Unlocking Truths about the Immortal

BardThe Keys to Success with Shakespeare for Every 9th

Grade English Student(that means you, too!)

What are the Keys to Success with Shakespeare?

Many students think that they will not be able to understand Shakespeare and, therefore, they do not try to understand.

KEY #1: BELIEVE YOU CAN SUCCEED & PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD – Learn the vocabulary terms, keep up with the readings and homework assignments, and ask questions when you are unsure about something. If you do this, you will find success with Shakespeare!

What are the Keys to Success with Shakespeare?

Many students think that Shakespeare’s work is old and does not apply to their lives today.KEY #2: FIND OUT WHAT SHAKESPEARE IS ALL ABOUT BEFORE MAKING A JUDGMENT – Yes, Shakespeare’s plays were written over 400 years ago (long before the days of iPods, myspace, and annoying Geico cavemen commercials), but his themes are universal, meaning they have successfully crossed over time periods and cultures. Famous English playwright, poet, literary critic, and friendly rival of Shakespeare, Ben Johnson said that Shakespeare’s works were “not of an age, but for all time.”

Who is William Shakespeare? Universally accepted as

England’s most renowned playwright and poet

Information is kept differently today than it was in the 16th century.

Most of what we know about Shakespeare comes from some 40 official documents that name him and from at least 50 literary references to him in works by his contemporaries.

William Shakespeare

Let Us Start with Shakespeare’s Stratford He had his roots in the town of

Stratford, located northwest of London on the Avon River.

His parents were from middle class, land-owning families; they wed around 1557.

His father, John, was a successful merchant and glover; he was also a member of the guild, which governed the town, and eventually he became mayor.

His mother, Mary Arden, was the daughter of a substantial landowner.

Above: Image of the Avon River in Modern Times

Shakespeare’s Early Life William Shakespeare was

born in the family’s home on Henley Street in April of 1564.

The family’s home, as well as many of the other 16th century buildings associated with him, have been wisely preserved and are widely popular tourist attractions. Above: The

Shakespeares’ House On Henley Street in

Stratford

Shakespeare’s Baptism Church records indicate

that William was baptized on April 26, 1564.

There is no official record of his actual birthday but because of high infant mortality rates, children were often baptized about 3 days after birth.

Therefore, it is assumed Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564.Above: Image of Holy

Trinity Church in Stratford where

Shakespeare was baptized

Shakespeare’s Education Shakespeare was educated

at the local grammar school where the curriculum would have excluded mathematics and natural sciences, but taught a good deal of Latin rhetoric, logic, and literature

This was all the formal schooling he received; Shakespeare did not attend a university.

Above: The inside of the grammar school where Shakespeare

was educated

Interest in Theatre

Shakespeare survived two separate outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague which killed thousands in England during his youth.

To avoid the Plague, traveling groups of entertainers often left London and traveled to the countryside to towns, including Stratford-upon-Avon.

This is how Shakespeare’s interest in theatre was likely sparked.

Boys Will Be Boys?

By law, women were not permitted to act on the English stage until 1656.

Therefore, female roles in plays would have been played by young boys.

Shakespeare Takes a Wife

In his late teens, Shakespeare began to court Anne Hathaway who was eight years his senior.

They wed in 1582 and had three children: Susanna, the eldest daughter, and Hamnet and Judith, twins.

Above: A Picture of the cottage where

Anne Hathaway grew up

Shakespeare Leaves for London We know little about

Shakespeare between 1585 and 1592, except that he left his family behind and moved to London where he began a successful career as an actor and playwright.

Legend has it that Shakespeare was forced to leave Stratford because he poached a deer from a wealthy family’s estate; however, there is no documented proof of this legend. Above: There is no documented

proof to support the legend that says Shakespeare was forced to leave

Stratford for poaching a deer

The Elizabethan Periodor English Renaissance

During much of Shakespeare’s life, Elizabeth I sat on the throne.

She encouraged art, literature, and to a certain extent, drama.

The English that Shakespeare used in his plays is called Elizabethan English.

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I

The London Years: The Globe Theater

Having been a shrewd businessman like his father, Shakespeare earned enough money to invest in the newly built Globe Theater.

We will discuss the Globe Theater in greater detail in the future.

Let’s take a Virtual Tour of Globe Theater Above: A view of

the exterior of the octagon-shaped Globe Theater

The London Years: Shakespeare’s Works London was an exciting city at this time. Over a 20 year period Shakespeare wrote more

than 30 plays, created a host of memorable characters, and produced some of the most beautiful poetry in the English language.

Whether writing histories, tragedies, or comedies, he was able to capture the attention of his audiences with his wonderful words.

Words were important; they developed the characters and carried most of the action because the Elizabethan stage used little, if any scenery and only the leading roles were fully costumed.

Shakespeare’s Wonderful Words More than simply captivating the London

audiences, Shakespeare’s words added to the English language in a very literal sense.

Shakespeare invented or brought into common usage over 1,700 of our common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together, adding prefixes and suffixes, and devising words wholly original

For example, Shakespeare was the first to use the noun lace as the verb lac’d.

Examples of Common Expressions Contributed by William Shakespeare

It’s Greek to me Foregone conclusion Method in the

madness Neither rhyme nor

reason One fell swoop Pomp and

circumstance

Strange bedfellows Full circle Seen better days It smells of heaven A sorry sight A spotless reputation The world’s (my)

oyster And many, many more

Shakespeare’s Final Years After 20 years he

retired to Stratford. His success made him

wealthy and earned the family a coat of arms.

Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church where he had been christened 52 years before.

Above: Holy Trinity Church where

Shakespeare was christened and later buried

DID YOU KNOW? In his will,

Shakespeare left most of his estate to his eldest daughter Susanna and her husband, the distinguished Dr. John Hall.

To his wife, he left his “second-best bed,” and little else.

Who is the Immortal Bard? Shakespeare is sometimes

called the Immortal Bard. A bard was one of a

particular caste of medieval poets and scholars.

English Romantics like S. T. Coleridge called Shakespeare the Immortal Bard because of an almost religious adoration they had for him (think: Babe Ruth – “The Great Bambino” or Michael Jordan – “His Airness”).

William Shakespeare: the Immortal Bard

Immortality? Shakespeare’s name will live on forever with his works. Hundreds of years after his life, certain scholars have

claimed that not Shakespeare, but another man (perhaps Francis Bacon or Edward de Vere, 17th earl of Oxford), produced his literary canon; however, these claims are largely unfounded.

As his contemporary Ben Johnson wrote of William Shakespeare, “He was not of an age, but for all time.”

And thus, many English-speaking actors still think it the ultimate challenge to attempt his major characters; in schools and universities across the globe, the works of the most renowned English playwright and poet are still studied.

Intrigued?

For more information on Shakespeare, check with your librarian or investigate these web pages:

http://www.absoluteshakespeare.com/

http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/

http://www.folger.edu/

http://ise.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/intro/introsubj.html

Remember the Keys to Success with Shakespeare KEY #1: BELIEVE YOU CAN SUCCEED

& PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD KEY #2: FIND OUT WHAT

SHAKESPEARE IS ALL ABOUT BEFORE MAKING A JUDGMENT

Now, go forward and unlock the secrets of the English language’s most heralded playwright and poet.

THE END

“All’s well that

ends well.”