TEMA 44: SHAKESPEARE Y SU OBRA.

OBRAS MÁS REPRESENTATIVAS

Shakespeare and his work. His most representative works

1. Introduction
2. Historical Background
3. Drama and theatre
4. Shakespeare and his works
4.1. Sonnets
4.2. Drama
4.2.1. Historical plays
4.2.1.1. Henry V
4.2.1.2. Richard III
4.2.2. Comedies
4.2.2.1. The Merchant of Venice
4.2.2.2. The Tempest
4.2.3. Tragedies
4.2.3.1. Othello
4.2.3.2. Romeo and Juliet
4.2.3.3. Macbeth
5. SHAKESPEARE’S INFLUENCE
6. CONCLUSION
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Introduction

Firstly, we will start our analysis of this unit by making a general account of the political,
historical and social situation at Shakespeare’s times. Then, I will move on with one of the best-
known writers all over Europe, William Shakespeare, from whom I will analyze life, poetry and
drama, deepening on one of his best known tragedies and one of the best-known comedies.

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Finally, we’ll throw out some conclusions about the debated topics together with didactic
implications on how to work this particular matter at school. Of course, not forgetting to do a
record of the different works and books used to develop this lesson.

2. Historical background

Most of Shakespeare’s career took place during the reign of Elisabeth I (1533-1603), the last
monarch of the Tudor dynasty. This historical period, which is often considered one of the most
glorious of English history, is known as the Elizabethan Age.

Under her reign, not only did England prosper as a rising commercial power at the expense of
Catholic Spain, but there was an enormous expansion into the New World and laid the
foundations of the British Empire. This was also the time of the Renaissance and the
Reformation. It explodes the European revival of the Greek and the Roman classics. England
was transformed into a protestant state after Henry VIII’s divorce of Catherine of Aragon. This
was also the Age of Discovery, of the pursuit of scientific knowledge and exploration of human
nature itself.

3. Drama and theatres

Drama had existed long before the 16th century, but it was at this time that it was transformed
and acquired most of its modern characteristics. It left aside the religious matters and the
imitation of the classics to become a new strong genre. At that time plays followed these
conventions:

 Playwrights did not make up new plots, they used traditional tales borrowing ideas
 Many plots were set in other countries and times.
 Plays were written in poetry or prose or a mixture of both. A kind of unrhymed poetry
called black verse was mainly used.
 There were no actresses and female roles were taken by boys.

Drama became the main source of entertainment as important as television and films
nowadays and the performers were professional actors usually belonging to companies
attached to noble or royal households. From 1594, Shakespeare’s plays were performed only

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by The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a company owned by a group of players that soon became the
leading playing company in London.

Since 1590 London has been England’s capital city, which grew into a metropolitan market and
business. The first London theatre was called The Theatre and it was built in 1576, then it was
followed by The Rose, The Swan and the Globe.

If we describe how the Globe worked and looked like, we can see that it was very different from
a modern theatre. The play took place in the open air in daylight when the weather was good.
Between two or three thousand people, from all classes of society, were in the audience. They
were badly behaved shouting out rude remarks to the actors, climbing onto the stage or eating
food and throwing it. The standing audience was situated on one part of the theatre called the
pit, and the upper classes could afford a seat in the gallery. The actors played on a stage with
no scenery, so the audience had to use the imagination as special effects. There was only a
balcony and a trapdoor. In spite of that, actors were colourfully and richly dressed.

4. Shakespeare and his works

4.1. Sonnets

The sonnet was the most popular verse in England when Shakespeare began writing,
by influence of Petrarca´s poetry. The new generation of poets, including Shakespeare,
introduced some new elements in their compositions, such as

1) love and friendship 2) the passing of time

3) the loss of beauty 4) and the nature of poetry itself.

The form of the sonnet comprised 14 total lines of verse. This allowed the author to
build a rising pattern of complication in a tree-act movement, followed by the terse
denouement of the final two lines. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets that are frequently divided
as follows:

a) Sonnets 1-126, which deal with a young, unnamed lord, the “fair youth” of the sonnets.

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 b) Sonnets 127-152, which deal with the poet´s relationship to a mysterious mistress, the
“dark lady” of the sonnets.

c) Sonnets 153-154, which seem to be poetic exercises dedicated to Cupid.

Shakespeare´s sonnets defy and deconstruct the Petrarchian images of love, as we can see in
sonnet 130, which represents the deconstruction of Petrarchism:

Shakespeare seems to write his poems for the posterity to reach eternity. The sonnets also
reject many expected conventions of the traditional sonnet by addressing praises of beauty to
the fair youth or showing a gay love. They even approach sexual matters, as in sonnets 34, 35
and 36.

4.2. Drama
4.2.1. Historical plays

4.2.1.1. Henry V

Henry V is a patriotic tribute to the figure of Henry V as an epic leader who took
England to power and defeated the national enemy, France.

However, the play is a mordant commentary on politics and war, and Henry appears as
a cold-blooded militarist, power-thirsty hypocrite who uses religion to justify the horrors of an
unnecessary view. Indeed, Henry V seems to be following Machiavelli´s idea that a king has to
be both feared and loved. As a result, we find a powerful dramatic work that evokes the
grandeur of the ancient world, more sarcastically than seriously.

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 4.2.1.2. Richard III

The play is dominated by Duke of Gloucester, who becomes Richard III through a series
of horrible acts, killing his enemies, his wife and most of his supporters. Richard is a pure villain.
He shows all the features of the villain:

1) Communication with the spectators.

2) Psychological knowledge of his victims.

3) He remains unknown for the rest of the characters.

4) He is a great actor.

5) He is a master at timing actions.

The main theme of Richard III is the conflict between evil and good.

