Презентация по теме : Театр Уильями Шекспира"

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  Театр Уильяма Шекспира
  

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  Shakespeare's time (the second half of the sixteenth century) was an era when England became one of the strongest countries in the world. England's famous Queen Elizabeth the First wanted her country to be the leading power in all Europe, and she succeeded in making it one.
  English armies were seen again and again on the Continent. Elizabeth never forgot that the English kings had once owned a large part of France. Her armies fought against the unruly Scotsmen in the north of the island of Great Bri­tain, enslaving them.
  But perhaps the English fleet was even more important than the army. English ships were not large, but they usually fought very well. In those days, the captains of English ships were often not much better than pirates. They attacked Spanish and French ships whenever they met them in the ocean. Queen Elizabeth did not punish them, she even rewarded those who brought a big plunder.
  
  

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  They were able to fight not only as separate ships, but as a fleet as well. "Though the Spanish fleet was called the "Invincible Armada", it was thoroughly beaten by the English. England was becoming the sovereign of the seas and this meant a possibility of gaining new lands and colonies.
  Trade began to prosper, new relations were established. There were contacts even with the far-away Russia; a Russian Merchant Company appeared in London. Captain Drake circumnaviga­ted the globe, Captain Raleigh organized the first colony in North America and reached the heart of the South American continent.
  It is not by chance that the scene of many plays by William Shakespeare is laid in distant lands: Italy, Spain, Egypt, Denmark, The air of long voyages bursts into his plays.
  Queen Elizabeth liked to think that her city was the capital of the world. London in the sixteenth century was a great metropolis. England was one of the leading trading countries and ships came to the Thames from every corner of the globe. It was an optimistic time and this optimism can be seen in many of Shakespeare's comedies.
  
  

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  They were able to fight not only as separate ships, but as a fleet as well. "Though the Spanish fleet was called the "Invincible Armada", it was thoroughly beaten by the English. England was becoming the sovereign of the seas and this meant a possibility of gaining new lands and colonies.
  Trade began to prosper, new relations were established. There were contacts even with the far-away Russia; a Russian Merchant Company appeared in London. Captain Drake circumnaviga­ted the globe, Captain Raleigh organized the first colony in North America and reached the heart of the South American continent. 
  It is not by chance that the scene of many plays by William Shakespeare is laid in distant lands: Italy, Spain, Egypt, Denmark, The air of long voyages bursts into his plays.
  Queen Elizabeth liked to think that her city was the capital of the world. London in the sixteenth century was a great metropolis. England was one of the leading trading countries and ships came to the Thames from every corner of the globe. It was an optimistic time and this optimism can be seen in many of Shakespeare's comedies.
  
  

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  This was the time of enthusiasm and activity, a general striving for knowledge. Science, art and education got rid of old superstitions. The universities were lacking in teachers to spread the ideas of modern thought.
  Francis Bacon was shaping his practical philosophy, Edmund Spenser was reviving clas­sical poetry, and Christopher Marlowe was reforming classical drama. Shakespeare became the greatest poet and dramatist of his age who managed to express its spirit and ideals.
  But at the same time most people of Shakespeare's time did not know the laws of nature. They thought that the Sun and all the planets went round the Earth; that the Earth was the centre of the Universe.
  They believed that the sea and countries tar from England were full of strange animals and dragons, that potatoes grew on trees in America. Such mistakes can be found in Shakespeare's plays, he was not a very good geographer and historian, but we forget about it when we think of the great problems his plays present: problems that are still alive today.
  
  

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  The plays at that time were presented in a theatre which is not like the ones we know today. The action of the play took place on the platform and the balcony over it. The actors were in cos­tumes, but there were no stage decorations. A sign at the side informed the audience that this was a "Garden", "In Front of the Castle", "On the Seashore". The audience had to imagine where the story was taking place.
  Little indeed can be told about the life of Shakespeare with certainty. Even the year of his birth is much doubted. His native place was Stratford-on-Avon, a little town which is generally described as being in the centre of England. His father was engaged in the wool industry and occu­pied different municipal posts.
  William was the eldest son in the family of eight children. In his seventh year, the boy was placed at the Grammar School of his native town. The priest of the church was also the schoolmaster. At school the boy learned to read and spell and was taught his "little Latin and less Greek". On leaving school, Shakespeare began to learn foreign languages in earnest. His teacher was an Italian who taught him his native language and brushed up his Latin and Greek.
  
