Shakespeare+Questions+Assignment

QUESTIONS FOR SHAKESPEARE ASSIGNMENT:

1. **What were popular forms of music and musical instruments in Elizabethan England?**

Music was a very important part of many people's lives in the Elizabethan Era of England as it was a major form of entertainment. Most upper and middle class families were able to recruit servants who were capable of playing at least one musical instrument; however, it was not uncommon for a noble or wealthy person to know how to play instruments. Elizabethan musical instruments can be grouped into four categories: Stringed instruments (instruments that can be picked or bowed, such as a lute ), Wind instruments (instruments that require to be blown on, such as a trumpet or flute), Percussion instruments (sundry forms of drums and bells),and Keyboard instruments like the organ and harpsichord. The lute, the most popular instrument of its time, had a long neck and several strings, not far off from modern acoustic guitars. They produced a sweet, relaxing melody that many found appealing. Organs were frequently found in churches. Elizabethan music is remembered specifically for its steady rhythms and polyphony (multiple independent melodies playing at the same time). Songs sung usually comprised of four separate melodies- bass, tenor, alto, and soprano. The numerous melodies at once makes for beautiful, multi-layered, and thick sound. The popularity of polyphonies would later lead to the creation of the Baroque Era in the 17th century, which, among other things, emphasized grandeur in music. Many of William Shakespeare's musical contemporaries, such as Henry Purcell (a revered Baroque-Era music composer) and many other composers are still very famous to this day. One of the most common places for the average citizen to hear music was the church. Organs frequently accompanied the choirs as they sang- only adding to the chruchgoing experience. The music played in churches was called choral polyphony. However, church was not the only place to hear music. Town musicians called "waits" would frequently play their instruments (often flutes) at public and social gatherings. Music was also very important in theatre. Most plays were divided into three categories- Comedies, Tradegies, and Histories. Each category demands a different emotional ambiance- a comedy might require lighthearted and fun music, whereas a tragedy might requier slightly more solemn music. Henceforth, music was often used as a way to further the experience of going to the theatre- the dimension of sound can drastically improve a production.

2. **What is Shakespeare's body of work of poetry? What are considered to be his most important poems?** Shakespeare is one of the world's most recognized writers. His poems and works are recognized throughout the world as literary genius. When we hear Shakespeare's name, we think not of his works of poetry, but rather is famous pieces of theatre. He actually wrote many hundreds of poems on various subjects. One of his most famous poetry works was a poem entitled "A Lover's Complaint". This work tells the story of an elderly man who happens upon a young lady hurling rings and ripped-up letters into the river whilst sobbing uncontrollably. She tells the elderly man how a man pursued, seduced, then abandoned her. In the final stanza of the poem (pictured below), we learn that the heart sick young lady would fall for his charms again, if only she could see him again. Here is a snippet of this poem, "A Lover's Complaint":

//O that infected moisture of his eye,////O that false fire which in his cheek so glow'd,////O that forc'd thunder from his heart did fly,////O that sad breath his spongy lungs bestow'd,////O all that borrowed motion seemingly ow'd,// //Would yet again betray the fore-betray'd,////And new pervert a reconciled maid!//

Another of his poems, "The Phoenix and The Turtle", is very well-known. It tells the tragic story of a phoenix and a turtle dove who were so perfectly and idyllically in love, but who both passed away.The last few stanzas conclude the poem with grievances and the death of love and its steadfast passage into the next life. Here are the last stanzas from "The Phoenix and The Turtle":

//BEAUTY, truth, and rarity, Grace in all simplicity, Here enclosed in cinders lie.

Death is now the phoenix' nest; And the turtle's loyal breast To eternity doth rest,

Leaving no posterity: 'Twas not their infirmity, It was married chastity.

Truth may seem, but cannot be; Beauty brag, but 'tis not she; Truth and beauty buried be.

To this urn let those repair That are either true or fair; For these dead birds sigh a prayer. //

His poems "Venus and Adonice" ( a poem in which Adonice rejects sexual advances proposed by Venus) and "The Rape of Lucrece" (an upstanding wife, Lucrece is raped by her lusty husband) even ventured into the gauche realm of erotica. Two reccurring themes in all of shakespeare's poetic works are love and lust, and both the pleasures and tragedies that can develop from both. Love can bring the most euphoric feelings if it lasts and flourishes- but if it does not work out, love can bring the lowest, most lamentable, depressing feelings. Everyone has experiences with love in their lifetime- perhaps shakespeare chose to write so frequently of it because he knew even "simpler folk" could relate to it. Perhaps, even, he had a few sour experiences with love himself.

