Introduction:
Shakespeare (W. william shakespeare; ; 1564 ~ 16 16) Original name: Edward? De? Edward De Vere was born in Stratford, England on April 23rd, 2006 (April 23rd in Gregorian calendar). He is a famous British playwright and poet. His major works are Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Macbeth.
all one's life
William, the great English playwright and poet? Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Varvik, central England. His father John? Shakespeare was a grocer engaged in wool, leather manufacturing and grain business. From 65438 to 0565, he served as the town civil affairs director and was elected mayor three years later. Shakespeare studied in the local grammar school when he was young. Historian George? Stevenson said that later generations roughly outlined Shakespeare's life track from these written materials: 13 years old, his family came down, and then he dropped out of school to do business. At the age of 22, he went to London to work in drama and later became an actor and playwright. 1597 Go back to your hometown to buy real estate and spend the last time of your life. Although he received a good basic education, he didn't go to college. At the age of 1582 and 18, Shakespeare's plays before the age of 35 were listed, praising his comedies and tragedies as "unparalleled" and comparable to the first-class drama poets in ancient times. But he never published his own play before his death. 1596, he applied for the title of "gentleman" and the right to own the coat of arms in the name of his father, and bought considerable real estate in three times. 1603, James I succeeded to the throne, and his troupe was renamed "Sacrifice to the King", and he and the actors in the troupe were appointed as attendants of the court. 16 12 or so, he bid farewell to London and returned to his hometown to settle down. 1665438+ died on April 23rd, 2006 and was buried in Trinity Church in the town. Leave a will before death. His two portraits are said to be more reliable, namely the bust in the church and the portrait of Droshute. The handwriting has six signatures and "Thomas? Sir Moore's three-page manuscript. 1623, actors J. Hamming and H. Candel printed his plays in folio, and collected 36 plays (20 of which were printed for the first time), which was called "first folio". Since 1772, people have been asking about the authors of Shakespeare's plays and trying to prove that the authors are Bacon, C Marlowe, Earl of Lightland, Earl of Oxford, Earl of Derby and so on. , but there is no evidence.
Shakespeare has lived in London for more than twenty years, while his wife has been living in Stratford. He retired and returned to his hometown of Stratford when he was close to his fate (about 16 12). 16 16 Shakespeare died around his 52nd birthday and was buried in Trinity Church. Leave a will before death. His two portraits are said to be more reliable, namely the bust in the church and the portrait of Droshute. The handwriting has six signatures and "Thomas? Sir Moore's three-page manuscript. 1623, actors J. Hamming and H. Candel printed his plays in folio, and collected 36 plays (20 of which were printed for the first time), which was called "first folio".
works
In about 20 years (1590 ~ 16 12), Shakespeare wrote thirty-seven plays (thirty-eight, if you add two aristocratic relatives written with Fletcher), two long poems and one hundred and fifty-four sonnets. His plays are mostly based on historical records, novels, folklore and old plays, which reflect the historical reality of the transition from feudal society to capitalist society and publicize the humanitarian thought and human nature view of the emerging bourgeoisie. On the one hand, he borrowed extensively from ancient drama, English medieval drama and emerging culture and art in Europe, on the other hand, he deeply observed life, understood society and grasped the pulse of the times, which enabled Shakespeare to create many vivid characters and paint a broad and colorful picture of social life, and was famous for his blending of sadness and joy, poetic and picturesque, unity in contradiction and change, philosophy of life and critical spirit.
Generally speaking, Shakespeare's drama creation can be divided into the following three periods:
The first issue (1590 ~ 1600) is mainly about writing historical dramas and comedies, including 9 historical dramas, 2 comedies and 2 tragedies. Of the nine historical dramas, except King John, which is about English history at the beginning of the 65438+3rd century, the other eight are all two tetralogy: the first, middle and last three of Henry VI and Charles III; Charles ii, Henry IV and Henry V, these historical dramas summed up the turmoil in British history for more than a hundred years, shaped a series of positive and negative images of monarchies, and reflected Shakespeare's humanistic political and moral ideals of opposing feudal separatism, supporting centralization, condemning tyrants and tyranny, demanding enlightened monarchies to carry out top-down reforms and establish harmonious social relations.
