William Shakespeare

1
William Shakespeare

• Life and Times

2
Childhood and Education

• 1564 (most likely April 23rd)
• Parents were John and Mary Shakespeare
• John was a merchant while Mary took care of their
  8 children of whom Shakespeare was the 3rd eldest
• Shakespeare was educated at the Stratford
  grammar school where he learned English and Latin
• Other influences include the Church, as everyone
  attended church and received training in the many
  stories of the bible.

3
Marriage and Death

• Married Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582, who
  at the time was 3 months pregnant and also 8
  years older than him
• They had 3 children, Daughter Susanna and twins
  Hamnet and Judith
• Died on April 23, 1616

4
Shakespeares World

• Elizabethan England
• Queen Elizabeth 1558 1603
• Elizabeth was 25 years old when she became Queen
  of England in 1558
• She held reign for 45 years until her death in
  1603
• She remained unmarried throughout her entire life
  and used her position as an unmarried monarch to
  her political advantage in Europe.

5
Shakespeares World

• Move into the Cities
• London became one of the most populated cities in
  the world
• Also, it was one of the most vile, unhealthy and
  pungent cities
• Created opportunities for Theatres and
  entertainment companies to attract mass crowds
  for their performances
• Plague
• Bear Baiting

6
Shakespeares Career and The Globe

• The Globe Theatre
• The original globe was built in 1599 by the
  Burbage brothers Cuthbert and Richard
• Shakespeare invested some money in the theatre to
  have part ownership as well as some other members
  of Lord Chamberlain's Men
• Three levels of the theatre represent the class
  structure of Elizabethan England
• Bottom 1 pence
• Middle 3 pence
• Top 6 pence

7
The Globe Theatre
8
Shakespeare as Pop Culture

• In Elizabethan Culture everyone went to the plays
  
• Shakespeare and Marlowe were two of the biggest
  playwrights and were always competing
• The plays were the equivalent to Television today
• Also, the playhouse was where everyone went to be
  seen and to make appearances in society

9
Shakespeares Plays

• Shakespeare wrote plays for three main Genres
• Comedies
• Romances
• Tragedies
• Histories
• Has an amazing ability to capture the human
  condition or main archetypes
• Shakespeare speaks across time to all humans and
  what struggles and joys we all experience.

10
Reduced Shakespeare Company version of
Shakespeares biography

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vOY4HdGJcJVo