William Shakespeare: Life and Times

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William Shakespeare Life and Times
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The Main Details

• Born 1564died 1616
• Stratford-upon-Avon
• Parents John and Mary Arden Shakespeare
• Marydaughter of wealthy landowner
• John wealthy merchant (glove maker) and local
  politician

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Location of Stratford-upon-Avon
From http//www.where-can-i-find.com/tourist-maps
.html
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Shakespeares House
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I FINALLY get to visit ?

• Me in Stratford!! (Train station!)

• Aaaaand at his house ?

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The best part?

• My joy

• Wilts joy

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Love and Marriage

• Married to Anne Hathaway in 1582
• Anne was 26, he was 18
• ? 3 children Susannah, then Hamnet and Judith
  (twins),
• ? The youngest, Hamnet died at the age of
  11

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Leaving Town...

• ? Went to London at 21

? joined a travelling company of actors
? Worked as an actor, a playwright, and a
director
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London Life in the 16th century

• Poor sewer system
• High crime rate
• But
• 200,000 inhabitants
• the cultural and political heart of England

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The Plays

• 37 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare
• comedies
• histories
• tragedies
• poetry

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Where the magic happened

• opened in 1599
• Was a wooden O shape - seated an audience of
  3,000 in the open-air arena. (Today, it only
  seats 1,500!!!)

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The Globe from across the Thames
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Who got to go?

• EVERYONE!!! All classes were welcome.
• Groundlings, paid a penny for admission, and
  stood on three sides of the stage for the entire
  production.
• The wealthier got to sit in the stalls around the
  stage
• The wealthiest were allowed to sit ON the stage
  or almost behind it
• Thats where they were most visible
• The Box Office

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Me in front of the stage

• Im a groundling!!

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Mom and Dad are groundlings, too!!
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Side view looking at the stalls
The wealthiest sat here, because everyone could
see them, and know that they paid enough money to
get those seats!!
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The Stage
Sometimes the wealthy even sat here!
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Roof of the Globe stage
Its painted like the sky and heavens because
thats what it was supposed to be...not just the
roof of a stage.
This is a trap door that would open to let in the
special effects or angels/ gods
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The end of Romeo and Juliet
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A rare sunny day look at the O

• The only thatched roof building allowed in ALL of
  London
• It was built the same way it would have been
  built in Shakespeares time with no electrical
  devices or technologies

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When can we go!?

• Performances were given every day except Sunday
• Weather permitting, of course!
• Ran between 2 and 5 oclock in the afternoon
• A flag flew to signify the type of play being
  performed that day black tragedy, white
  comedy, and red history.

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What was the theatre like?

• Vendors offered beer, water, oranges, nuts,
  gingerbread and apples, all of which were
  occasionally thrown at the actors.
• No bathroomsyou went where you were standing!!
• If it rained, you got rained on!
• The roles of women were played by men.
• The term dressed in drag comes from this

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The end of his life

• Shakespeare did very well in London
• His plays brought him fame and wealth
• Returned to Stratford in 1610
• Destruction of the Globe Theatre in 1613 (the
  Great Fire of London)
• In 1616 Shakespeare died on April 23 (his
  birthday!)

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His Lasting Influence

• LANGUAGE!!! (Hooray!)
• Credited with inventing at least 1700 words and
  phrases we use today.
• Just a few examples
• dwindle - deafening - fashionable
• hurry - gossip - generous
• lonely - torture - puking
• amazement

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Minor differences

• thou (you)
• thine (your, yours)
• thee (you)
• thyself (yourself)
• prithee/pray (please)
• verily (very/truly)
• fie (a curse)

• aye/yea (yes)
• nay (no)
• anon (until later)
• owes (owns)
• morrow (day)
• crowkeeper (scarecrow)