William Shakespeare Was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. Went to London when he was 22 to become an actor and a playwright. Shakespeare began his career by writing comedies and history plays. Little is known about Shakespeare's life, other than his writings. He wrote 37 plays. All Shakespeare's plays were written to be performed not published. The King’s men – Shakespeare’s theater company Shakespeare also wrote poetry, in the form of sonnets.

History plays Many of Shakespeare's plays are history plays. They usually have the title of an English king, such as Henry V, Henry VI and Henry VIII. What distinguishes these plays is that they show that the king is also a human being, with real worries and concerns, and not only a cold ruler. Many of the history plays become tragedies like Hamlet. Shakespeare creates sympathy for his heroes, making them understandable, complex and recognizable characters. Very often the political questions examined in the history plays have clear links with the political situation in England at the time Shakespeare was writing.

The Tragedies Many of Shakespeare's great tragedies were written between 1598 and 1607, sometimes called his 'black' period. Romeo and Juliet – the most famous tragedy of love in all literature, was one of the earliest tragedies written. It is less philosophical and complex than his later tragedies. Hamlet - The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father, the King, and then taken the throne and married Hamlet's mother. Othello - In the original, the standard-bearer lusts after Disdemona and is spurred to revenge when she rejects him. King Lear - The play is based on the legend of King Leir of Britain. Macbeth - the play tells of the dangers of the lust for power and the betrayal of friends. For the plot Shakespeare drew loosely on the historical account of King Macbeth of Scotland All tragedies have in common that mankind is constantly trying to go beyond its limits in order to achieve perfection and harmony in the world. But mankind itself is not perfect, and must therefore fail in these attempts. Many of the tragedies end in pessimism, where life has lost its meaning. But usually there is some hope for the future.

The Comedies The question of future harmony is important also in Shakespeare's comedies. In the comedies, the world is threatened and shaken, but they always end happily. The subjects in the comedies are as serious as some of the subjects of the tragedies: – identity (The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, As You Like It) – the role of women (The Taming of The Shrew) – love and jealousy ( Much Ado About Nothing) – love and power (A Midsummer Night's Dream) – the power of money and the attempt to decieve (The Merchant of Venice)

The Final Plays ( ) Many of Shakespeare's final plays involve an escape to the countryside. Even if the themes are the same in these plays, the tone they are written in is different. – The Tempest

The Globe The Globe was a theatre that Shakespeare built in the 1590s. The Globe was an open-air theatre. Performances could not be given by night since there were no lights. The stage was simply a large platform. The ordinary people in the audience stood around three sides of the platform and there were roofed galleries with seats for rich people. There was no curtain to divide the stage from the audience an little or no scenery. The playwright described the scenes in the words of the characters. Since the audience was very near to the actors, they became involved with the characters and their problems.

The Globe

The Sonnets Shakespeare's 154 sonnets cover a wide range of subjects: – love and loss – lonliness and change – the passing of time The sonnets often contain a mysterious dark lady and a fair man, seen as male and female ideas of love.