  

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  He probably first visited the theatre when he was still a schoolboy. The Earl of Leicester entertained the Queen with a series of theatrical representations during her visit to his castle. There can be no doubt that Shakespeare's father was present at the performances, and bearing in mind the allusion made by Shakespeare in his "Midsummer Night's Dream" we can believe that his son accompanied him. William was still a boy when he began to set and produce plays.
  He was not more than eighteen years old when he married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a farmer. The cottage in which he lived, now inhabited by his direct descendants, is still to be seen. There are reasons to believe that his mar­ried life was not a happy one for within five years after marriage he left his home for London, his wife and children remaining behind. After his arrival to London Shakespeare joined Richard Burbage's company of players who soon began to perform at "The Globe". He became a part-proprietor of the theatre and adopted a double profession of actor and dramatist. He was a very good actor but he seldom had a chance to play the principal roles even in his own plays. Richard Burbage, a far worse actor, was always the first Romeo, the first Othello and the first Hamlet.
  
  

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  We are told that Shakespeare himself only played the Ghost of Hamlet's father and sometimes he even played women's parts which at that time were played by men. Although the beginning of his career was troublous and difficult, he soon became the favourite dramatist of his age. The Queen showed her admiration of his genius, some noblemen passed away their time in London going to his plays every day. "The Globe" prospered. Although the audience favoured his own plays most, Shakespeare as an honest manager never refused to read the plays of younger playwrights. It was he who first recommended the play of Ben Jonson to the public and the plays of this author are still on the stage of British theatres. Ben Jonson and Shakespeare became friends.
  Before the terrible plague that raged through England, Shakespeare's plays were notable for their light wit and optimism. His comedies such as "Two Gentlemen of Verona", "The Comedy of Errors", "All's Well That Ends Well", and «The Taming of the Shrew" are written in his playful manner and the bright spirit of the Renaissance. The heroes are the creators of their own fate and the scene is laid mostly in Italy.
  
  
  

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  These plays enjoy great popularity with the audience until now. Many of them have been screened and the best actors played the principal roles. Here you can see Elizabeth Taylor, a famous American actress, playing the part of Catharine in "The Taming of the Shrew".
  But at the same time he produces some of his historical plays, telling about the War of the Roses full of dramatic tension. This was the war of two royal families that had brought much disaster to the country.
  He reaches the height of tragedy in his play about the villain—King Richard III. The part of Richard III attracted many first-class actors who became interested in the idea to play absolute evil. A famous English actor Lawrence Olivier was a great success in this role.
  Many critics think that Shakespeare's best works were written after 1592, when the plague raged throughout England and the theatres were closed. The tragedy suffered by his people was revealed in his tragic plays. These are his greatest tragedies such as "Romeo and Juliet", "Hamlet", "Othello", "King Lear" and "Macbeth".
  
  

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  But there are also beautiful comedies of this period: "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Merry Wives of Windsor", "As You Like It" and "Twelfth Night". All these plays are about love, and the heroes rely on their cleverness to achieve happiness. In his comedies he mocks hypocrisy, evil spirit, self-interest and envy.
  Merry and spectacular comedies of this period remain favourite plays of modern theatre­
  goers. At the beginning of the 17th century Shakespeare wrote most of his Roman plays, presenting different epochs of ancient history. They are "Anthony and Cleopatra", "Coriolanus", "Timon of Athens", "Pericles", "Titus Andronicus" and "Julius Caesar".
  Shakespeare is greatly interested in the problems of man and power, hero and mediocrity. He gave his own interpretation of history which was always a convincing one. Lawrence Olivier and Vivien Leigh who played the parts of Anthony and Cleopatra in the London production of Shakespeare's play were probably among the best performers of these parts and those who saw the play will remember their acting for a long time.
  
  

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  It is interesting to note that almost all plots of Shakespeare's plays were not original. He took them from the works of other authors. At that time the audience was rather ignorant and the playwrights tried to attract it to the world lite­rature through their plays. Shakespeare took his plots from history, old legends, novels and poems, he also used Plutarch's "Historical Portraits". The plot of "Othello" and "Twelfth Night" was taken from Italian novels and those of "Ham­let" and "King Lear"—from early English authors. But every borrowed plot began to live a new life in his plays.
  At the end of his life Shakespeare retired to Stratford. There he created his third cycle of plays called the "romantic dramas". These are the plays "Cymbeline", "The Winter's Tale", "The Tempest". The emotional and ideological conflicts in these plays are less strong. Shakespeare transports us to a world of fantasy and allegory. These plays are less popular than those of the previous periods, they are staged mainly in England.
  
  

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  Shakespeare died in 1616, his tomb in the Stratford church has four lines that are said to
  have been written by himself:
  "Good friend, for Jesus' sake, forbear To dig the dust enclosed here; Blessed be he that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones." It is believed that these lines have prevented the removal of his remains from his native place to Westminster Abbey where the most famous men of Britain are buried. A memorial statue of him is set up in Poets' Corner.
  You won't find ideal characters in Shakespea­re's plays. Shakespeare considered that such characters should be in the Bible and moral lite­rature. Even his favourite characters have certain drawbacks: Romeo likes merry escapades with his friends, he is hot-tempered and lacks self-control. Hamlet is stern and cold with the woman he loves. But these drawbacks make the characters more human.
  