10 Most comedies, The Wrong Comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The futility of love, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much ado about nothing, All Happy and Twelfth Night, are all about it. Praise progress and beautiful new features, but also gently expose and ridicule the decay and ugliness of old things, such as the wrong correction of asceticism, the hypocrisy of Puritans and the greed of usurers. The basic tone of Shakespeare's drama creation in this period is optimistic and clear, full of confidence in solving social contradictions with humanistic ideals, so that the tragedy Romeo and Juliet written in this period is also full of comedy atmosphere. Although the hero died of double suicide, the ideal of love overcame death and got the reconciliation of feudal feud. However, the mature comedy The Merchant of Venice in the later period of this period contains melancholy and tragic factors. While advocating kindness, friendship and sincere love, it reflects the class oppression and racial discrimination of the law of the jungle in Christian society, which shows that the author has gradually realized that there is an intractable contradiction between ideal and reality.
The second issue (1601-1607) is mainly about tragedies, with three Roman plays, five tragedies and three "black comedies" or "problem plays".
The Roman drama julius? Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra and Cory Ollanu are historical dramas adapted from Plutarch's Biography of Heroes in Greece and Rome.
These four tragedies, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Timon of Athens, mark the author's deep thinking about the times and life, and strive to shape some tragic protagonists in the new era: they woke up from the imprisonment and ignorance of the Middle Ages and developed or improved themselves ambitiously under the dawn of modern times, but they could not overcome the limitations of the times and themselves, and finally found themselves in the same environment and inner hostile forces. In order to avenge his father, Hamlet found that "the whole era was out of tenon" and decided to take on the responsibility of "rectifying Gankun". As a result, he was too ambitious to return to heaven. Othello is honest and simple, and people hate him. He killed his wife at the mercy of traitors, and was punished for pursuing perfection. King Lear lost his nature and reason in the honor, pride and self-confidence brought by power. He fantasized that by dividing power into different countries to prove that he was not a king, he could be as great as ordinary people, so he suffered painful hardships. Macbeth is a hero with meritorious service, and there are goodness and beauty in his character. Driven by the temptation and ambition of the throne, he degenerated into a "bloody to bloody" sinner and regretted the world. The tragedies of these characters profoundly reveal all kinds of social ugliness and bourgeois egoism that began to appear in primitive accumulation of capital period, and show the irreconcilable contradiction between humanistic ideal and cruel reality, which has a high degree of generalization significance.
Due to the enhancement of the ideological depth and realism depth of dramas in this period, comedies such as troilus, Cressida, All ends well, and Tit for Tit also showed a dark side, shrouded in the evil shadow of treachery and conspiracy, so they were called "problem dramas" or "black comedies".
The tragicomedy or legendary drama in the third issue (1608 ~ 16 13) tends to compromise and fantasy.
His major works are four tragicomedy or legendary dramas Prince Ricci of Tyre, cymbeline, Winter's Tale and The Tempest. Most of these works are about separation, reunion, framing and revenge. Although we still adhere to the ideal of humanism and expose the dark reality, the solution of contradictions mainly depends on magic, fantasy, coincidence and accidental events, and ends with preaching forgiveness, tolerance, compromise and reconciliation. Shakespeare also collaborated with Fletcher to write the historical drama Henry VIII and the legendary drama Two Noble Relatives, which has been included in the existing Shakespeare plays in recent years.
William? Shakespeare (1564— 16 16) was the most important writer in Britain and Europe during the Renaissance. He was born into a merchant family in Stratford, central England. When I was a teenager, I received basic education in the local grammar school, studied Latin, philosophy and history, and got in touch with the works of ancient Roman playwrights. Later, he dropped out of school to make a living because of his family's decline. When Shakespeare was young, famous troupes often toured the countryside, which cultivated his interest in drama. 1585 or so, he left his hometown and went to London. First he worked as a handyman in the theater, then he became an actor, and then he changed to writing plays. Shakespeare not only participated in performances and screenwriters, but also had extensive contacts with society, and often went to court or went to the countryside with the troupe. These experiences broadened his horizons and laid the foundation for his creation. 1590 to 1600 is the early period of Shakespeare's creation, also known as the historical drama and comedy period. During this period, Shakespeare's humanistic thought and artistic style gradually formed. At that time, Britain was in the heyday of Queen Elizabeth's rule, with stable and unified kingship and prosperous economy. Shakespeare is full of confidence in realizing humanistic ideals in the real society, and his works are full of optimism and clarity. During this period, he wrote nine historical plays, including Richard III (1592), Henry IV (parts I and II) (1597- 1598) and Henry V (10). The basic theme of the script is to support the central kingship, condemn the feudal tyrant and praise the enlightened monarch. For example, "Henry IV" shows the picture of the turbulent domestic situation. The nobles United against the king, but the rebellion was finally quelled; The prince lived a dissolute life earlier, but later he made a mistake and made great contributions to quelling civil strife. In the play, historical facts and artistic fiction are highly unified. Falstaff is one of the most vivid characters. He is selfish, lazy and timid, but he is alert, intelligent and optimistic, which makes people laugh.
