William Shakespeare “All the world’s a stage…”

Shakespeare Most famous writer in the world, but he left us no journals or letters – We do not know very much about him!

All about “The Bard” He was the 3 rd of 18 children, around April 23, 1564 Stratford-upon-Avon Father – John was a shopkeeper Grammar school where he studied Latin No farther education as far as we know

Family Man Age 18 he married Anne Hathaway She was 8 years older than he Had three children – son died at age 11, two daughters

Off to London He moved to London sometime around 1587 (shortly after the birth of his last two children) Left the family behind in Stratford By 1592 he was acting and writing plays Was a professional writer – wrote on demand constantly Returned to Stratford in 1612 Died April 23, 1616 Buried under the church in Stratford

His works Wrote 36 plays –Tragedies –Comedies –Histories 150 sonnets

The “Wooden O” Shakespeare’s theatre was known as a “The Globe” Was a round building – 16 sides 3 parts –The building –The stage – very close to the audience –backstage

The Globe Cont. Traps doors Open to the sky (all plays performed in the afternoon 3000 people General admission to the “Groundlings” equal to 1 penny Actors were highly trained

The Renaissance 1485 – 1660 A French word meaning “rebirth” Refers to a new interest in classical learning (writings from ancient Rome and Greek) Began in Italy and moved over the rest of Europe A renewal of the human spirit

Reformation From Catholic to Protestant Started in Germany and moved throughout Europe Time of Shakespeare – England was Protestant Most believe that he was Catholic

Tragedy Protagonist – must be morally a good person (hero) –Character flaw or error in judgment that leads to their downfall Climax occurs in the middle of the play, downward spiral to the end Everyone dies – always

Pyramid Act 1 – Exposition or the Introduction Act 2 – Rising Action Act 3 – Crisis or Turning point (Climax) Act 4 – Falling Action Act 5 - Resolution

Romeo and Juliet Among the early plays of Shakespeare The setting: –Italy in the early 1300’s Two feuding families

The Feud The Capulet’s –Juliet –Lord and Lady Capulet –Nurse – servant to Juliet –Peter – servant to the nurse –Tybalt – Juliet’s cousin –Sampson – servant to Capulet –Gregory - servant to Capulet –Potpan - servant to Capulet The Montague's –Romeo –Lord and Lady Montague –Benvolio – Romeo’s cousin –Balthasar- servant to Romeo –Abraham – servant to Montague

Background Info During the Italian Renaissance, powerful families often feuded Shakespeare’s used sources to write his plays The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet About two real families – Cerchi and Donati in Florence, Italy

Marriage – A Controversial Issue In Shakespeare’s time, marriages were usually arranged He used these two young writers to talk about an issue prevalent to his culture Should marriages be arranged or should young people be allowed to choose their spouses? Influenced by religious tendancies

Marriage and Religion Catholics Happiness in the world as secondary to eternal happiness = happiness in marriage was not that important Protestants More concerned with worldly success = happiness in marriage extremely important

The Essential Questions 1.What are the characteristics of drama, specifically a tragedy? 2.Describe love. Is it violent or kind, destructive or constructive? 3.Does true love overpower all other adversaries? Should it change people’s loyalty's, morals, values, etc? (Should you change because you love someone)? 4.Do societal expectations cause restrictions in people’s lives? If they do, should they, or should people simply live how ever they want too?

AHHHH… Happy Reading!