Yr+12+Shakespeare+research+and+Knowledge+of+the+Form

Yr 12 Shakespeare research and Knowledge of the FormType in the content of your new page here. This is a site where you will share your research and understanding of the Form and record your demonstration of the features.
 * __Georgia__**

Letter intrigue/plot: In fiction, the story of a play, novel, romance, or poem, comprising a complication of incidents which are gradually unfolded, sometimes by unexpected means. So basically, the plot is the storyline of a play. It tells you what is happening, when it’s happening, why it happening and who its happening to.

Slapstick: Silent comedies like Chaplin, Hal Beetle's Beetle Boy comedies, Buster Keaton, etc. placed a heavy emphasis on visual and physical humor, and what are known as "sight gags", to tell a story and entertain the viewer. Many of these physical gags were exaggerated forms of violence, or even abuse, and came to be called "slapstick". The term "slapstick" refers to a doubled, or "tricked", hitting stick that makes a loud sound upon (light) contact with another person. The "prat fall", slipping on a banana peel, getting soaked with water, and getting a pie thrown in one's face are all classic examples of slapstick comedy devices.

Invisibility: ...in "Hamlet", Shakespeare uses literal invisibility only once; however, there are several instances in which he uses a motif of figurative invisibility, when characters are present but unseen.

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Shakespeare borrowed the convention, mistaken identity from the Greeks and Romans writing. He developed it into a fine art as a means of expressing theme as well as furthering comic relief. Shakespeare development is clearly shown in plays like ‘// The Merchant of Venice’ //, ‘//As You Like It’//, ‘//Twelfth Night’//, and ‘//Measure for Measure’.// Disguise is one of Shakespeare's favorite ploys found in varying degrees in each of the mentioned works. Through it he alters the identity of an individual (frequently female character, though not always) and uses this disguise to heighten irony, develop theme, and enhance subtle comic innuendo//.// In its simplest form, mistaken identity is shown in Twelfth Night where twins are mistaken for each other enhancing the comic confusion of the plot. This basic concept is taken deeper, however, when it is recognized that one twin is actually a girl who would not normally be mistaken for her brother//.// **Problems and Crisis** Shakespeare set out to explore specific moral dilemmas and social problems through their central characters. Themes of abuse of power and gender inequality which are frequently identified in Measure for Measure are a good example. The Duke’s apparently arbitrary and irresponsible wielding of power, using the lives of his subjects for experiments and the claiming of Isabella as his wife without her consent. This convention is seen explicitly in Othello, and also appears in Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Nights’ Dream. When a Shakespearean character – or any character, for that matter – masks their identity, it without a doubt adds considerable interest to the play. It is, however, not necessary that all characters mask their identities, and it is in fact quite important that there is at least one character who is transparent. We see this particularly with Othello’s Desdemona, who is vital to the play’s credibility and adds another dimension to its meaning. In Othello, Iago portrays himself to others as a totally different character than he is in reality. The audience, of necessity enlightened to his falseness, gain a better  __Jeanni__ The stage on which Elizabethan plays were performed was essentially a platform surrounded on three sides by the audience, only the rear being open for entrances, exits, and seating for musicians to accompany the frequent songs. The amphitheatres provided ropes for flying entrances and trap doors for surprise entrances and exits.
 * Mistaken Identity**
 * Masking of their own identities**
 * Entrances + Exits**

In Shakespeare tragedy, a misunderstood situation would often lead to death, however before death they would have a moment of realisation, in which they would understand for the first time how far they have been responsible for their own undoing. This moment of realisation would be too late tragically, for them to avert their fate. At the end of the play those who are left behind learn lessons, but would end on a note of crushing anti-climax. An example of this would be Romeo and Juiliet, Where Romeo misunderstands the situation and plans Juliet had made, and thinking she was dead, Romeo taking his own life. In a romantic comedy, however the lovers in the play would overcome the obstacles and the misunderstandings before being reunited in harmonious reunion.
 * Misunderstood situations lead to ..**

