William Shakespeare

Biographical Information Birth and Childhood 1) No one knows the exact date of Shakespeare’s birth, but his baptism was recorded on April 26, 1564 2) His father was a tanner, glover, dealer in grain, and town official of Stratford 3) His mother was Mary Arden Shakespeare, daughter of a prosperous farmer

B) Married Family Life 1) On November 28, 1582, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway 2) William and Anne’s eldest daughter, Susanna, was baptized in May of 1583 3) Twins, Hamnet and Judith, were born less than 2 years later

C) Shakespeare’s Writing Career 1) By 1592, Shakespeare’s plays were becoming popular productions in London 2) Shakespeare was hired by royalty to write and perform his plays. - Because he was writing for money, he wrote plays quickly to meet the demands of his royal audience 3) In 1593, a plague came over London and all public theaters were closed, hurting Shakespeare financially - Shakespeare wrote many of his sonnets during this time

D) Death 1) Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616 - Some historians have dated his birth to April 23, 1564, meaning Shakespeare would have died on his birthday.

Other Shakespeare Facts A) He built the Globe Theatre, where many of his plays were performed. B) He wrote 38 plays and over 100 sonnets in his lifetime

C) Shakespearean themes include, but are not limited to: 1) Coming of Age/Maturity 2) Love 3) Battle of the Sexes 4) Slander 5) Incest 6) Action/War 7) Inter-Racial Marriage * The themes of Shakespeare’s plays were way ahead of their times, Shakespeare liked to explore controversial issues.

William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar Major Characters

Major Characters Julius Caesar – a successful military leader who wants the crown of Rome; Easily flattered and overly ambitious; assassinated by his own men Brutus– Noble by nature; senator of Rome who joins a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar Cassius– Brother-in-law of Brutus; has a sharp judge of character; organizes the assassination of Caesar Calphurnia– Caesar’s wife; urges him to stay home the day of the assassination

Mark Antony – devoted follower of Caesar; manages to excite the crowd at Caesar’s funeral into rebellion Soothsayer – warns Caesar to “beware the Ides of March” Portia – Brutus’s wife; upset when Brutus does not confide in her about the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar Strato – Brutus’s loyal servant Octavius Caesar – adopted son and hier of Julius Caesar

Other Conspirators Casca Cinna Decius Cimber Trebonius Caius Ligarius Publius