff reveals that he was "untimely ripped" from his mother's womb, and proceeds to attack. Macbeth faces his now-certain death with his original bravery, but the reign of terror is ended when Macduff brings in Macbeth's severed head at the end of the play. Malcolm takes his rightful place as king, and peace is restored in Scotland.

King Lear is a tragic story of an old man's descent into madness as his world crumbles around him. It is also a tale of Lear's pride and his blindness to the truth about his three daughters and others around him. A subplot of the play involves another family (that of the Earl of Gloucester) torn apart by a scheming child (Edmund plots against his half-brother, Edgar). Both fathers suffer a great deal for their inability to see the truth about their children.

As the play opens, Lear has ruled well and is regarded highly in his kingdom. However, he has reigned for a long time and wants someone to take over his duties as he moves toward his last years. He announces that he will divide his kingdom among his three daughters on the basis of how much they can gush about how much they love him.

The two eldest, Goneril and Regan, know exactly what they are to say in order to win over their father and a big share of his wealth and power. The youngest daughter, Cordelia, is the most sincere and true to her father. She knows what her sisters are doing and decides not to flatter her father with overwhelming complements, but instead to tell him that she "loves his majesty according to her duty, neither more or less." Angered by what he sees as ingratitude and Cordelia's refusal to play the game of flattery, Lear gives her none of his wealth and cuts her off entirely. Lear even banishes his faithful friend Kent, who tries to intervene on Cordelia's behalf. The King of France comes to Cordelia's rescue by offering to marry her.

According to the arrangement with his daughters, Lear will divide his time equally between them, living with each daughter and her husband for a month at a time. He also will bring along a retinue of one hundred knights. Lear lives first with Goneril and her husband, the Duke of Albany. However, Goneril soon tires of the burden and argues with Lear, sending him off to her sister, Regan. Regan, too, wants no part of caring for her father, and she and her husband, the Duke of Cornwall, leave home to stay at the castle of the Earl of Gloucester.

Eventually, Goneril and Albany, Lear and his Fool, and Kent (now in disguise but determined to help Lear) all arrive at Gloucester's castle,where the sisters and Lear engage in a bitter confrontation. Infuriated by Goneril and Regan's repeated attempts to strip him of his knights and his dignity, Lear realizes that Cordelia was the only daughter who actually loved him, and he runs out into a violent thunderstorm. Cornwall, Goneril, and Regan shut the doors of Gloucester's castle against the frail old man, leaving him to fend for himself against the elements of the storm. Cornwall and Goneril show the true extent of their awful cruelty when, in the next act, they pluck out Gloucester's eyes and leave him for dead because he has confessed (to Edmund, who has then immediately reported it to Cornwall) his sympathy towards Lear and Cordelia. Cornwall is mortally wounded in this scene, stabbed by a servant who tries to stop his cruel attack on Gloucester.

In the midst of the storm, Lear rails against the elements, but he begins to become aware of the suffering of mankind in general, as well as his own. He also loses his sanity, but he is lovingly cared for by Kent, the Fool, and Edgar (Gloucester's exiled son who, like Cordelia, has been tricked by his unscrupulous sibling and now is posing as a lunatic, "Poor Tom" as he waits for an opportunity to put things to rights). The four take refuge from the storm in a hovel on the heath. Later, the blinded Gloucester is reunited with Lear, as well.

Hearing that her father is in trouble, Cordelia comes from France with an army to fight against Goneril and Regan and their husbands. With the help of Kent, she is reunited with Lear, though in the battle between England and France, the forces of Albany and Cornwall are victorious, and Lear and Cordelia are taken prisoner. Edmund, who has allied himself with both Goneril and Regan and has led each to believe he will marry her, secretly orders that Cordelia and Lear be killed in their prison cells.

