Shakespeare Overview

1
Shakespeare Overview

• Elizabethan England and the Bard

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Elizabethan England
Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

• The Church of England was fully
• established (rules were not as rigid)
• Elizabeth is loved by the people
• Elizabeth loved the arts. Major art
• accomplishments during this time.
• She particularly enjoyed William
• Shakespeares plays.
• London becomes a leading center
• of culture and commerce.
• England becomes the dominant
• power in the world.

3
Elizabethan Theatre

• Theatre was for the massesnot just
• the wealthy
• Groundlings poorer people who stood in
• the front during the performance.

• Women were not allowed to perform.
• The Globe Theatre was built by Shakespeares
  company in 1598.
• The Globe was 3 stories high and seated 3,000
• The Globe burned in 1613 when a cannon shot in a
  performance
• caught the roof on fire.
• It was reponed and continued operating until
  1642, when the
• Puritans closed it down

4
The New Globe Theatre

• The Globe was gone for 352 years.
• The foundation of the Globe was discovered and a
  new Globe completed in 1996
• A close reproduction to the original

5
William Shakespeare
1564-1616

• Born in Stratford
• The 3rd of 8 kids
• Married at age 18 (she was 26)
• Worked as an actor
• Lived through the Black
• Plague that killed 33,000
• in London
• By 1594 at least 6 plays
• had been published
• 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and
• 2 epic narrative poems

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William Shakespeare
"Shakespeare was so facile in employing words
that he was able to use over 7,000 of themmore
than occur in the whole King James version of the
Bibleonly once and never again.
-Louis Marder

• Shakespeare introduced nearly 3,000 words into
  the
• language
• His vocabulary was 17,000 words (an average,
  well-
• educated person had roughly 4500).
• His language was accessible to all
• He is the most quoted writer of all time

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William Shakespeare

• 154 sonnets 38 Plays 2 epic poems

Comedies
Histories
Tragedies
All's Well That Ends WellAs You Like It The
Comedy of ErrorsCymbelineLove's Labours
LostMeasure for MeasureThe Merry Wives of
WindsorThe Merchant of VeniceA Midsummer
Night's DreamMuch Ado About NothingPericles,
Prince of TyreTaming of the ShrewThe
TempestTroilus and CressidaTwelfth NightTwo
Gentlemen of VeronaWinter's Tale 
Henry IV, Part IHenry IV, Part IIHenry VHenry
VI, Part IHenry VI, Part IIHenry VI, Part
IIIHenry VIIIKing JohnRichard IIRichard III
Antony and CleopatraCoriolanusHamletJulius
CaesarKing LearMacbethOthelloRomeo and
JulietTimon of AthensTitus Andronicus
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William Shakespeare
The Authorship Debate Suggests that Shakespeare
did not write all the plays. The top three men
who are claimed as possible candidates Edward
De Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford Francis
Bacon Christopher Marlowe
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William Shakespeare

• 400 years later, Shakespeares influence is
  still
• present today
• Over 250 film adaptations have been made from
  his
• 37 plays.
• Pay attention to the references to Shakespeare
  in
• everything from advertisements to entertainment
  to
• products.