4.2.2. Comedies

A Shakespearean comedy is a play characterized by the triumph of love, with young

lovers of a younger generation frequently concluding the play with a wedding.

4.2.2.1. The Merchant of Venice

In this play, Antonio, the merchant of Venice, and Shylock, the Jewish moneylender,
have struck a bargain. Shylock lends Antonio three thousand ducats provided that, if Antonio
cannot pay him back in three months, Shylock can claim a pound of Antonio´s flesh.

The whole story shows the anti-Semitism of the time, and presents Shylock as a greedy
Jew with no heart although at the end of the story shows him as a pure victim.

As a result, the play shows Shylock as a deeply round and human character.
Shakespeare is giving us a moral lesson: Jews are just as good and bad as Christians are, and it
is very dangerous to judge on clichés or appearances.

4.2.2.2. The Tempest

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-Prosper lives on an island with his daughter Miranda after his brother Antonio usurped the
dukedom.

-Prospero’s enemies in the royal party are brought ashore to the island after a tempest.

-Ariel, a spirit that obeys Prospero, has created the tempest and dispersed the royal party
around the island..

-The King restores Prospero’s dukedom, Prospero pardons his enemies.

Teaching lesson is: future generations will never have a chance unless we settle certain issues
that are our responsibility.

4.2.3. Tragedies

Shakespearean tragedies are frequently dominated by male characters who even

deserve their own tragic ends.

4.2.3.1. Othello

Othello and Desdemona marry and attempt to build a life together, despite their differences in
age, race, and experience. Their marriage is sabotaged by the envious Lago, who convinces
Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful.

Themes: The incompatibility of military heroism and love; the danger of isolation, jealousy.

4.2.3.2. Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet was written in 1597 and it portraits the love between two teenagers who
belong to enemy families, the Capulets and the Montagues. They marry secretly and make a
plan to run away. Juliet gets a potion that allows her to feign death but unfortunately through a
series of misunderstandings Romeo believes Juliet is really dead and standing over her body he
drinks a poison a dies. When Juliet awakes she picks up his dagger and stabs herself .

Analysis

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 As opposed to other Shakespearean tragedies, such as Othello, Hamlet or Macbeth,
were the tragic hero deserves his own fatal ending, Romeo and Juliet are the exception: their
death is marked by fate.

The lesson learned in The Tempest applies here: had the older generations put an end to their
quarrels.

On the other hand, Romeo and Juliet has a clear parallelism with a domestic affair: the
War of the Roses, which ended, precisely, with a marriage. The civil war between Capulets and
Montagues resembles that between the York and the Lancaster families.

Thus, in Romeo and Juliet, the lovers are not to blame, but other factors:

1) Their families, who did not solve their quarrels in time.

2) The central authority, which is virtually non-existent.

3) The religious authority, which should not take part in political affairs.

4.2.3.3. Macbeth

In Macbeth Shakespeare dramatized some events and legends of of Scotland in the 11 th

century. Macbeth encouraged by the prophecy of the three witches and the ambition,
murdered Duncan to get the crown. Lady Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s greatest female
characters. She is the one who really starts the tragedy and at the end she is punished.

5. SHAKESPEARE’S INFLUENCE

Shakespeare’s work contributions:

 He influenced later poetry and for example Romantic poets attempted to revive
Shakespeare’s verse drama. He influenced also novelists such as Thomas Hardy, William
Faulkner or Charles Dickens.

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  In Shakespeare’s days, English grammar and spelling were not standardised and his use
of language helped shape modern English. Samuel Johnson quoted him more often
than any other author in his A Dictionary of the English Language.
 Scholars have identified 20’000 pieces of music linked to his works. This includes two
operas by Giuseppe Verdi: Otello and Falstaff.
 He has also inspired many painters including Romantic and Pre-Raphaelites.
 Shakespeare’s influence on films is immense and his works have been and are an
essential source for directors. ‘Shakespeare in love’

6. CONCLUSION and DIDACTIC IMPLICATIONS

Throughout this unit I have provided an in-depth analysis of the most representative of
Shakespeare’s works taking into account his historical background and influences.

Regarding the interest of this subject for educational matters, it is important to point out a
series of aspects mainly related to the development of the communicative, linguistic and
cultural competences that will help our students to be able to communicate effectively and
adequately in the foreign language. According to the LOMCE the learning of a 2 nd and even a 3rd
language is imperative due to the globalization. Moreover, the Common European Framework
for Language Teaching proposes that students develop such competences to cooperate
internationally and compete at an international level. It is true that literature seems one of the
most difficult elements to introduce in English classes.

However, we can use texts to develop students’ abilities in the language itself, thus learning
new vocabulary and the use of certain structures in context; but also to understand the culture
surrounding a particular language. Some of the treated works, such as, Hamlet or Macbeth, can
be used to work with vocabulary, structures and the narratives of the time, as well as, of
course, the writers and the cultural background and history of the time.

Students should develop social and civil competences as well as cultural conscience and
expression so that with the learning of foreign languages they would develop tolerance towards
uses, values and beliefs different from their own. And as we’ve seen, literature can be a means
to introduce cultural aspects, historical development and social values in class.

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We can increase students’ motivation and interest on the subject through appealing to
literature by showing them ways in which they can convey information, for example about the
different writers. One way to do so is through the use of TICs. Teachers can help students to
develop a meaningful use of them to learn the language, especially to choose adequate
material to read, listen, write or talk about any issue thanks to the great variety of materials
available on the internet.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alexander, M. 2000. A History of English Literature.MacmillanPress. London

Daiches, D. 1994: A Critical History of English Literature, London: Mandarin.

Sanders, A. 1996.The Short Oxford History of English Literature. Oxford UniversityPress.

Several authors 1989: The Norton Anthology of English Literature, London: Norton.