JULIUS CAESAR RS 2007 interno - Black Cat

A portrait ofWilliam Shakespeareby an unknown artist.It is a copy made in theearly 19th century of aportrait that was in theFolio edition of theplays of Shakespeare,which was published in1623. This copy iscalled the Flowersportrait because it wasowned by a familycalled Flowers.The Life ofWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small town incentral England. The exact date of his birth is not known, but many people like tobelieve that he was born on 23 April. This is St George’s Day, the day of thepatron saint of England.William Shakespeare’s father made and sold gloves. 1 He was involved in localpolitics in Stratford-upon-Avon, and became the town mayor. 2 It is likely thatWilliam Shakespeare was educated at the grammar school in Stratford-upon-Avon, where boys were taught Latin and Roman history.When he was eighteen Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who was eightyears older than himself. They had three children: a daughter, Susanna, andtwins, Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died young, at the age of eleven.We do not know what Shakespeare did immediately after marriage, and there area lot of stories about what have been called the ‘missing years’. It is known,1. gloves : you wear these on your hands.2. mayor [meaɾ] : the head of the government of a town or city.4

however, that he later went to London, where he became one of the owners of atheatrical company called the Lord Chamberlain’s 1 Men. It seems he was an actorbefore he began to write plays. He wrote thirty-eight plays, as well as poetry.After his death, some friends of Shakespeare collected his work and published itin 1623.In 1599, Shakespeare’s company built one of the most famous theatres in London,the Globe Theatre. The company changed its name to the King’s Men in 1603,when James I became king, and from 1609 its main theatre was the Blackfriars.Shakespeare became rich and successful and retired to Stratford-upon-Avon in1613. He died there on 23 April 1616.Visitors to Stratford-upon-Avon today can see many of the buildings associatedwith Shakespeare’s life, including the house where he was born and AnneHathaway’s cottage. They can also visit the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and go toperformances of Shakespeare’s plays.The modern reconstruction of the Globe Theatre in London,very near the site of Shakespeare’s Globe, which was destroyed by fire in 1613.1. Lord Chamberlain : a very important official at the royal court.5

1Comprehension checkAnswer the questions.1 Why do people like to think that Shakespeare was born on 23 April?2 What kind of school did Shakespeare go to?3 What are the ‘missing years’?4 Where did Shakespeare work when he went to London?5 What did Shakespeare do before he started writing plays?6 How many plays did Shakespeare write?7 Who were the King’s Men?8 When and where did Shakespeare die?INTERNET PROJECTGo to the Internet and go to www.blackcat-cideb.com or www.cideb.it.Insert the title or part of the title of the book into our search engine.Open the page to Julius Caesar. Click on the Internet project link.Scroll down the page until you find the title of this book and click onthe relevant link for this project.In pairs or small groups, plan a weekend in Stratford-upon-Avon, and thenpresent your plans to the class.Download somepictures of placesthat interest you toinclude in yourreport.Say:where you aregoing to staywhat historicalplaces you aregoing to visitwhere you aregoing to eatwhat other thingsyou are going todo6

The Theatrein Shakespeare’s TimesShakespeare went to London at an exciting time in the history of the theatre. In therecent past, plays had been performed by groups of ‘travelling players’. The life ofthese travelling players was hard. They moved from town to town, usuallyperforming in the courtyards of inns 1 . Theatre companies and actors wereunpopular with the civil and church authorities: they were not seen as respectablepeople. Audiences at their performances did not behave with much respect, either.1 courtyards of inns : inns were places to eat, drink and stay the night, andcourtyards were the spaces in front of them or behind them.Kermesse at Audenarde by the Dutch artist David Vinckboons (about 1576-1632).The ‘kermesse’ was the annual fair held at Oudenaarde in Belgium (called Audenarde in French).To the right of the centre you can see actors performing on a temporary stage.The audience is not watching in respectful silence!37

Few new plays were written for these groups of actors, and they mostly usedtraditional plays.Even in Shakespeare’s day the authorities in London did not have a very highopinion of the theatre and actors. But there were some professional theatrecompanies that were sponsored by important people. Shakespeare joined one ofthese companies, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (see page 5).Building theatres for the professional companies was a new activity. It is notsurprising that the first theatres looked a little like the old courtyards where somany actors had performed for years.A map of London (1598) in Shakespeare’s time.The theatres were in Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames.There was only one bridge over the Thames, called London bridge.38

One of the problems that the new theatres had in London was the health riskcaused by large numbers of people being so close together in the audience, and intimes of plague 1 the theatres were closed. There was also a risk of fire (ashappened to the Globe in 1613) because all the buildings were made of wood.Because there was no artificial lighting, plays in Shakespeare’s day were usuallyperformed in the middle of the afternoon. Women were not allowed to act onstage, so female parts were played by boys. Costumes worn by the players couldbe very luxurious, and cost a lot of money, but they were always 16th-century1 plague : a general name given for diseases that passed easily from person to person,and which usually killed. About 50 years after Shakespeare, the Great Plague of1665 killed at least 70,000 people in London.The Globe Theatrebefore it burnt downin 1613.The flag, which could beseen from far away, was asign that there was goingto be a play that afternoon.A white flag meant therewas going to be a comedy,a black flag meant atragedy and a red flagmeant a history play.39

clothes: there was no attempt to create a historical feeling, so Shakespeare’s JuliusCaesar did not wear a toga. There was much less scenery 1 than in the theatretoday: Shakespeare used his words to create a sense of place – but some stagemachinery was used to make special sound effects, and to make some characterssuch as witches or spirits ‘fly’ over the stage. Special effects such as the noise ofthunder could be made, too, but some spectacular effects were dangerous: acanon which exploded during a performance of Henry VIII caused the fire whichburnt down the Globe.1 scenery : objects and painting on stage which show where a play takes place.1Comprehension checkAnswer the following questions.1 What was the attitude to actors in Shakespeare’s time?2 What did early theatres look like?3 What two big problems did early theatres face?4 When were plays in Shakespeare’s time usually performed? Why?5 Who played female parts?6 What can you say about costumes, scenery and special effects?INTERNET PROJECTGo to the Internet and go to www.blackcat-cideb.comor www.cideb.it.Insert the title or part of the title of the book intoour search engine.Open the page to Julius Caesar. Click on the Internetproject link. Scroll down the page untilyou find the title of this book and clickon the relevant link for this project.Find out about the building ofthe new Globe: whose idea was it,and what happened to him?Go on a virtual tour.Tell the class what you foundinteresting.40