shakespeare 课件

His character portrayal In his 37 dramas, he created a large group of life-like characters representing all the complexities and implications of real life. He is especially good at drawing women characters. He was virtually unique in realizing that women are capable of as high intelligence as men. In his comedies, the central character is almost always a lovely woman and she is usually intellectually superior to any man in the play. His heroines are all intelligent, warm-heart, and generous, and each one is distinctly herself.
The Great Tragedies Hamlet—the summit of Shakespeare’s art
The story comes from an old Danish legend.
The Character of Hamlet A man of genius, highly accomplished and educated, a man of far reaching perception and sparkling wit. He is a scholar, soldier, and statesman. Melancholy忧郁—a result of his penetrating habit of mind. Delay in action—refusing to kill the King. A man of action
All’s Well That End’s Well, Measure for Measure, etc. 3) tragedies Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra （安东尼与克里奥佩特拉 ）, etc. 4) legends （dramatic romances） the winter’s tale Cymbeline(辛白林), The Tempest（暴风 雨）, etc.
(3) The Period of Dramatic Romance (1609-1612) The tone is calm and reconciliation和谐. He no longer hated the world but accepted it with a smile of resignation. He finds life once more worth living, and the world beautiful, enchanting, and fantastically attractive. Romances—Cymbeline <辛白林>, The Winter’s Tale <冬天的故事 >, Tempest <暴风雨> Historical Play—Henry VIII
Chief Achievements and Characteristics of Shakespeare’s Drama The progressive significance of his themes Through his plays, he touched almost every aspect of human life, of human pleasures and human tragedies. Living in the period of the transition from feudalism to capitalism, he reflects the major social contradictions of his time. his historical plays—the decaying 腐朽 of the old feudal nobility and the rise of the Tudor monarchy which represented the interests of the English bourgeoisie. His comedies—the life and love of the young people just freed from the fetters of feudalism. His tragedies—the life-and-death struggle between the humanists, representing the newly emerging forces and the dark power of the time.
The Great Comedies ——The Merchant of Venice Portia—one of Shakespeare’s ideal women (beautiful, cultured, courteous and capable of rising to an emergency) Shylock—avaricious（贪婪的） moneylender, a Jew of （贪婪的） pride and deep religious instincts. He has suffered much in the hands of the Christians. His revolting bond is counterbalanced by Antonio’s arrogant treatment of him. He protests against racial discrimination. Theme: a satire of the Christiana’s hypocrisy and their false standards of friendship and love, their cunning狡猾 狡猾 的 ways of pursuing worldliness and their unreasoning prejudice against Jews
(1)The Period of Comedies and Histories (1590-1600)
Historical Plays—Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, King John, and a Roman tragedy Julius Caesar . There is a great lift in characterization of heroines, who are depicted描述的 with ungrudging and unreserved affection and warmth. Shakespeare shows, with deep respect, their dignity, honesty, wit, courage, determination, and resourcefulness in emergency. They are the daughters of the Renaissance. Comedies—A Midsummer Night’s Dream <仲夏夜之梦>, The Merchant of Venice <威尼斯商人>, The Merry Wives of Windsor <温莎的风流娘儿们>, Much Ado about Nothing <无 事烦恼>, As You Like It <皆大欢喜>, Twelfth Night 第十二夜
His play construction He borrowed his plots widely from Greek legends and Roman history, from Italian stories and English chronicles历代记（旧 约）, and from romances by his English contemporaries. Under his pen, every old story puts on a new look, shines with a new beauty of its own, and becomes a dramatic art with a new significance. The plots of Shakespeare’s plays are well-arranged according to the requirement of the theme and content. The action develops freely, without being hindered by the rules of the classical unites (action, place and time). It takes place in different places and covers a long period of time, depending on the character of the action and the nature of the theme. Sometimes a single play may contain more than one theme, so that the main plot and the subplot exist side by side.