Famous Lines:  "To be or not to be, that is the question."  "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"  "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!"  "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."  "The course of true love never did run smooth."  "Double double toil and trouble. Cauldron burn and cauldron bubble."  "Something wicked this way comes."

 Considered greatest poet and playwright  Most quoted author/text other than the Bible  Works are considered timeless

 From town and church documents  Baptized April 26, 1564  Lived in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England  Parents are John and Mary Shakespeare  Dad held government positions  Dad leather and glove maker  Educated at the local grammar school

a) From 1612 deposition: William Shackper b) 1612 Blackfriars deed: William Shakspear c) 1612 Blackfriars mortgage: Wm Shakspea d) 1615 will page 1: William Shackspere e) 1615 will page 2: Willm. Shakspere f) 1615 will page 3: By me William Shakspeare The latter three appear on the will, dated 25 March 1616, and their shakiness is sometimes justified by speculation that Will was terminally ill or had had a stroke. There is also some question about the last signature being in a different and more proficient hand, possibly the lawyer's.

He made up over 2,035 words (including critical, dwindle, horrid, hereditary, excellent, eventful, assassination, lonely, zany, and countless). Roughly 1/10 of the most quotable phrases in English are Shakespeare's (including vanish into thin air, play fast and loose, be in a pickle, budge an inch, flesh and blood, foul play, be cruel to be kind, blinking idiot, foregone conclusion, and many more).

 Married Anne Hathaway (pregnant)…Left Second Best Bed in will  Susanna  Hamnet and Judith  Hamnet died at age 11  Spent majority of his life away from family

 37 plays  Tragedies  Comedies  Histories  Sonnets (154)  Iambic Pentameter  Plays written in Blank Verse

Acting  The Lord Chamberlain’s Men  Acted in small roles  Acting company became King James Men

 Retired in 1613  Returned to Stratford-Upon-Avon  Wealthy landowner  Achieved wealth from owning 10% of The Globe  Died of a “fever”  April 23, 1616

 Early performances in courtyards and inns  First public theater: The Theater  Open air in daytime  Limited set design  Relied on music, sound, costumes, props

 Plays were owned by theater  Plays were published posthumously  The First Folio, published in Ben Jonson

 Built in 1599  “Wrong side of town”  Wrote/staged plays for its set-up  Acted in/directed many of his own plays  3 tiers/open floor  Platform, heavens, trapdoor  Balcony  2000 people

 Men and boys only  No excessive PDA  Learned skill of sword fighting