  

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  As in real life his characters are gradually unfolded to us, and it is only in the end that we come to know them completely. A light-minded Fool in "King Lear" proves to be the most faithful friend. Quarrelsome Catharine in "The Taming of the Shrew" proves to be a woman full of dignity and self-respect. You can surely name some other examples, can't you? And as in real life, we have no second copy of one and the same individual. His kings, fools, lovers and wits have each their distinguishing traits, nor are any two alike, even though they may seem so to a superficial observer. It is impossible to ascribe any important speech or incident to the wrong person. Every character has a face of his own.
  Shakespeare's plays are often blamed for their supposed irregularity of construction. But though they are in reality composed in strictest accordance with the essential rules of dramatic art, this seeming irregularity is what makes the plays eternal. Shakespeare pays no attention to arbitrary rules of classic drama, the action takes place in different places—from king's palace to the graveyard, many years pass between the two acts, and some side-lines are often more vivid and expressive than the main ones. Moral and psycho­logical truth is with him more important than mere beauty of style.
  
  

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  We find Shakespeare's humanistic ideas in all his plays, of course. But they are presented most clearly in his great philosophical tragedies. "Hamlet" is the story of a man who loved good and hated evil, who loved truth and hated lies. He thought more about all the people in the world than he did about himself. He thinks about his time and decides that it is a bad time, a sick time, and he is ready to give his life to bring a better era to his people.
  Hamlet is a thinking person who detests murder. He studies the people around him, their hopes and passions, he is eager to forgive their weakness but he cannot forgive meanness. The character of Hamlet is one of the most difficult in world literature. It is not yet discovered in full. This role was played by the best actors of all times and peoples. John Gielgud in London theatres was one of the best in England, whereas poet and actor Vladimir Vysotsky was brilliant in our country.
  
  

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  "King Lear" is the story of a man who was so proud, so egoistic that he could not understand the world around him. He heard only what he wan­ted to hear; he saw only what he wanted to see. He believed the lies that his eldest daughters told him, because they were pleasant. He refused to believe his youngest daughter, who told him the unpleasant truth. And it is only when he has lost everything, when he is old and alone, that he reali­zes he has been wrong. King Lear suffers deeply and we suffer together with him. Together with him we learn the lesson always to look for truth in life, not to listen to lies, even though they may be pleasant to our ears. The role of King Lear is very difficult because an actor has to maintain the tragic tenseness all through the play. Only great artists could show the suffering of the King abandoned by his daughters. Here you can see the great tragic actor Lawrence Olivier, whom you came to know already, in the part of King Lear.
  
  

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  "Romeo and Juliet" is one of the greatest love-stories in the world. Two young people fall in love and want to marry. But their families have quarrelled, and they will never allow the boy and girl to unite their lives. The young people do everything in their power to escape from the anger and hatred around them. But they can find no way out of their terrible situation and they die.
  "Romeo and Juliet" is often called an optimistic tragedy. Although the main characters both die, their death brings the two families together. "Romeo and Juliet" is staged in all kinds of theatres, sometimes as a play and sometimes as an opera or ballet. Great Ulanova danced Juliet in a ballet.
  And not long ago the parts of Romeo and Juliet in a screen version of the play were performed by their peers—the girl was 14, and the boy 16.
  
  

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  "Othello" is a play about love and jealousy, a play about a person who believed the lie and killed his wife whom he loved dearly. A brave, battle-stricken man proved helpless before lie and treachery. The tragedy of Othello was beautifully performed by Stanislavsky and Ostuzhev and here you can see Lawrence Olivier who managed to play both parts, that of the noble Othello and that of the treacherous Iago and was equally brilliant in both.
  
  

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  Shakespeare's plays are famous in all countries. In England there is a special Shake­speare Memorial Theatre3 in Stratford-on-Avon. A Shakespeare Festival is held here every year and people come from all over the world to honour England's greatest dramatist. All Shakespearean plays are staged or have been staged in this theatre and though Stratford is a small town, the house is always packed.
  They say Shakespeare liked music. It is not known whether he could play any musical instrument, but he did not believe those who remained indifferent at the sounds of music.
  Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and other great compo­sers have written music and operas on Shakespeare's plays. In libraries there are whole rooms filled with books on Shakespeare's art. Shakespeare's work is more alive and well known today than it ever has been in the past. His name and his wonderful art will never die.
  
  

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  The show must go on