Shakespeare: His Life and Times Adapted from http://www.public.asu.edu/~muckerrm/English_321_S2005/Introduction.ppt

Early Life Born 1564—died 1616 Stratford-upon-Avon Parents: John and Mary Arden Shakespeare Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner John—glovemaker, local politician

Location of Stratford-upon-Avon From: http://www.where-can-i-find.com/tourist-maps.html

Stratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s Time As reproduced in William Rolfe, Shakespeare the Boy (1896).

Shakespeare’s Birthplace From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/

Education Probably attended King’s New School in Stratford Educated in: Rhetoric Logic History Latin From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito

Married Life Married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, who was pregnant at the time with their first daughter, Suzanna Had twins in 1585: Hamnet and Judith Hamnet died at age 11. Sometime between 1585-1592, he abandoned his wife and children and moved to London to begin working in theatre.

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/

Where did he go? Abandoned wife & children Became a member of Lord Chamberlain’s Men, an acting company in London. Started writing plays while acting. First play was Romeo and Juliet in 1596 Became rich (from theatre) Retired in 1613. Returned to Stratford to live with oldest daughter.

Shakespeare’s Theatre Career Member and later part-owner of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later called the King’s Men Globe Theater built in 1599 by L.C.M. with Shakespeare as primary investor Burned down in 1613 during one of Shakespeare’s plays

Conditions in London-BAD! Thames River polluted with raw sewage Trees used up for fuel Poverty

Personal hygiene/health Bathing considered dangerous Body odor strong Childhood diseases Children often died before 5 years Small Pox Bubonic Plague

Living Conditions No running water Chamber Pots Open Sewers Crowded                   

Clothes One set used all year long, rarely washed Underclothing slept in, infrequently changed Clothes handed down from rich to poor

The Renaissance 1500-1650 “Rebirth” of arts, culture, science Discovery of “New World” Copernicus: Sun-centered Universe (1543) King Henry VIII = renaissance man (ideal) Reformation of Catholic Church

Queen Elizabeth Bastard daughter of King Henry VIII And Ann Boleyn (2nd of 6 wives) Henry had Ann beheaded for “treason” Younger sister of “Bloody Mary” “Virgin Queen”

The Competition Bear-baiting Races Gambling Music Drinking/socializing Prostitution Public executions

Theater in London Performed in courtyards of inns The Theater-first public theater-1576 Daytime/open air Limited set design Relied on music, sound, costumes, props and great description

Actors All men Female parts played by young boys No actual kissing or hugging on stage Women were not allowed to act

The groundling Poor audience member Stood around stage in “the pit” Women not allowed (had to dress up as men to attend) Threw rotten vegetables at bad performances

The Globe Built in 1599 Across the Thames- “Wrong side of town” King’s Players - Shakespeare’s company Penny admission

The Rebuilt Globe Theater, London

The Globe Theater

Shakespeare’s Language Shakespeare did NOT write in “Old English.” Old English is the language of Beowulf: Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum Þeodcyninga Þrym gefrunon Hu ða æÞelingas ellen fremedon! (Hey! We have heard of the glory of the Spear-Danes in the old days, the kings of tribes, how noble princes showed great courage!)

Shakespeare’s Language Shakespeare did not write in “Middle English.” Middle English is the language of Chaucer: We redeth oft and findeth y-write— And this clerkes wele it wite— Layes that ben in harping Ben y-founde of ferli thing… (Sir Orfeo)

Shakespeare’s Language Shakespeare wrote in “Early Modern English.” EME was not very different from “Modern English,”

Shakespeare’s Language A mix of old and very new Rural and urban words/images Understandable by the lowest peasant and the highest noble Contributed more words, phrases, and expressions to the English language than any other writer- some were his own invention: “bump” & “lonely”, “laughingstock” and “for goodness sake”

Theatrical Conventions of Shakespeare's Theatre Use of disguises/ mistaken identity Last speaker—highest in rank (in tragedies) Multiple murders (in tragedies) Multiple marriages (in comedies)

The Plays 14 comedies 10 histories 10 tragedies 4 romances 38 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare 14 comedies 10 histories 10 tragedies 4 romances Possibly wrote three others Collaborated on several others

The Poetry 154 Sonnets Numerous other poems