Shakespeare’s Life1564-1616

The man behindthe legend

ENGLAND

London

Boyhood in Stratford-Upon-Avon

Born April 23, 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon

Parents John and Mary Arden Shakespeare

Seven brothers and sisters Grammar School from age 7 to 13

Stratford-Upon-Avon

William Shakespeare’s Home

Marriage and Life in London 1582 at age 18 married Anne

Hathaway 1583-1592 ??? 1592 (28 years old) went to

London actor and playwright first accused of borrowing from

other playwrights 1592-1594 Plague

Shakespeare Prospers

1598 built Globe Theatre Owned shares in it

Father granted a coat-of-arms Gentlemen

Recognized as a genius in his own time

Honored as Actor and Playwright Queen Elizabeth dies in 1603 King James I takes the throne

Shakespeare’s Theatre company becomes the King’s Company

Member of famous writer’s group (Mermaid Tavern)

Death and Burial at Stratford 1610 retired from theatre

1613 Globe theatre burns down lost much money but still wealthy helps rebuild Globe theatre

Dies on April 23, 1616 at age 52

Shakespeare’s Grave

Did Shakespeare really write his plays? Many believe it is impossible for

Shakespeare to have written his plays Lacks heights and depths of

passion could not learn aristocratic sports

and manners lacked schooling

Secrets of the Sonnets

154 Sonnets, 60 songs Love, broken trust of friend,

loss of love, forgiveness friend, dark lady, rival poet

Shakespeare’s Four Periods First Period- Apprenticeship (Age 26-30) Second Period- Mastered his art!

Favorite “Romantic Comedy” Third Period- Problem of Evil in the World Forth Period- Creates a new drama form

“Tragicomedy” or the dramatic romance

Shakespeare as an Elizabethan

Queen Elizabeth reigned (1558-1603) Emerging from the Middle Ages into the

Renaissance Age was extravagant and brutal

elaborate, ornate clothing, language and manners

language was growing fast middle class (stern, moral, and

independent)

Elizabeth I Symbolizes the Age

Queen Elizabeth Glory of England To people, she represented beauty and

greatness one of the most powerful countries in

the world

Queen Elizabeth1558-1603

Drama in the Elizabethan Age After defeating the Spanish Armada,

England became intensely interested in the past. (Patriotic) Historical plays thrived.

Playwrights were practical men, bent on making a living

Plays were written to be acted, not read. Once a playwright sold his manuscript,

he had no personal right to it.

Shakespeare’s Plots and Characters First reading =quick Second reading=more leisurely Plots=romantic, poetic, farfetched,

imaginative, supernatural Characters=realistic, alive, three

dimensional, powerful and eternally true

The Elizabethian Theater Round, wooden, roofless building Three galleries of seats Pit (no seats) cost a penny “groundlings” Main stage

40 feet wide 27 feet projection into the pit

Recessed inner stage (curtains and balcony) Music Room Heaven and a Hell

The Stage Influences on Shakespeare’s Methods Open, free stage=quick changes, rapid action Encourages speechmaking, passionate

soliloquies No women actors Only day time light= speeches about time,

season and weather (Macbeth=40 such speeches

Closeness of different classes

Shakespeare as a Dramatist

Objective of Plays= give pleasure Fanciful, imaginative plays Audience= everyday people, uneducated,

wanted to escape Wrote in verse=free use of words

His Poetic Greatness

Most quoted writer in the world diversity of speech from common

men to philosophers Examples of his Poetry

Critics Rank the Plays Tragedies-Hamlet, Macbeth, King

Lear, Othello Comedies- The Tempest, As You

Like It, The Winter’s Tale, The Merchants of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Histories- Henry IV, Henry V, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII

Test of Greatness

A great play is one that affects the audience deeply.

Reasons for his Popularity

The Great Shakespeare Collections Folger Shakespeare Library in

Washington D.C. Henry E. Huntington Library and

Art Gallery in San Marino, California

British Museum in London,England Bodleian Library in Oxford,

England

To beor

not to be?

What’s the question

To be or not to be?

That is the question!

Wait a second!!!

What’s going on Be quiet Will!

To my own self be true

And it must follow as the night and the day.

Then thou canst not be false to any man

Web cites for pictures and additional information on William Shakespeare

http://daphe.palomar.edu/ shakespeare/timeline/genealogy. htm

http://www.shakespeare.com/link. Htm www.stratford.co.uk/birthplace/ www.rdg.ac.uk/globe/Data-Base/

Images/NewGlobe.htm www.legends.dm.net/shakespeare/

macbeth.htm/ www.britishliterature.com

Tragedy A serious play or drama typically

dealing with the problems of a central character, leading to an unhappy or disastrous ending brought on, as in ancient drama, by a fate and a tragic flaw in this character, or in modern drama, usually by moral weakness, psychological maladjustment or social pressures.

Tragic Hero

A person of high rank who is brought to eventual ruin by a flaw in his/her character.

Example: Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his ambition which leads him into a series of bloody and increasingly indefensible acts.

Comedy A drama or narrative with a happy ending

or non-tragic theme. Comedy of manners- depicts and

satirizes the manners and customs of fashionable society.

High comedy- appeals to and reflects the life and problems of the upper social classes, characterized by a witty, sardonic treatment.

Low comedy- farce, slap stick,burlesque, horse play

Catharsis

The purging or purifying of the emotions or relieving of emotional tension, especially by art. (This concept was applied originally by Aristotle to the effects of tragic drama on the audience.)

Conflict

The struggle or interplay of forces, that takes place within the story.

The main character may be in conflict with another person, value system, fate or with nature.

Plot The sequence of events that create and then resolve a conflict.

Plot movement:

Beginning of story

Rising action

Climax (peak tension) or Crisis (dramatic turning point)

Falling action (fall of tragic hero)

Resolution or Denouncement (Point at which conflict ends and outcome is made clear)

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