Shakespeare also has many famous sonnets-fourteen line poems with a very strict rhyme scheme and structure. The majority of his sonnets were published in 1609 in a book called __Shake-Speares Sonnets__. A recurring theme throughout the book is love. Shakespeare often twists the roles of the genders in the relationships, and even refers to homosexuality- leading us to believe that he had a very satirical view of human love. Although we may never pinpoint the inspiration for Shakespeare's works, his poems will forever be regarded with the utmost veneration.

3. **Who is the "Dark Lady"?** Shakespeare's "Dark Lady" is a subject of great debate. She is a character described in many of Shakespeare's sonnets, and is described as having black hair and "dun" (darker) skin. The "Dun gene" is a gene mutation that causes a horse's body hair pigment to darken to colors like tan or brown. Here is Sonnet 128: //How oft when thou, my music, music play’st, Upon that blessed wood whose motion sounds With thy sweet fingers when thou gently sway’st// //The wiry concord that mine ear confounds,// //Do I envy those jacks that nimble leap, To kiss the tender inward of thy hand, Whilst my poor lips which should that harvest reap, At the wood’s boldness by thee blushing stand!// //To be so tickled, they would change their state And situation with those dancing chips, O’er whom thy fingers walk with gentle gait, Making dead wood more bless’d than living lips.// //Since saucy jacks so happy are in this, Give them thy fingers, me thy lips to kiss.// This sonnet appears to be describing this Dark Lady- specifically, how she is "out of the league" of the narrator. It seems to show how beautiful the narrator thinks she is, and possibly that he is jealous of her good looks and youth, things that the nararator possibly does not have.This sonnet obviously has lusty and sexual undertones, which leads us to believe that the narrator of this poem (presumably Shakespeare) had an affair with this particular "Dark Lady". There are many theories as to who this lady is-many historians believe she is one of three historic women: Marry Fitton, a servant of Queen Elizabeth, Lucy Morgan, a brothel owner, and Emilia Laner, patron of the arts. . Some say that her "dun" skin undoubetly labels her as an African- otheres simply claim that the Dark Lady was not meant to be taken literally, but is rather a ficitonal embodiment of Shakespeare's "dark" lust and passion. Others have even claimed there are connections between the Dark Lady and the character Hermia from the Shakespeare play //A Midsummer Night's Dream//, who is also described as having dark hair. The mystery of the true identity of the Dark Lady has still not been solved-it is a conundrum whose solution accompanied Shakespeare to his eternal rest.

Shakespeare is, without a doubt, a master of the English language. His words leapt from concious to paper with such fluidity and emotion that people across the world have found meaning to his works. His pieces have affected modern arts in countless ways. He and his contemporaries laid the brickwork for the prominence that drama, art, and literature would soon take in the centuries to follow. Shakespeare's works are also constantly being adopted for modern theatre. Countless versions of //Dream// with Titania's Fairies clad in ripped tights, torn jeans, and converse shoes: or productions of //Romeo and Juliet// set in modern times with Romeo in a button-down and Juliet donning a t-shirt. Shakespeare's influence can be found not only in theatre, but in literature as well. Nearly all modern love stories are some deviation of the classic //Romeo and Juliet// storyline- just take a look a West Side Story! Temporary adaptations are abundandt even today- the movie //10 Things I Hate About You// is loosely based on //The Taming Of The Shrew//, an early Shakespearean comedy. The 2006 comedy movie //She's The Man// is also an adaptation of one of Shakespeare's works called //Twelfth Night// (which involves a woman posing as a man). William Shakespeare's gargantuan influence on modern arts has been crucial in the further fostering and development of today's arts- he shall always be looked upon as the father of modern literature and theatre. Numerous modern adaptations of his comedies have truly proven that his works are timeless- people are still laughing at the same plots and jokes nearly four hundred years after Shakepseare's death.
 * How did Shakespeare continue to influence writers across the centuries? Where do we see his influences today? What are some current popular adaptations of Shakespeare’s work, and how has his work been modernized for a contemporary audience?**

Jenson, Ashlee. "The Importance of Shakespeare." 12 Mar 2009 . Unknown Author, "William Shakespeare Poems." 12 Mar 2009 http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-poem-the-phoenix-and-the-turtle.htm. Unknown Author, "William Shakespeare Poems." 12 Mar 2009 http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-poem-the-phoenix-and-the-turtle.htm. Unknown Author, "Elizabethan Theatre Music." 7 Apr 2009 http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-music.htm. Unknown Author, "The Dark Lady." 7 Apr 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_sonnets#The_Dark_Lady