William Shakespeare

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William Shakespeare
1564-1616
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I. Life
A. Childhood 1. Baptized on April 26, 1564, in
Stratford-on-Avon, England 2. Suspected
birthdate April 23 or 24, 1564 3. Eldest son of
John Shakespeare and Mary Arden Shakespeare
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B. Adult life 1. Married Ann Hathaway on Nov.
28, 1582 2. Had three children a. Susanna b.
Hamnet c. Judith (Hamnet's twin) 3. In 1592 was
established playwright in London
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4. In 1594 became a full shareholder in Lord
Chamberlain's Company 5. In 1596 applied for a
coat-of-arms--now considered a gentleman 6.
Famous during life 7. Retired early, returned
to Stratford-on-Avon 8. Died on April 23, 1616
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II. Times
A. Lived during the Renaissance, or rebirth
period of Europe 1. Queen Elizabeth reigned 2.
Studied the Bible, Latin grammar, and classics
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B. Growth of British sea power, exploration, and
scholarship C. Effects on plays 1.
Anachronism-- something out of proper time, such
as the clock in Julius Caesar 2. Coupled British
life with other cultures
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III. Plays
A. Thirty-seven plays attributed to
Shakespeare 1. Only eighteen published during
his lifetime in form other than script
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2. First published collection called First
Folio a. Published in 1623 by John Hemming and
Henry Condell b. Contained thirty-six plays
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B. Dates attributed by references and
intelligent guessing C. Three main categories of
plays 1. Histories (king plays) 2. Tragedies 3.
Comedies
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Most famous plays1. Romeo and Juliet2. Julius
Caesar3. Macbeth4. Hamlet
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5. King Lear 6. Othello 7. A Midsummer Night's
Dream 8. Henry VIII
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IV. The Globe Theater
A. Courtyard origins B. Structure 1.
Eight-sided 2. Central courtyard or pit (1
penny) 3. Three tiers (2 pennies)
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4. Curtainless stage 5. Two entrances 6.
Balcony 7. Heaven and hell
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C. Props 1. Elizabethan costumes 2. Sound
effects D. Players 1. All men 2. Seniors also
shareholders 3. Patrons a. Lord Chamberlain b.
King James
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E. Audience 1. Nobility had own box 2. Poor
people stood in pit (groundlings) a. Unclean and
uneducated b. Pickpocketing
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c. Threw rotten tomatoes (poison) at actors if
not entertained d. Also went to nearby bear
baiting cock fighting arenas
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V. Conventions-- agreements between audience and
actors that audience will accept certain things
as true
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A. Blank verse--characters would speak in
unrhymed iambic pentameter (5 beats of unaccented
/accented syllables per line) poetry
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B. Soliloquy-- character alone on stage speaking
thoughts to audience C. Aside--remarks made to
audience or characters while other characters
pretend not to hear