Concetti Chiave
- Shakespeare's historical dramas, written from 1590 to 1596, portrayed the English state as a whole, contributing to the concept of England as a nation.
- Between 1593 and 1600, Shakespeare wrote ten comedies marked by conventions such as disguise and mistaken identity, often culminating in multiple marriages.
- His great tragedies, from 1595 to 1605, explored the nature of political power during the transition from medieval to modern times.
- Shakespeare's sonnets, published in 1609, include themes of beauty, virtue, and desire, addressing a 'fair youth' and a 'dark lady'.
- Known for linguistic innovations, Shakespeare's plays utilize a mix of prose and verse, rich in irony and rhetorical figures like metaphors and hyperbole.
Shakespeare and Historical Theatre
Shakespeare was a playwright, a poet, an actor and a shareholder in his theatre company. He wrote several plays various in topic and kind:
1590-1596: Historical dramas, based on actual and real facts such as the War of Roses. They gave a portrait of English State as a whole, not focusing only on kings or queen. It was in this period that the idea of England as a nation was born. These plays are divided in 2 tetralogies (groups of four plays) with titles like Richard III or Henry V.
1593-1600:10 comedies on stage (farce and romance), which all follow some conventions: disguise, frustrated love, mistaken identity, marital and romantic misunderstandings. They usually end in multiple marriages and the playwright worries a lot about women’s journey from the virginity to the marriage. A famous example is The Merchant of Venice.
Tragedies and Historical Transition
1595-1605: Great tragedies, written in a historical moment of transition between the medieval and the modern world. He took inspiration from Seneca’s works and they are mainly about human life, the nature of political power and the problems of the powerful in a changing world such as Hamlet or Macbeth.
1590-1609: Collection of 154 sonnets, published in 1609, divided in 2 sections. The first 126 sonnets are addressed to a ‘fair youth’ (probably the Earl of Southampton) encouraged by the poet to marry and preserve his virtues and beauty trough his children. The others, expect the last 2, are addressed to a ‘dark lady’ or ‘black woman’, who is physically unattractive, but irresistibly desirable.
Linguistic Innovations and Style
He coined new words and phrases that we still today use. He constantly confounds the audience, asking to laugh in a painful scene or philosophical questions in a comic one.
The verse is used by aristocratic characters in serious or dramatic scenes, while the blank verse by lower-class characters in informal conversations or comic scenes. A character may suddenly switch from everyday prose to solemn verse. There are also in his play a profound irony and several figures of speech like metaphors, similes, personifications, antithesis, repetition and hyperbole.
Domande da interrogazione
- How did Shakespeare contribute to the concept of England as a nation through his historical dramas?
- What themes did Shakespeare explore in his great tragedies, and what historical context influenced these works?
- How did Shakespeare's linguistic style and innovations impact his plays?
Shakespeare's historical dramas, written between 1590-1596, portrayed the English state as a whole, rather than focusing solely on monarchs. This period marked the birth of the idea of England as a nation, with plays like Richard III and Henry V forming part of two tetralogies that depicted actual historical events such as the War of Roses.
Written between 1595-1605, Shakespeare's great tragedies, such as Hamlet and Macbeth, were influenced by the transition from the medieval to the modern world. These plays explored themes of human life, the nature of political power, and the challenges faced by the powerful during times of change, drawing inspiration from Seneca’s works.
Shakespeare's linguistic innovations included coining new words and phrases still in use today. His style involved confounding audiences by mixing humor with pain and posing philosophical questions in comedic scenes. He used verse for aristocratic characters in serious scenes and blank verse for lower-class characters in informal or comic contexts, often employing irony and various figures of speech like metaphors and hyperbole.
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