William Shakespeare Who is he?

Born: April 23, 1564 Died: April 23, 1616

Hometown: Stratford-upon-Avon, England

Schooling: attended public grammar schools mother was a possible teacher Politically: father worked his way up as a bailiff family had tickets for theater & Shakespeare developed a love for it

William Shakespeare Who is he?

Married: 1582 Ann Hathaway at the age of 18

Children: Susanna in 1583; twins Judith and Hamnet in 1585

The Lost Years: 1585- 1592

Work: English poet and playwright- know as the greatest writer in the English language. He wrote several sonnets for his patrons and also belonged to a famous group of actors known as Lord Chamberlains Men. He played small roles while writing his own.

William Shakespeare Who is he?

Breaking the Rules: His plays pushed the envelope on what was acceptable in society. The Globe Theatre was located on the outside of the city to avoid problems with the law for addressing subjects that royalty of England disapproved of.

*None of his plays were published until after his death.

What did he write?

154 sonnets 2 long poems 37 plays
Histories Comedies Tragedies Romances / Tragicomedy

Early Modern England Historical Period

Queen Elizabeth- Ruled from 1558-1603. She enjoyed plays and music. Shakespeare and his acting company would perform for the queen.

King James I - Ruled from 1603-1625. Admirer of poetry and drama

Living Conditions: wealthy lived in Tudor homes, poor lived in squalid conditions Schooling- Girls: housekeeping skills; Boys: grammar schoollearned Latin, Math & Greek (no spelling rules). Poor were taught by housewives, wealthy were tutored Sanitation- Uneducated-dumped garbage into streets and open ditches, many plagues and epidemics that caused deaths. Crime- rate was high, punishments severe

The Globe Theatre

Wooden O: How Shakespeare referred to it Built: 1599 Capacity: 3,000 spectators

Elizabethan Theater
Named after queen Elizabeth who ruled

during this time

Actors needed to be endorsed by the

nobility
Women were not allowed to participate, so

boys played women's roles

Theaters were octagonal with three levels

People with money sat in the galleries

Those without money (groundlings) sat in

The Globe Theatre

1. Flag 2. The Heavens 3. Tiring House 4. Upper Stage 5. Galleries 6. Main Stage 7. Inner Stage 8. Open Yard 9. Support Pillars 10.Trap Door 11.Entrance 12.Brick Foundation

Features of Theater in Shakespeares Time

Vigorous acting with lots of exaggerated gestures Very little props, scenery, only minimal music, & few costume

changes
Violence was an essential ingredient Special effects for murders using animal blood Performances during the daytime only due to Londons 8pm

curfew and no real way to provide stage lighting.

No programs or lights to dim, so one actor would take the stage

for the Prologue to announce the start of the play.

Plays mostly written in verse (poetic lines)this is what the

audience was use to.

Shakespeare Terms
Verse- unrhymed iambic pentameter Iambic- poetry that has a pattern of accented & unaccented syllables Pentameter- a line of poetry having 5 feet meaning 10 syllables per line Iambic Pentameter- rhythmic pattern that consists of five iambs per line. It kind of sounds like five heart beatsbaDUM, ba-DUM, ba-DUM, ba-DUM, ba-DUM. Hamlet: THAT this TOO too SOLid FLESH would MELT

thaw AND reSOLVE itSELF inTO a DEW.

Prose- No special rhythm or poetic rhymethey just talk