He lived about 450 years ago He wrote at least 37 plays and more than 150 poems He invented 100s of words like coldblooded quarrelsome and love letter What hes done We know more about Shakespeare than any other playwright of his time except Ben Jonson though not many ID: 534433
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Slide1
Who is William Shakespeare?Slide2
He lived about 450 years ago.
He wrote at least 37 plays and more than 150 poems.
He invented 100s of words like cold-blooded, quarrelsome, and love letter.
What he’s done
… Slide3
We know more about Shakespeare than any other playwright of his time, except Ben Jonson (though not many records were kept in the 1500s). Most of what we know is collected from legal and church documents.
ParentsMother: Mary, daughter of wealthy landownerFather: John – tanner, glove-maker, tradermember of council (governing body) in Stratfordmayor (high bailiff)
Biographical SketchSlide4
Birthday unrecordedBorn in Stratford , England (100 mi. NW of London)3rd
child (eldest son) of 8Baptized April 26, 1564Birthday celebrated in UK on April 23SchoolingMost likely attended Stratford grammar school: Latin logic, rhetoric, literature
No formal education after that (age 14 or 15)
Early LifeSlide5
Queen Elizabeth I had been queen for six years, and England was growing more and more prosperous.
Ferdinand Magellan
set out to sail around the world, proving the Earth was round
Nicolaus
Copernicus
wrote that the sun was the center of the universe (1510-14).
The Printing Press (
William Caxton, 1476
)
Larger text distribution
an effort to standardize EnglishMore literate populationNew focus on classical (Greek and Roman) literature and ideas.Surge of new art.Professional actors traveled to Stratford. Shakespeare saw his first troupe at age four.
The
w
orld into which Shakespeare was born…Slide6
How do you think this changing world shaped William Shakespeare’s mind?Slide7
November 27, 1582 married Anne Hathaway
William was 18 yrs. oldAnne was 26 yrs. oldMay 1583: daughter Susanna born
Feb. 1585: twins,
Hamnet
and Judith, were bornThen he left. He left his family at home.Between 1585-1592 nothing is known about Shakespeare. These are called the “lost years.”What do you think he was doing?
Marriage and FamilySlide8
In 1592 he pops up in London. (We know b/c another dramatist criticizes him.)
By 1594 he is already a charter member of the theatrical company called Lord Chamberlain’s men – eventually renamed the King’s MenCommonly held that he wrote and acted during “lost years”
He’s found…Slide9
James Burbage built first permanent Theater in 1576, which was torn down and replaced with The Globe in 1599.
Shakespeare wrote most his plays for The GlobePlays were written in a new style called Blank Verse.Shakespeare used Blank Verse, but he also used Iambic Pentameter.
Why do you think he did this?
Shakespeare wanted people to think about why we are the way we are after leaving his plays.
He wanted them to question good vs. evil.Shakespeare’s TheaterSlide10
The “wooden O” three stories highPlatform stage
Curtained-off inner stageand upper stage: balcony above the inner stage to hold more spectators or a balcony or room like that portrayed in Romeo and Juliet
)
The yard (area around the stage) held up to 800 “groundlings”
Three roofed galleries held 1500 or so more spectatorsOn play days different color flags were hung:Red meant history playWhite meant comedyBlack meant tragedy
The GlobeSlide11Slide12
Recreated Globe Theater in LondonSlide13
Shakespeare returned home to his family in Stratford by 1612.He died with his family around him on April 23, 1616.
Buried in Holy Trinity Church in StratfordHis epitaph is as follows:
Good friend, for Jesus’ sake, forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here
Blessed be the man that spares these stonesAnd cursed be he that moves my bones
Home Again…Slide14
Tragedy: A drama of serious character, which describes the development of conflict between protagonist and a superior force, and which reaches sorrowful or disastrous conclusion.Tragic Hero
Tragic FlawEnds badly as a result of the protagonists flawHas a silver lining – order is restored.Source: English Poet Arthur Brooke’s “The Tragical History of
Romeus
and Juliet”Written from 1594-1596
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet