WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

1. Major features of Shakespearean Plays, including
comedies, tragedies and historical plays.

2.  Shakespeare was born in 1564,in Stratford.
 He is the most admired playwright.
 During his life at school he acquired firm
grasp over English and Latin.

3. PLAYS……..

4.  150 sonnets
 37 famous plays.
 globe theatre - Julius Caesar
 4 periods of life:
Period 1st (1577-93):It was a period of early experimental work.
Period 2 (1594-1600): period of great comedies and chronicle
plays.
Period 3 (1601-1608): period of greatest tragedies and bitter
comedies.
Period 4 (1608-1612): the period of later comedies or dramatic
romances

5. CHARACTERISTICS
OF COMEDY
PLAYS………

6. Shakespearean comedy, a comedy with happy ending.
The main characteristics of comedy are:
 A struggle of young lovers, often the result of the interference of
their elders.
 Elements of separation and reunification.
 Mistaken identities, often involving disguise.
 A clever servant.
 Family tensions that are usually resolved in the end.
 Complex, interwoven plot-lines.
 Frequent use of puns and other styles of comedy.

7. CHARACTERISTICS
OF TRAGIC
PLAY…..

8. Tragedies may involve comedic moments, but tend
towards more serious, dramatic plots with an ending that
involves the death of main characters.
The main features of a Shakespearean Tragedy are that:
 Characters become isolated or there is social
breakdown.
 Ends on death.
 There is a sense that events are inevitable or
inescapable.
 There is usually a central figure who is noble but with a
character flaw which leads them towards their eventual
downfall.

9. CHARACTERISTICS
OF HISTORICAL
PLAYS….

10.  Shakespeare wrote many plays based on the
lives of English kings.
 Shakespeare was living under the under the
reign of the queen Elizabeth I , the last
monarch in the house of Tudor – so his
history plays are often regarded as Tudor
propaganda they show the dangers of civil
war and celebrate the founders of Tudor
dynasty.