Albany reveals his true nobility when he turns against his scheming wife, Goneril, and accuses her of treason, along with Regan and Edmund. Edmund refutes the charge, and his guilt is to be determined by duel, with an unknown warrior representing Albany and his charge. The "agent" is Edgar, who has come into possession of a letter from Goneril to Edmund and has given it to Albany; in the letter, Goneril outlines their plot to overthrow Albany once the battle with Cordelia is over. The trumpet is sounded, and Edgar appears to fight Edmund. His true identity is not revealed until he has won the fight and Edmund lies dying.

Edgar then tells Albany his account of the period of exile with Lear and of his own reunion with Gloucester. Edmund appears to be moved by Edgar's story of compassion and suffering, and when Kent arrives on the scene, Edmund suddenly remembers his order for the deaths of Lear and Cordelia. At almost the same moment, Albany is informed that Goneril has taken her own life and has also poisoned her sister as a result of their bitter rivalry for Edmund's affections.

Tragically, Edmund's "recollection" is too late--Lear enters carrying Cordelia's body. He is a pitiful picture--a frail old man who has suffered terrible losses, in part because of his own pride and blindness, and in part because of the evil of Cornwall, Edmund, and his two daughters. Lear himself dies in the final moments of the play, heartbroken and beaten by the bitter and cruel storms he has endured.

Although the main characters of these tragedies possess different traits, they all can be described as tragic Shakespearean heroes: they are basically good and noble men whose tragic flaw leads to their destruction.

10 вопрос

This type of word formation consists in the use of a word that is normally one part of speech or word class as another part of speech, without any change in form: a father – to father; a queen – to queen. Such shifts are impossible in highly inflected languages like Russian or Latin, which demand a formal change, but are common in analytic languages like English. Conversion has for centuries been a common method of enriching the English word-stock and creating dramatic effects. Shakespeare skillfully produced the words of this style: the verb to silence from the noun a silence; to dumb from the adjective dumb, the noun an accuse from the verb to accuse, etc.:

“For since the little wit that fools have was silenced, the little foolery that wise men have makes a great show” (As You Like It, I. ii. 85-87);

“What I would have spoke was beastly dumbed by him” (Antony and Cleopatra, I. v. 51-51);

“By false accuse doth level at my life” (2 Henry VI, III. i. 158-160).

Shakespeare is noted for verbal conversion such as grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle (The Life and Death of Richard the Second). Other examples include the verbs converted from nouns: refuge, twaine, priviledge and dog them at the heeles.

11 вопрос.

The Shakespeare comedy plays have stood the test of time. Today, Shakespeare comedy plays like The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice and Much Ado About Nothing continue to enthrall and entertain audiences worldwide – but these plays are not comedies in the modern sense of the word.

Indeed, the comedy of Shakespeare’s time was very different to our modern comedy. The style and key characteristics of a Shakespeare comedy are not as distinct as the other Shakespearian genres and classification of the Shakespeare comedy plays is therefore difficult.

Common Features of a Shakespeare Comedy

What makes a Shakespeare comedy identifiable if the genre is not distinct from the Shakespeare tragedies and histories? This is an ongoing area of debate, but many believe that the comedies share certain characteristics, as described below:

Comedy through language: Shakespearec ommunicated his comedy through language and his comedy plays are peppered with clever word play, metaphors and insults.

Love:The theme of love is prevalent in every Shakespeare comedy. Often, we are presented with sets of lovers who, through the course of the play, overcome the obstacles in their relationship and unite.

Complex plots:The plotline of a Shakespeare comedy contains more twists and turns than his tragedies and histories. Although the plots are convoluted, they do follow similar patterns. For example, the climax of the play always occurs in the third act and the final scene has a celebratory feel when the lovers finally declare their love for each other.

Mistaken identities:The plot is often driven by mistaken identity. Sometimes this is an intentional part of a villain’s plot, as in Much Ado About Nothing when Don John tricks Claudio into believing that his fiance has been unfaithful through mistaken identity. Characters also play scenes in disguise and it is not uncommon for female characters to disguise themselves as male characters.