A play within a play is a literary device or conceit in which one story is told during the action of another story. The inner stories are told either simply to entertain or more usually to act as an example to the other characters. In either case the story often has symbolic and psychological significance for the characters in the outer story. There is often some parallel between the two stories, and the fiction of the inner story is used to reveal the truth in the outer story. Shakespeare uses this convention in A Midsummer Night`s Dream, while everyone is in the forest, a group of craftsmen are rehearsing for the production of "Pyramus and Thisbe" for the duke`s wedding. It Is also used in Hamlet, where Hamlet himself, asks some strolling players to perform the "The Murder of Gonzago". The actions and characters In The Murder of Gonzago mirror the murder of Hamlets father in the main action, and prince Hamlet writes additional material to emphasize this. Almost the whole of //[|The Taming of the Shrew]// is a play-within-a-play, presented to convince a drunken beggar that he is a nobleman watching a private performance, but the device has no relevance to the plot (unless Katharina's subservience to her "lord" in the last scene is intended to strengthen the deception against the beggar) and is often dropped in modern productions.
 * Plays within plays**

__Alice__ ** Conventions Of Shakespeare **

Conventions are commonly known as a customary feature of a literary work such as the use of a chorus in Greek tragedy or an explicit moral in a fable. They are found in stories, plays, essays, poetry, and movies. Conventions are found frequently in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Taming of the Shrew, and Othello. They are also detected in D. H. Lawrence’s The Horse Dealer’s Daughter and The Rocking Horse Winner, and lastly in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House. These literary devices all grasp the same conventional concept. The use of a prop in a literary work is a perfect example of a convention—each prop is used to show a significant idea in its respective literary work.

William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet. He was recognized in much of the world as the greatest of all dramatists. In Hamlet, Shakespeare provides the first prop as letters. Ophelia proclaims, “My lord, I have remembrances of yours, That I have longed long to redeliver; I pray you, now receive them” (III.I.93-95). In this citation, Ophelia gives Hamlet the letters (“them”) of poetry he has written to her. With this action, she manages to devalue Hamlet, bring forth a feeling of worthlessness and unimportance.

Another significant prop in Hamlet is the fencing sword. Fencing was a common, competitive and recreational sport practiced in the Middle Ages. The sword was usually tipped with foil to prevent injury. In act V, Hamlet and Leartes engage in a game of fencing. Leartes deceives Hamlet and “unbates” his sword. The unbated sword is soaked in poison and the opponents bleed on both sides (V.II.271-273). This occurrence signifies the revenge each son is instilled with. Hamlet is mislead by his long-lived acquaintance. Deception and revenge brought him to his final resting place

Also in act V, Hamlet and Horatio watch two clowns while they dig a grave. While the clowns dig, they come across a skull. Hamlet pronounces, “This might be the pate of a politician, which this ass now o’er reaches; one that would circumvent God, might it not?” (V.I.66-67). This skull resembled Hamlet’s jester who has passed away over 20 years ago. The skull represented the dead smell in Denmark. This is a turning point in the drama. Everything around Hamlet was falling; first his father, the incest of marriage, and his fair Ophelia.

The props so far have lead up to the dramatic end of the play. In the last scene of the movie of Hamlet, the statue of Hamlet’s father is pictured. While Fortinbras’ men take it down, the face comes crashing down. This is the last picture the audience sees. The statue of his father’s head symbolizes the fall of Denmark. Also, it recalls the apparitions face seen in the beginning of the movie as is desperately asked for revenge.

Taking a look at another one of Shakespeare’s literary works, props are identified in Othello. For example, in the movie of Othello, Othello gives Desdemona a handkerchief as his first gift. Strawberries, which are festooned upon the handkerchief, serve as a very sensual fruit. The strawberry is portrayed this way because the seeds are on the outside of the fruit. Just like woman, the seeds of a piece of fruit produce many other fruits—just as a woman produces children. This is a very special gift from Othello. To him, the gift was essential piece of his soul.

Props can also be spotted in D.H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner”. In this short fiction story, Paul, a young boy, claims to see the future. He rides his rocking horse to see who will win the next horse race. “And yet the voices in the house behind the sprays of mimosa and almond blossom, and from under the piles of iridescent cushions, simply trilled and screamed in a sort of ecstasy. There must be more money! Oh-h-h; there must be more money. Oh, now, now-w!” In another view, when Paul rides the horse he engages in an orgasm. This neo-sexual experience seems to overbear the young boy.

