What is a play?
a story that is written in script form, and acted out by live people actually on a stage
Major type of play include:
-drama
-comedy
-tragic
What is Drama?
story written to be performed by actors using speech and movement
What is a comedy?
Any play that ends happily even if it dealt with serious subject matter.
What is a tragedy?
Any play that presents a serious situation that usually ends with the death of one or more characters.
What is the Structure of the play?
organized into acts which are broken up into scenes
-Acts-- related events that take place in drama that are separated into scenes
-Scenes-- usually there are three or more science per act
What are Stage DIrections?
-these are not meant to be spoken out loud during live performances
-instead these directions offer guidance to the actors and director as to what they should be doing
-usually while reading a play aloud in class
-the narrator reads the stage directions t
Live Performance
If the play is performed on stage
-the acting skills will greatly affect the portrayal.
-the actor's facial expressions, gestures, movements, speaking style, and so on will make the characters come alive
Victorian Period
-1832-1898
-Time period named after England's Queen, Queen Victoria
-Queen Victoria had a long reign (64 years)
-her reign represented a long period of prosperity for the British people
Queen Victoria
Many changes within the U.K.
-industrial
-cultural
-political
-scientific
-military
-plus a great expansion of the British Empire
Charles Dickens
-Famous Quote: "Happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it, but to delight in it when it comes"
-popular British Author of the Victorian Period, and of the most popular of all time
-born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England
-died on June
How did C. Dickens come up with his ideas??
During his youth in the 1830-1840's-
-he worked as a child in a factory
-his childhood memories had a major impact in his writing
What was the purpose of the play?
Dickens' made it so that people could recognize that poverty of those displaced those displaced in the Industrial Revolution
What did Dickens observe?
-Lives of people in the poorest areas of London and witnessed the social injustices they suffered.
-The devastating impact of the period wounded Dickens psychologically, and he included many personal experiences in his work.
Historical Impact
-Since the first publication, the story/play has had a profound effect upon its audience
-A prominent businessman attended a reading on Christmas Eve of the play, he was so moved by it, that he closed the factory on Christmas Day and sent every employee a
Apparition
another word for ghost
Comforter
a long woolen scarf
Destitute
living in complete poverty
Gratitude
thankful appreciation
(Bah) Humbug
nonsense or something done to cheat or deceive
Implored
asked or begged
Miser
a person who hoards wealth and spends as little money as possible
Morose
gloomy; ill-tempered
Ponderous
very heavy; bulky
Poor Laws
series of laws passed in England beginning in January 1601 and lasted until 1834
Specters
ghosts or spirits of a dead person
Treadmill
a kind of mill wheel turned by the weight of a person treading steps arranged around
Setting
-various locations in and around the city of London, England
-in 1843
--on christmas eve
--on christmas day
--and the morning after christmas
Ebenezer Scrooge
-owner of a counting house in London, England
-boss of Bob Cratchit
-former business partner of Jacob Marley
-originally a greedy and heartless man but is visited by 3 ghosts and they help him change his mind and live a better life
Jacob Marley
-was Scrooge's business partner when he was alive
-visits Scrooge as a ghost and reveals his unfortunate fate of wearing chains and roaming earth as a ghost
-visits Scrooge as a warning
-claiming: "I am here to-night to warn you, that you have yet a chanc
Bob Cratchit
-employed by Mr. Scrooge
-father of a large family
-honest and hardworking
-Scrooge pays him so little attention that he cannot pay for his ill child TINY TIM
Tiny Tim Cratchit
-young crippled son of Bob C.
-"As good as gold"
-known for his famous line "God bless us everyone!"
-indirectly helps Scrooge discover compassion
Mr. Fezziwig
-jolly businessman with whom Scrooge apprenticed
-appears in the happy memory of christmas past
-symbolizes all the lessons about life that Scrooge has lost and rejected
Belle
-met Scrooge at 1 of Fezziwig's Christmas party
-was Scrooge's fianc�e but then she broke it off because of Scrooge's growing obsession for money
Ghost of Christmas Past
-the 1st ghost to visit Scrooge
-escorts Scrooge on a visit to the Christmas Days of the PAST
-being with her brings Scrooge to tears when he visits his childhood memories
-then the GOCP (Ghost of christmas past) takes Scrooge to a past party (when Mr. an
Focus of Act P1
This play tells the story of a man who comes to learn sympathy for his fellow man