Apartheid

In week 9 of term 2, my English class has been focusing on the "Apartheid", which happened in South Africa. This slideshow contains information about Apartheid.

The Context of Shakespearean Drama

In Shakespeare's time (1564-1616), at the age of 25, William Shakespeare both wrote and performed his first plays in 1590 and 1591. He displayed Early Modern English in his scripts and performances, and continued to implement Early Modern English into Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare was known for displaying "The Renaissance" into theatre to portray his beliefs. His plays were performed in multiple different areas such as theatres, playhouses, outdoor venues and to Queen Elizabeth I at the royal palace. The plays were always performed in broad daylight or normal indoor lighting, and the audience were known for being either wealthy or poor working people. For those with less money would stand in the pit and were known as "groundlings". If the play wasn't up to their standard or expectation, they'd heckle and throw rotten fruit. But for people more wealthier, they had the option to buy cushions or pay for better seating. They could either buy tiered seating or seating allocated on the stage itself. 

Not only did William Shakespeare perform to Queen Elizabeth I, but majority of his earlier plays, especially the "historical plays", were written about the ancestors of Queen Elizabeth I in great light, but never about Elizabeth specifically. Every play he wrote was known for having five acts and several scenes. He never divided his work into acts and scenes deliberately, it's like he'd done it without thinking. After displaying the Renaissance into his work to portray his personal beliefs, people came up with new ideas and started to question these beliefs. Such as questioning the logic of settling every dispute with a sword in Romeo and Juliet because of the senseless cycle of violence, or questioning if their thoughts were predetermined by God or not. It was known for being a time of change.