Shakespeare’s Life Born April 23ish 1564 in Stratford upon Avon. His parents were middle class. At 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children. At 21, he left Stratford and went to work in London. He was a successful member of the acting group called the Lord Chamberlain’s men. This company made him rather wealthy. In 1613, he retired back to Stratford. He died in 1616.

Shakespeare’s Work He did most of his work between 1590 and He worked as an actor and playwright. He wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and a handful of longer poems. He wrote three kinds of plays: histories, comedies, and tragedies. He gained some renown during his lifetime, but did not become really famous until much after his death.

Shakespeare’s Influence The Romantics LOVED him. They based some of their poetry on his style. He made romance a topic for tragedies. He explored the thoughts of the characters more than the poets before him. Tons of today’s movies, plays, and books are based on his ideas. His work is still considered the best English literature.

While he was writing… Elizabeth I was Queen of England. (coolest monarch ever) England was becoming a world power. Exploration and settlement of the Americas was starting. The plague occasionally shut down markets, theatres, and other public places. The Puritans were gaining power in England as a religious force.

Sonnets Iambic Pentameter- The rhythm the sonnets are written in, ba-DA, ba-DA, ba-DA, ba-DA, ba-DA 14 line poems 3 quatrains of 4 lines, rhyming every other Last 2 lines - Heroic Couplet - rhymes with itself, conclusion of poem The complicated format takes skill, therefore the writer is cool (to the people of the time) Lots of them are about love, but not all

Look at this Cool Building!

All these cool people are going to watch Shakespeare!

A House In Stratford from Shakespeare’s Day

Henry likes Shakespeare, and you should too!