Shakespeare’s 17 comedies are the most difficult to classify because they overlap in style with other genres. Critics often describe some plays as tragi-comedies because they mix equal measures of tragedy and comedy. For example, Much Ado About Nothing starts as a Shakespeare comedy, but takes on the characteristics of a tragedy when Hero is disgraced and fakes her own death. At this point, the play has more in common with Romeo and Juliet, one of Shakespeare’s key tragedies.

12 вопрос

the Shakespeare's language: the use of negation

Negatives like I slewe him not avoid do, while we do not understand employs it; both common in Sh. The same is true of negative imperatives: Call it not patience, but doe not so quickly go. Multiple negations that retain negative sense are also common, though the Folio “corrects” some of these: Nor neuer looke upon each others face, / Nor neuer write, regreete, nor reconcile Q(кварто) becomes Nor euer looke… nor euer write… or reconcile in Folio. Like negatives, questions can be formed with or without do: Why dost thou say, what saist thou. Also there existed a double negation which gaves to Shakespeare's products a unique emotionality and expressiveness at the cost of negation strengthening.

Ex: Nothing neither way.

It is not nor it cannot come to good.

13 вопрос.

Shakespeare apparently believed firmly in a Supreme Being, as his plays suggest. Since we do not know much about the personal life of William Shakespeare, we cannot say for sure what religion he practiced in private. We do know that he was born under the rule of Elizabeth I, who was Protestant and outlawed Catholicism. Thus, Shakespeare's public faith would have been Protestant.

Shakespeare's parents, however, were very likely covert Catholics and Shakespeare's father, John, was close friends with William Catesby, the father of the head conspirator in the plot to blow the Protestant monarchy to smithereens.

14 вопрос.

The use of adverb in Shakespeare's language reflects a real linguistic situation of Early Modern English period

Morphological distinctions between adjectives and adverbs disappeared because of morphological changes. In modern English such adverbs are hard and short (to cut short, to work hard).

Shakespeare uses forms of an adverb without a suffix – ly.

e.g As easy might I from myself depar (Sonnet 109).

Today we have no much them. The number of non-suffixed adjectives was much grater than today.

In the Middle English period a new system of verb forms appeared. This forms denoted continuation of actions which corresponded to the moment of speech. The structure of this new verb form was ben + Ving.

In Shakespeare's plays the combination of particle a and the verb in the –ing- form is widely used for transfer and duration of the action.

e.g a-bat-fowling, a-beggings, a-rolling, a-sleeping, a-making.

Shakespeare uses particle a also to strengthen the meaning of an adjective before which it is.

e.g a-hungry, a-cold, a-high.

As well as in the previous case, here Shakespeare uses particle a with an adjective to achieve harmony.

By Shakespeare’s time adjectives have lost endings that once indicated gender, number and case. About the only differences between Shakespeare’s adjectives and ours is the use of the now redundant more or most with the comparative (some more fitter place) and the superlative (This was the most unkindest cut pf all). Like double comparatives and double superlatives, double negatives were acceptable; Mercutio “will not budge for no man’s pleasure”.

The proper adjective gives the reader a stronger sense of tragedy or comedy than using a common adjective.

Shakespeare could shape vocabulary and syntax to the demands of style. For example, he could interchange the various parts of speech, using nouns as adjectives or verbs, adjectives as adverbs, and pronouns as nouns. Such freedom gave his language an extraordinary plasticity, which enabled him to create the large number of unique and memorable characters he has left us.

15вопрос.

Sonnet originates from Italian word „sonneto“ which means a short or little song. There are four types of sonnets: Occitan, Spenserian, Italian also known as Petrarchan, English which is also known as Shakespearean. Each type has a strict rhyme scheme and specific structure.

The sonnets are almost all constructed from three four-line stanzas (called quatrains) and a final couplet composed in iambic pentameter (a meter used extensively in Shakespeare's plays) with the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg (this form is now known as the Shakespearean sonnet).