The comedies created in this period include poetic A Midsummer Night's Dream (1596), The Merchant of Venice (1597), The Merry Wives of Windsor (1598), and Much ado about nothing (/) The basic themes of these plays are love, marriage and friendship, which are full of lyrical colors and show Shakespeare's ideal of humanistic life. At the same time, he also wrote three tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet (1595). Although the work has a sad side, the basic spirit is the same as comedy. Shakespeare also wrote the long poems Venus and adonis (1592- 1593), The Shame of Lucretius (1593- 1594) and 154 sonnets. /kloc-At the beginning of the 7th century, the regime of Queen Elizabeth and James I changed, the social contradictions in Britain intensified, and social evils became increasingly exposed. During this period, Shakespeare's thought and art became mature, and the humanistic ideal collided fiercely with social reality. He felt that his ideal was difficult to realize, and his creation turned from praising humanistic ideals in the early days to exposing and criticizing social darkness. The second period of Shakespeare's creation (1601-1607) is also called the tragic period. He has written Hamlet (160 1), Othello (1604), King Lear (1606), Macbeth (1606) and Ty of Athens. In Othello, Desdemona, who was born in a noble family, married Othello the Moor privately despite the opposition of her father and society, showing the theme of opposing racial prejudice. The reason for their tragedy is not only Othello's jealousy, but also the powerful evil forces represented by Iago. Othello's sobriety before his death contains the victory of human reason. King Lear shows a broken society. King Lear paid the price of his life because of his stubbornness, and also brought great disaster to the country and people. The protagonist has changed from a feudal monarch with absolute authority to a homeless old man with nothing, and the fate and character of the characters have undergone tremendous changes, which is the most distinctive in Shakespeare's works. Generally speaking, these tragedies profoundly exposed the decay of feudal nobles, appalling egoism, the evil of money relations and the suffering of working people; Stylistically, it reduces the atmosphere of romance and joy, increases the mood of melancholy and indignation, and makes the image fuller and the language more proficient.
After 1608, Shakespeare entered the last period of his creation. At this time, Shakespeare saw that the ideal of humanism could not be realized in the real society, so he turned from writing tragedies to writing legendary dramas, from exposing and criticizing the darkness of the real society to writing dream worlds. Therefore, this period is also called Shakespeare's legendary drama period. During this period, his works often solved the contradiction between ideal and reality through myth and fantasy and supernatural power; The works are permeated with the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation. There is no joy in the early stage and no gloom in the middle stage. But full of beautiful life fantasies and rich romantic feelings. The Tempest (16 1 1) best represents the style of this period and is called "a will written in poetry". In addition, he also wrote three legendary dramas, such as cymbeline and The Story of Winter, and the historical drama Henry VIII.
In Macbeth, a hero became a personal careerist and tyrant because of his inner ambition and external instigation. Its tragic significance lies in that personal ambition and egoism can destroy a person who is not evil. Shakespeare's works, starting from the truth of life, profoundly reflect the characteristics of the times and social essence. In his view, drama "seems to give nature a mirror: show its face to virtue, show its posture to absurdity, and show its image and imprint to the times and society". Marx and Engels praised Shakespeare as a classic writer of realism, and proposed that drama creation should be more "Shakespearean". This is a creative principle put forward in view of the disadvantages of "turning the individual into a simple mouthpiece of the spirit of the times" in drama creation.
The so-called "Shakespearization" means that the writer, like Shakespeare, is good at starting from the truth of life, showing a broad social background and providing a typical environment with the characteristics of the times for the characters and events in his works; The plot of the work should be vivid and rich, and the characters should have distinctive personality and typical significance; The realistic depiction and romantic atmosphere in the works should be skillfully combined; Language should be rich and expressive; The writer's tendency should be hidden and naturally revealed in the plot and character description.
Shakespeare's works include:
Tragedy: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet, Othello, Titus? Antelo Knicks, Julius? Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, nast, Fortress Besieged Troy, Timon of Athens, etc.
Comedies: If you make a mistake, everything that ends well is good, all good; A midsummer night's dream; Much ado about nothing; tit for tat; The Tempest; The Taming of the Shrew; Twelfth Night; The Merchant of Venice; Merry Wives of Windsor; Love in vain; Victoria.
Historical plays: Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VIII, King John, Richard II and Richard III.
Sonnets: Lovers' complaints, the shame of Rukris, Venus and adonis, enthusiastic pilgrims, phoenix and turtledove,