Shakespeare and the bible

WHY ARE THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT?

1. Great Bible: The Great Bible was the first authorized edition of the Bible in English, authorized by King Henry VIII of England to be read aloud in the church services of the Church of England. The Great Bible was prepared by Myles Coverdale, working under commission of Sir Thomas Cromwell, Secretary to Henry VIII and Vicar General.

2. English Renaissance: The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the early 16th century to the early 17th century. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that many cultural historians believe originated in northern Italy in the 14th century. This era in English cultural history is sometimes referred to as "the age of Shakespeare" or "the Elizabethan era", the first period in English and British history to be named after a reigning monarch.

3. Book of Common Prayer: The 1662 Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England is still technically the only “official” prayer book of the Church of England, the mother church (for the moment at least) of the Anglican Communion. It itself is the result of more than a century of liturgical development through a turbulent time in British history. Its literary and theological influence is immense; this alone makes it an important document.

4. Royal Shakespeare Company: The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company. Located primarily at Stratford-upon-Avon, with bases also in London and Newcastle upon Tyne, it is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly-funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal National Theatre.

MATCHING EXERCISE: PLACES

1. Stratford-on-Avon --------------------------- D. Birthplace of Shakespeare

2. Cambridge University ----------------------- E. Translation of the Authorised Version

3. Warwickshire --------------------------------- C. Where Shakespeare wrote his plays

4. London ---------------------------------------- A. Country vocabulary

5. Australia --------------------------------------- B. Penny Downey

MATCHING EXERCISE: PEOPLE

1. John Bois -------------------------------------- B. The King James’ Version of the Bible

2. Sir John Guilgud ------------------------------ D. Shakespearean acting

3. John Barton ------------------------------------ E. Shakespearean director

4. Sir Thomas More ----------------------------- F. Latin borrowings

5. Sir Frances Bacon ---------------------------- A. Greek Borrowings

6. Henry VIII ------------------------------------- C. The Great Bible

MATCHING EXERCISE: DATES

1. 1558-1603 ----------------------------- F. Reign of Elizabeth I (house of Tudor)

2. 1603-1625 ----------------------------- C. Reign of James I (house of Stuart)

3. 1564 ------------------------------------ D. Shakespeare born April 23 in Stuart-on-Avon

4. 1611 ------------------------------------ E. King James Bible published

5. 1616 ------------------------------------ A. Shakespeare dies April 23

6. 1623 ------------------------------------ B. First Folio published

FILL IN THE FOLLOWING VERSE: The Creation

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called night.

QUESTIONS

1. MacNeil asserts that the First Folio of Shakespeare has influenced everyone who speaks English today. What does he mean?

It means that William Shakespeare created his own language. For this, he invented new words, give some old words new meaning and build a web of metaphors, stories and ways of speaking. Today anyone who speaks English is influenced by Shakespeare because of the magnitude of his work, because Shakespeare created a self language inside English.

2. Shakespeare's range of language is remarkable. List three types of language he uses in his plays as they are discussed in this program. What is the dictionary definition of each?

a. Pidgin - Caloban

b. Philosophical - Hamlet

c. Heroic – Henry V

3. Shakespeare's plays and the King James Bible are masterpieces, but there is one fundamental linguistic difference between them. What is it?

Whereas Shakespeare ransacked the lexicon, the King James Bible employs a bare 8000 words-God's teaching in homely English for every-man.

4. Which version of the Bible does this quote belong to? “Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.”

This quote belongs to The King James Version of the Bible.