William Shakespeare 1564-1616

I. Life A. Childhood 1. Baptized on April 26, 1564, in Stratford-on-Avon, England 2. Suspected birthdate: April 23 or 24, 1564 3. Eldest son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden Shakespeare

B. Adult life 1. Married Ann Hathaway on Nov. 28, 1582 2. Had three children a. Susanna b. Hamnet c. Judith (Hamnet's twin) 3. In 1592 was established playwright in London

4. In 1594 became a full shareholder in Lord Chamberlain's Company 5. In 1596 applied for a coat-of-arms--now considered a gentleman 6. Famous during life 7. Retired early, returned to Stratford-on-Avon 8. Died on April 23, 1616

II. Times A. Lived during the Renaissance, or rebirth period of Europe 1. Queen Elizabeth reigned 2. Studied the Bible, Latin grammar, and classics

B. Growth of British sea power, exploration, and scholarship C. Effects on plays 1. Anachronism-- something out of proper time, such as the clock in Julius Caesar 2. Coupled British life with other cultures

III. Plays A. Thirty-seven plays attributed to Shakespeare 1. Only eighteen published during his lifetime in form other than script

2. First published collection called First Folio a. Published in 1623 by John Hemming and Henry Condell b. Contained thirty-six plays

B. Dates attributed by references and intelligent guessing C. Three main categories of plays 1. Histories (king plays) 2. Tragedies 3. Comedies

Most famous plays 1. Romeo and Juliet 2. Julius Caesar 3. Macbeth 4 Most famous plays 1. Romeo and Juliet 2. Julius Caesar 3. Macbeth 4. Hamlet

5. King Lear 6. Othello 7. A Midsummer Night's Dream 8. Henry VIII

IV. The Globe Theater A. Courtyard origins B. Structure 1. Eight-sided 2. Central courtyard or pit (1 penny) 3. Three tiers (2 pennies)

4. Curtainless stage 5. Two entrances 6. Balcony 7. Heaven and hell

C. Props 1. Elizabethan costumes 2. Sound effects D. Players 1. All men 2. Seniors also shareholders 3. Patrons a. Lord Chamberlain b. King James

E. Audience 1. Nobility had own box 2. Poor people stood in pit (groundlings) a. Unclean and uneducated b. Pickpocketing

c. Threw rotten tomatoes (poison) at actors if not entertained d. Also went to nearby bear baiting & cock fighting arenas

V. Conventions-- agreements between audience and actors that audience will accept certain things as true

A. Blank verse--characters would speak in unrhymed iambic pentameter (5 beats of unaccented /accented syllables per line) poetry

B. Soliloquy-- character alone on stage speaking thoughts to audience C. Aside--remarks made to audience or characters while other characters pretend not to hear