Shakespeare: His Life and TimesShakespeare: His Life and Times

Early LifeEarly Life

Born 1564—died 1616 Stratford-upon-Avon Parents: John and Mary Arden

Shakespeare• Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner• John—glovemaker, local politician

From: http://www.where-can-i-find.com/tourist-maps.html

Location of Stratford-upon-AvonLocation of Stratford-upon-Avon

As reproduced in William Rolfe, Shakespeare the Boy (1896).

Stratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s TimeStratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s Time

From Stratford’s web site: http://www.stratford-upon-avon.co.uk/index.htm

Stratford-upon-Avon Today

From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/

Shakespeare’s BirthplaceShakespeare’s Birthplace

• Probably attended King’s New School in Stratford

• Educated in:• Rhetoric• Logic• History• Latin

EducationEducation

From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/

King’s New SchoolKing’s New School

• Married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, who was pregnant at the time with their first daughter

• Had twins in 1585• Sometime between 1585-1592, he moved

to London and began working in theatre.

Married LifeMarried Life

Shakespeare In Love

It is thought that Shakespeare had a Mistress and a Mister…Mister was supposedly the money behind his productions

From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/

Anne Hathaway’s CottageAnne Hathaway’s Cottage

THE LOST YEARS

1583-1592

Where in the world is William Shakespeare??

• Member and later part-owner of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later called the King’s Men

• Globe Theater built in 1599 by L.C.M. with Shakespeare as primary investor

• Burned down in 1613 during one of Shakespeare’s plays

Theatre CareerTheatre Career

The Rebuilt Globe Theater, LondonThe Rebuilt Globe Theater, London

The Globe TheaterThe Globe Theater

The PlaysThe Plays

38 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare14 comedies10 histories10 tragedies4 romances

Possibly wrote three others Collaborated on several others

• 154 Sonnets• Numerous other poems• “Venus & Adonis” and “The Rape of

Lucre”

The PoetryThe Poetry

Shakespeare’s Language

• Shakespeare wrote in “Early Modern English.”• EME was not very different from “Modern English,” •Language of the people•Created his own words

Shakespeare’s Language

• A mix of old and very new• Rural and urban words/images• Understandable by the lowest peasant and the highest noble

DEATH

He died April 23, 1616Cause is unknownHistory says he drank too much wine and ate too many pickled herrings

He left his wife the second best bed in his will.

Burial• Buried in Holy Trinity Church• Curse on his grave to anyone who

moves his bones• Memorial stone in Poet’s Corner in

Westminster Abby

Elizabethan Theatrical

Conventions

A theatrical convention is a

suspension of reality.

No electricity

Women forbidden

to act on stage

Minimal, contemporary

costumes

Minimal scenery

These control the dialogue.These control the dialogue.

Audience loves to be scared.

Audience loves to be scared.

Soliloquy

Aside Types of speechTypes of speech

Blood

Use of supernatural

Use of disguises/

mistaken identity

Multiple marriages

(in comedies)

Multiple murders

(in tragedies)

Last speaker—highest in

rank (in tragedies)