Sonnets were not popular until Shakespeare. The first sonnet’s translation into English was made by Chaucer. He included 88. Sonnet of Petrarch in his poem “Troil and Kressida”, but without the sonnet’s form. Tomas Wyatt’s sonnets were translations from the Italian of Petrarch and the French of Rosand and others. His lyric hero loves simple girl. While Wyatt introduced the sonnet into English, it was Surrey who gave it a rhyming meter, and a structural division into quatrains of a kind that now characterizes the typical English sonnet.

Shakespeare’s sonnets are a collection of 154 sonnets, dealing with themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality. The Shakespeare’s scholars analyzing the language of sonnets and the historical events of that time came to the conclusion, that the sonnets were written between 1592 and 1599. In 1599 a pirate called Jarret published the book “the passionate Pilgrim” and in the work there were two sonnets. In 1609 one more pirate whose name was Thomas Thorpe published a quarto entitled “Shakespeare’s sonnets: never before imprinted”.

In 1640 there was one more publication of John Benson, but the sonnets were not popular until William Wordswords in the beginning of 19 century rebilt the beauty of Shakespeare’s sonnets and came to the conclusion that they should be regarded as literary material presenting some features of the poets life.

A collection 1609 has a strange dedication to someone Mr W.H. who has stayed a mystery for scholars. 126 sonnets are devoted to a young man who is believed to be this Mr. W.H. There are several contenders whose initials are W.H. and who are in some way connected to William Shakespeare. Most probably this man may have been Henry Wriothesley, who was one of the Shakespeare’s patrons.

The first 26 sonnets are praising this friend in order to immortalize his beauty to pass it to the next generation.

The sonnets 27-9 shows us different stages of relationship and this could be called as friendship testing sonnets.

27-32 are a set of sonnets written to show the bitterness of being far from each other.

33-42 are usually called the sonnets of disillusion

43-55 are sorrow and fear of loosing his friend.

56-75 a set of sonnets in which we feel the poet’s melancholic attitude

76-96 sonnets tell about competition, rivalry and envy between the author and other poets.

97-99 the winter of discord (of relationship)

100-126 a song sang for the returned friendship

127-154 are a set of sonnets devoted to a dark haired lady, so called the dark lady because of hair and dusky skin.

153-154 sonnets for love. The author anthems beauty of love.

Supposedly Shakespeare didn’t divide sonnets into the theme. We don’t know how many sonnets there were. 154 are found. The scholars divided them into themes and numbers.

Until 18 century people didn’t understand that 1-126 sonnets were devoted to a young man. The relationship between a woman and man sets up over the relationship between men.

In Russia sonnets were translated as devoted to a woman. Sonnets attracted Benedictov’s, Brusov’s, Pasternak’s and Marshak’s attention.

17 вопрос.

Shakespeare began his career not long after the first public playhouses were established in London. His earliest plays were given at the Theatre, an open-air playhouse in Shoreditch. Many of his plays were written for the Globe, rebuilt from the timbers of the Theatre on Bankside. A number of Shakespeare’s later plays were created for the very different surroundings of the indoor playhouse at Blackfriars.

Shakespeare, a player as well as a dramatist, belonged to a company of players. His company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (from 1603 the King’s Men) competed with others, notably the Admiral’s Men, for audiences. Like most leading players, Shakespeare was a sharer in his company and was able to enjoy its profits. He also had to suffer its losses - for example, when the first Globe burnt down in 1613. His plays were created with his company’s players in mind. Such players as the tragedian Richard Burbage and clowns like William Kemp influenced the roles within Shakespeare’s plays.