Lawrence provides various props in “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter.” In the beginning of the story, Lawrence describes a cavalcade of shire horses. “This was the last time” (p. 152 Lawrence). This was the collapse of the three brothers. As the horses walk by the house, the brothers realized that those were the last horses to go through their hands. They had become failures.

Another prime example of a prop occurs with Mable’s handkerchief. As she walks through town she carries a red handkerchief. Its color is so radiant against Mabel’s gray wardrobe. To Mabel, the handkerchief represented life. As she arrives at her destination, she leaves her handkerchief behind, just as she decided to take her own life.

“He stood motionless as the small black figure walked slowly and deliberately towards the center of the pond, very slowly, gradually moving deeper into the motionless water, and still moving forward as the water got up to her breast” (pp. 157-58 Lawrence). The pond is a prop that represented Mabel’s escape from life. She tried to drowned herself to elude the fact that her family had failed.

In the film of The Horse Dealer’s Daughter, Mabel’s shoe ascends from her foot as she sinks to the bottom of the pond. This is an allusion to the Cinderella story. A prince comes and saves her from the dreaded world she lives in. In the film, Dr. Jack Fergusson comes to Mabel’s rescue and saves her from the pond, just as the prince in Cinderella saves her from her wretched stepmother.

Props are also found in Henrik Ibsen’s A Dolls House. Nora, the wife of the household, consistently brings chocolate macaroons into the house. Her husband, Torvald, asks her not to brings such things into the house. In the play, Nora exclaims, “You know I could never think of going against you” (I. p.1242 Ibsen). Nora defies her husband and eats the chocolate macaroons anyway. When he catches her, she lies to Torvald and tells him Dr. Rank had given them to her.

An additional prop in Ibsen’s work is the use of money. Torvald would tease Nora with money. He had been very lucky to receive a new job promotion – manager of a bank. In the movie, you see how Torvald teases Nora. He wiggles the money over her head like shaking candy in front of a baby.

“Just to see if there’s any mail” (II. p.1274 Ibsen). When Torvald finally gets his mail, he finds a very destructive letter. This shameful letter, which Krogstad has written, represents the end to Torvald’s marriage. He will be forced to understand what that Nora had lied to him about her father and committed forgery. Back in this time period, forgery was a very disgraceful crime.

Another item that is received via mail is Dr. Rank’s business cards. Once Dr. Rank drops them into the mailbox, it signifies his death. Dr. Rank found out that he only had a short period left to live. When he delivers his business card, it was an indication that he would never see his friends again. In the Torvald family, it had been one loss after another; the loss of their good friend, then the loss of their marriage, and the loss of Nora who set out to find what society really meant.

Furthermore, there are many different kinds of propositional conventions throughout literature. However, they all have the same standard technique; an object that portrays a significant role in a literary work. The ways these conventions are used portray the good and evil in the dramas. In some most cases, destruction was the conclusion. In others, survival will lead to a windy path.

__ Soliloquy __ Shakespeare's soliloquies, like "To be or not to be", can be daunting to produce, but there are ways to bring this Shakespearean technique to life.

Performing a Shakespeare soliloquy should be one of the high point of a role. The actor is given a chance to engage with the audience directly, speaking straight to them and exploring the character’s feelings and thoughts – vindicating the character’s subjectivity. It can be quite an opportunity for the kind of slavish attention and admiration which, though obviously unsought, comes as a nice bonus. However, actors often find soliloquies difficult when actually staging Shakespeare. It can feel extremely false to simply turn to an audience and begin unburdening – even how to pitch the voice can be an issue – confidential aside or emotional outburst? There are several ways to stage a soliloquy, in order to avoid ending up stranded like a beached whale in the middle of the stage, caught between the cast and the audience.

