Shakespeare and the 1500s

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Shakespeare and the 1500s
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William Shakespeare

• One of the great mysteries of English drama is
  that so little is known for sure about the most
  famous playwright of all time.
• Shakespeares exact birth date is unknown, but he
  was baptized on April 26, 1554.
• His parents, John and Mary, were considered
  well-off. John was a prosperous merchant and
  Mary was the daughter of a successful farmer.

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William Shakespeare

• He studied Latin and literature at a prestigious
  school.
• In 1582, he married Anne Hathaway, a woman eight
  years his senior!
• They had three children a daughter, Susanna, and
  twins Hamnet and Judeth.

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William Shakespeare

• Shakespeare left his family and moved to London
  to pursue his acting and writing career.
• In 1599 he joined other actors and built the
  Globe Theatre, where most of his plays were
  produced.

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William Shakespeare

• In 1611, at the height of his fame and
  popularity, Shakespeare moved back to Startford
  with his family.
• He continued to write and travel until his death
  in 1616.

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Fun Facts About Bill

• Shakespeare is known as The Bard, because the
  word bard means poet.
• Shakespeare lived through the Black Death, a
  plague that killed over 33,000 people in London
  alone.
• Shakespeares family were all illiterate.
• Many historians suspect that Shakespeare did not
  write all of his plays.
• We really do not know what Shakespeare looked
  likenot one painting was composed while he was
  still alive.

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More Fun Facts

• The only mention that Shakespeare specifically
  makes of his wife in his will was to leave her
  his second best bed.
• Shakespeares grandchildren all diedhe had no
  descendents!
• Shakespeare is responsible for over 1700 words
  that we use each day.

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Life in the 1500s

• The age of Shakespeare was a great time in
  English history. The reign of Queen Elizabeth I
  saw England emerge as a leading power of the
  western world.

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Life in the 1500s

• London was a center of commerce and culturethe
  place to be!
• The population grew and the economy boomed.

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Daily Life

• Baths were taken only a few times a yearmen had
  the privilege of using the water first, then
  women, and finally children.
• Houses had thatched roofsthick straw with no
  wood underneath. Animals used it as a warm
  spothence, its raining cats and dogs.

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Daily Life

• Typical homes had dirt floors and little
  luxuries.
• Meat was considered a delicacy and was not eaten
  very often. Common foods included vegetables,
  porridge, and bread.

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Marriage and Dating

• Boys could marry at age 14, girls at 12. (Romeo
  is 14, Juliet is 13).
• It was considered foolish to marry for love, as
  arranged marriages were the custom.
• Children were considered the property of their
  parents!

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Religion

• Almost everyone in Elizabethan England was a
  Christian.
• Official state religion Church of England.
• Everyone was required to go to church.

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Education Entertainment

• Only boys went to school from 7 AM to 5 PM, 5
  days a week.
• Things to do for fun gossip, tennis, attend the
  theatre, singing, dancing, embroidery, taking
  lessons