Shakespeare’s theatre came to an end in 1642. In that year, on the eve of the Civil War, all the playhouses were closed by order of Parliament. Those which were still structurally sound were either converted into dwellings, or demolished so that their timbers could be reused elsewhere. The players could no longer perform their plays in public.
.....The Globe stage was four to six feet above ground level. There was no curtain that opened or closed at the beginning or end of plays. At the back of the stage was a wall with two or three doors leading to the dressing rooms of the actors. These rooms collectively were known as the "tiring house." To tire means to dress —that is, to attire oneself. Sometimes, the wall of the tiring house stood as the wall of a fortress under siege.
.......Males played all the characters, even Juliet, Cleopatra and Ophelia. Actors playing gods, ghosts, demons, and other supernatural characters could pop up from the underworld through a trap door on the stage or descend to earth from heaven on a winch line from the ceiling. Off stage, the ripple of sheet metal could create thunder. Stagehands set off fireworks to create omens, meteors, comets, or the wrath of the Almighty. Instruments such as oboes and cornets sometimes provided music. If an actor suffered a fencing wound, he simply slapped his hand against a pouch beneath his shirt to release "blood" signaling his demise.
..........The gallery had a thatched roof. (Thatch consists of stalks of plants such as reeds.) During a performance of Henry VIII in 1613, the Globe burned down after booming canon fire announcing the entrance of King Henry at Cardinal Wolsey's palace ignited the roof.

the Early Period:

Plays: Comedy of Errors, Henry VI Part I, Henry VI Part II, Henry VI Part III,

King John, Love's Labour's Lost, Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard II, Richard III, Romeo

and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, Titus Andronicus, Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Style in General: Technically rigid(строгий); somewhat immature(отчасти недоразвив

шийся). The plots generally are well organized. Often superficial (поверхностный)

compared with the characterization in later plays. Romeo and Juliet, in which characterization

is strong, is an exception. Dialogues are sometimes stilted (неестественный). Sh. tries hard

–maybe too hard–to be consistent in the structure of his lines.

the Balanced Period:

Plays: All's Well That Ends Well, As You Like It, Hamlet*, Henry IV Part I, Henry IV Part II,

Henry V, Julius Caesar, Measure for Measure*, Merchant of Venice*, Merry Wives of Windsor,

Much Ado About Nothing, Othello*, Troilus and Cressida, Twelfth Night.

Style in General: Less technically rigid; more creative. The plots are generally well designed.

Shakespeare demonstrates his range by writing outstanding works in three genres: comedy

(As You Like It, Twelfth Night), tragedy (Hamlet, Julius Caesar) and history (Henry IV Part I,

Henry V). In addition, he presents a highly tragic character, Shylock, in a comedy (The

Merchant of Venice). In Henry IV Parts I and II, Shakespeare achieves a wonderful balance

between the comic (represented by Sir John Falstaff) and the serious (represented by

Hotspur and others). Dialogues are a mixture of verse and prose. Sh. also uses the soliloquy

(монолог) to disclose(раскрыть) the direction(направленность) of the plot. The "To be or

not to be" soliloquy in Hamlet, perhaps the most famous passage in English literature,

reveals all of these emotions.

the Overflowing Period:

Plays: King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra, Macbeth, Coriolanus, Timon of Athens.

Style in General: Highly creative. Sh. ignores many rules to allow his genius to "overflow"(выйти

за пределы). The plots of this period sometimes twist (переплетаются), challenging(привлекая)

the reader with their complexity(запутанностью). Dialogues often tell us about the speaker's state

of mind and are suffused (наполнены) with memorable metaphors, similes and other figures of

speech. Many passages are in prose.

the Final Period:

Plays: Cymbeline, Henry VIII, Pericles, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale.

Style in General: Masterly. Sh. has just the right mix of technical skill, creativity, and wisdom.

Sh. tends to prefer times and places far removed from Elizabethan England–as in The Tempest,

Pericles, and Cymbeline–although Henry VIII is certainly an exception here.

Several plays of this period–including Pericles, The Winter's Tale, and Cymbeline–introduce

characters who suffer loss(переживает неудачи,потери,убытки), then regain what they have

lost. Superb, deeply insightful. Dialogues are highly creative, with many memorable passages in

both verse and prose.

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