Summer Brief- Information About Shakespeare

5 Quotes

"I am in blood, Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er. " (Macbeth) Macbeth Act III, Scene IV, Line 135-137

"I kissed thee ere I killed thee, no way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss." (Othello) Othello Act V, Scene II, Line 359-360 

"This momentary joy breeds months of pain; This hot desire converts to cold disdain." Lucrece 690-1 

"What's done is done." (Lady MacBeth) Macbeth Act III, Scene II, Line 14 

"Tears harden lust, though marble wear with raining."The Rape of Lucrece, Line 560

5 Selected Pieces of Writing

"Speak of me as I am. Nothing extenuate,

Nor set down aught in malice. Then must you speak

Of one that loved not wisely but too well;

Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought,

Perplexed in the extreme; of one whose hand,

Like the base Judean, threw a pearl away

Richer than all his tribe; of one whose subdued 

   eyes,

Albeit unused to the melting mood,

Drop tears as fast as the Arabian trees

Their medicinal gum." 

(Othello) Othello Act V Scene II Lines 402-412

" DESDEMONA Why do you speak so faintly? Are you not well?  OTHELLO I have a pain upon my forehead, here. " 

Othello Act III Scene III Lines 325-326

"In troth, I think I should, and undo ’t when I had done. Marry, I would not do such a thing for a joint-ring, nor for measures of lawn, nor for gowns, petticoats, nor caps, nor any petty exhibition. But for the whole world? Why, who would not make her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I should venture purgatory for ’t."

(Emilia) Othello Act IV Scene III Lines 71-77 

"This earthly saint, adored by this devil,

Little suspecteth the false worshipper;

For unstain'd thoughts do seldom dream on evil;

Birds never limed no secret bushes fear:

So guiltless she securely gives good cheer

And reverend welcome to her princely guest,

Whose inward ill no outward harm express'd:"

The Rape of Lucrece, Lines 85-91

     "Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn 

     The power of man, for none of woman born 

     Shall harm Macbeth." 

(A Bloody child) Macbeth Act IV Scene I, Lines 79-81

5 Motifs 

Horns 

Hell and Demons

Hallucinations

Violence

Possession

5 Characters 

Lady Macbeth (Macbeth)

Lucrece (The rape of Lucrece)

Othello (Othello)

Iago (Othello)

Tarquin (The rape of Lucrece)

5 Locations

A Candlelit Bedroom in Italy

The Wilds of Scottish Moorland 

A Dark Room in Rome filled with torn paintings, bloody sheets and a weeping woman.

A 16th century Venetian deserted town square on a humid night.

The darkened hallway of a Scottish castle filled with the sounds of frantic whispering 

5 Pieces of Information about Shakespeare

• Shakespeare Cursed his own grave so people would leave his bones alone. 
• Shakespeare was a Catholic in an era where being a catholic was illegal.
• Between 1585-1592 Shakespeare was not mentioned or recorded in any way, shape or form this was known as his "lost years". Most historians suggest he was on hiding from the law.
• Shakespeare hoarded grain.  
• Until Romeo and Juliet, Romance was not considered a worthy topic for tragedy in literature.