"For never was a story of more woethan this of Juliet and her Romeo.“

-Act 5, Scene 3

Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet

In your notebooks, answer the following questions:

What is a tragedy?

What is a feud?

Examples?

Let’s get warmed up:

Exemplifies the sense that human beings are inevitably doomed through their own:

-failures or errors -the ironic action of their virtues-through the nature of fate, destiny, or the human condition to suffer, fail, and die.

In other words, it is a drama with an unhappy ending.

Adapted from http://classics.lifetips.com/cat/58435/shakespearean-tragedies/index.html

Tragedy…

Why the long faces?

What are the top reasons people are doomed? (according to tragedies)

1. Being too mean

2. Being too nice

3. Bad Luck

Adapted from http://classics.lifetips.com/cat/58435/shakespearean-tragedies/index.html

“We’re all Doomed!”

1

2

3

TragedyFeud (and the effects of)IronyForeshadowingSoliloquy ThemesToneFate (the unawareness

of)Star-crossed lovers

Speaking of tragedy…key terms to know for this unit include:

One of the greatest poets and playwrights of his time and of all time (1564-1616)

Left school at 14 years old, married at 18, had children

Worked in theatres

1585-1592: “The Lost Years”

Who was William Shakespeare?

The Bubonic Plague (the Black Death)- Mid 1300s, when Romeo and

Juliet took place-Caused many deaths, including people close to Shakespeare (sisters, brother, only son)

The Renaissance (rebirth) throughout Europe-1300s-1500s, from Italy to England-Multi-dimensional, psychologically complex characters -Upheaval in hierarchy (feuds)-Topics that were once suppressed were no longer

Why write tragic plays?

A good, action-packed story

Difficult language that this edition of the book and the “Confusing Quotations” sheet will help with

Reading, quizzes, and fun activities

To reach the final goal: for you to not only enjoy, but to see the relevance that the story still holds today.

What to Expect:

See? Justin Bieber liked it

If ever absent or in need of class materials or additional information, visit our class website where everything from this unit that you will need is linked to:www.orsibaldwin.wikispaces.com

Class Website