An **aside** is a [|dramatic device] in which a [|character] speaks to the [|audience]. By convention the audience understands that the character's speech is not heard by the other characters in the [|drama]. An aside is usually a brief comment, rather than a long speech such as a [|monologue] or [|soliloquy]. As the [|Elizabethan] drama developed, the aside changed in a manner similar to that it had undergone in the development of New Comedy; in this case, of course, the similarity is more clearly an instance of emulation, as is most clear in plays such as //[|The Comedy of Errors]// that are revamped Roman stories. Strikingly, however, the syncretic Elizabethans did not confine the device to comedy. Indeed, some of the best-remembered instances of the device are from tragedies such as //[|Hamlet]// and //[|The Duchess of Malfi]//. In its tragic uses, the aside tends to highlight a mood of suspense or paranoia. One late play, [|James Shirley]'s //The Cardinal//, is conducted in asides for large stretches of the action.
 * __//CRAIG//__**

Characters could easily disguise themselves by wearing the clothes of people from different classes or job.
 * Disguise** played an important part in Elizabethan drama. Audiences loved funny parts in which a boy played a girl character who disguised herself as a boy. The Elizabethans recognized the differences between social classes and between jobs. These differences were shown by differences in clothes. Noblemen were immediately recognized by their clothing, as were doctors, lawyers, merchants, or pages.

Another aspect of the Elizabethan theatre that might have seemed strange to you was the tiring-house, an area behind the stage that corresponds to the backstage area of a theatre today. The tiring-house was used as dressing rooms by the actors. Entrances and exits were also made of the doors leading to the tiring-house. Actors could also enter the action from the curtained discovery space at the rear of the stage. By opening the curtains, the actors could reveal characters who were **eavesdropping** on the conversations of the characters on stage.

The **masque** was a form of festive [|courtly] entertainment which flourished in sixteenth and early seventeenth century Europe, though it was developed earlier in [|Italy], in forms including the [|intermedio] (a public version of the masque was the [|pageant].) Masque involved music and dancing, singing and acting, within an elaborate [|stage design], in which the architectural framing and costumes might be designed by a renowned architect, to present a deferential allegory flattering to the patron. Professional actors and musicians were hired for the speaking and singing parts. Often, the masquers who did not speak or sing were courtiers: James I's Queen Consort, [|Anne of Denmark], frequently danced with her ladies in masques between 1603 and 1611, and [|Henry VIII] and [|Charles I] performed in the masques at their courts. In the tradition of masque, [|Louis XIV] danced in [|ballets] at [|Versailles] with music by [|Lully]. The masque has its origins in a folk tradition where masked players would unexpectedly call on a nobleman in his hall, dancing and bringing gifts on certain nights of the year, or celebrating dynastic occasions. The rustic presentation of "Pyramus and Thisbe" as a wedding entertainment in Shakespeare's //[|A Midsummer Night's Dream]// offers a familiar example. Spectators were invited to join in the dancing. At the end, the players would take off their masks to reveal their identities. 

England
In England, Tudor court masques developed from earlier //[|guisings]//, where a masked allegorical figure would appear and address the assembled company— providing a theme for the occasion— with musical accompaniment; masques at [|Elizabeth]'s court emphasized the concord and unity between Queen and Kingdom. A descriptive narrative of a processional masque is the masque of the Seven Deadly Sins in [|Edmund Spenser]'s //[|The Faerie Queene]// (Book i, Canto IV). A particularly elaborate masque, performed over the course of two weeks for Elizabeth, is described in the 1821 novel //[|Kenilworth]//, by [|Sir Walter Scott]. Later, in the court of James I, narrative elements of the masque became more significant. Plots were often on classical or allegorical themes, glorifying the royal or noble sponsor. At the end, the audience would join with the actors in a final dance. [|Ben Jonson] wrote a number of masques with stage design by [|Inigo Jones]. Their works are usually thought of as the most significant in the form. Sir [|Philip Sidney] also wrote masques. [|William Shakespeare] wrote a masque-like interlude in //[|The Tempest],// understood by modern scholars to have been heavily influenced by the masque texts of Ben Jonson and the stagecraft of Inigo Jones. There is also a masque sequence in his [|Romeo and Juliet] and //[|Henry VIII]//.

The //**Jig**// ([|Irish]: //port//) is a form of lively [|folk dance], as well as the accompanying dance [|tune], originating in England in the sixteenth century and today most associated with [|Irish] and [|Scottish country dance music].[|[1]] Jigs were originally in 2/4 time, but have been adapted to a variety of time signatures, by which they are often classified into groups, including, light jigs, slip jigs, single jigs and treble jigs.