Some British Literature Notes

Huts -  windows   located   above   the   music   galley,  could   be  used   by characters   playing   lookouts   or  sentries,   the oven   used   so  that   more  than   one   action   could   take   place   at  one   time

Elizabethan   Theater   Limitations----no  women   actors
 o   young  boys  (ages   10-12)  played   all  “juvenile”   female   parts and   men   played   “mature”   female   parts with no  artificial   lighting
o   all  plays  performed   in  daytime weather   could   disrupt   performance   or  ruin   an  image few  sets   and   props   used
o audiences   had   to  visualize   everything no  intermission
 o except   musical   interludes

 Shakespeare
 born   in  Warwickshire   at  Stratford-on-Avon
  baptized   on  April  26,  1564
 married   in  1582
 2  daughters:   Susanna,   Judith
 1  son:  Hamnet
 first   publication:   book   of  erotic   poems:   Venus   and   Adonis
 provided   English   language   with   more   familiar   quotes   than   any other   writer
 one  of  the greatest   storytellers   of  all  time
 his  characters   were   not  types   or  allegorical   abstractions,   but  living   men   and   women   with     mingled   qualities,  and inconsistencies   in  life
 his  writing   philosophy   was   firmly  based   on  Christian   ethics:  endureth   of  all  things,   the brotherhood   of  man,   implying   tolerance  and   readiness   to  pardon
  1610:  retired   to  Stratford,   a  relatively   rich   man
  died:  April  23,  1616,   in  his  home   in  Stratford
  buried   in  the   Holy  Trinity  Church   in  Stratford

Much   Ado  About  Nothing
 In  Act  I,  Scene   I  we  learn   that   Beatrice   and   Benedick   have  strong   feelings   for  one   another
o Despise   by  outward   appearances
 Don  Pedro   agrees   to  woo  Hero   in  Claudio’s  name
Don  John  tries   to  make   Claudio   jealous   by  telling   him  that   Don Pedro   wants   Hero   for  himself
  Early  in  the  play,  Beatrice   and   Benedick   are   constantly   picking  on  each   other
 Don  John  plans   to  deceive   Claudio   by  making   him  think   a hero   is not   a  virgin
 Dogberry   discovers   the   deception   and   unsuccessfully   tries   to  tell Leonato
 Benedick   sides   with   Hero
 Benedick   at  Beatrice’s   urging   agrees   to  try  and   kill  Claudio   to restore   Hero’s   honor
 Despite   him  not  believing   in  Hero   originally  Hero   and   Claudio  do  get   married   in  the   end

Quotes

Act  I,  Scene I
"How  much  better   it  is  to  weep   at  joy  than  to  joy  at  weeping!"

Leonato
  "It  is  better   to  have   something   joyous   to  cry  about   than   to  have  sadness   to  cry  about" - Act  I,  Scene   I

"I  see,   lady,   the   gentleman   is  not  in  your  books."
Messenger
 I  can  see  you  do  not  like  Benedick

Act  I,  Scene   III
"Why  are  you  thus   out  of  measure   sad?"
Conrad
 Why are you so obviously sad?

Act  I,  Scene   III
 "I  had  rather   be  a  canker   in  a  hedy   than  a  rose   in  his  grace…"
Don  John
 I  rather   be  anywhere   but  in  my  brother’s   company

Act  II,  Scene   I
"…Thou  wilt  never   get   thee   a  husband   if  thou   be  so  shrewd   of  thy tongue..."
Leonato

"you  will  never   get  married   if  you  remain   so  frank   and   outspoken"
Act  II,  Scene   I

"I  was   born  to  speak   all  mirth  and  no  matter"
Beatrice
 spoken   to  Don  John  about  his  marriage   offer,  I  would   not  be  a  fitting wife   to  you
Act  II,  Scene   II

"I a man  loves   the  meat   in  his  youth   that  he  cannot   endure   in  his age"
 Benedick
 people’s   tastes   change
Act  II,  Scene   V

"Our  watch   has   indeep   comprehended   two  auspicious   persons"
Dogberry
 our  watch   has  apprehended   two  suspicious   people
 Act  IV,  Scene   I

"She   knows   the   heat   of  a  luxurious   bed"
Claudio
 Hero  is  no  longer   a  virgin
Act  IV,  Scene   I

"There   is  some   strange   misprision   in  the   Princes"
 Friar
 spoken   after   Hero   was humiliated,   that   the   prince   nor   Claudio   would not   accuse   Hero   without   cause   of  suspicion,   something   is  wrong
Act  IV,  Scene   I