William Shakespeare 1564 -1616

“The Bard” was Shakespeare's nickname Shakespeare was born on April 26, 1564. He was raised in Stratford Upon Avon, England. Attended school and studied Latin and Literature His father, John, was a prosperous wool, leather and grain farmer Mother , Mary, was the daughter of a gentleman farmer

Bio continued… In 1582 - Married Anne Hathaway who was 8 years older than him ( Did not marry for love) Had 3 Children Daughter – Susanna Twin sons – Hamnet (died as child) Judeth 1586 – Left Stratford to become stage manager of the Theatre in London Soon after, joined acting company of The Theatre and performed in many plays

1599 – Built Globe Theatre He was part owner, playwright and actor for the Globe Theater in London Most of Shakespeare’s plays were produced here 1599-1609 were Shakespeare’s best writing years Late in 1608, Shakespeare and his partners purchased the Blackfriars Theatre to use as a winter location for play production

The Globe Theater

Globe Theater continued… 3 levels, no roof Stage jutted out into the audience on 3 sides Building was octagon-shaped 1¢ - price of admission to rowdy pit area 2¢ - admission got a seat Free admission for Noblemen in lord’s rooms near stage Always performed during the day (no electricity) Flag flown on top of theatre on days when a play would be given

Setting/Staging Little to no interruptions No curtains to signal end of an act Settings were given through action/dialogue Soliloquies made the audience feel involved – actors seemed to be talking directly to audience Actor’s entrances & exits were seen openly by audience through 2 doors on either side of stage Senior actors got the major roles All actors were males

Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets - All published in 1609 The names of his sonnets were all numbered. They were poems that consisted of 14 lines. Half of these were written to a dark lady. The other half were written to a man. None were written to his wife.

Sonnet 18 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

Shakespeare wrote 37 plays. He based them on 3categories. Histories Tragedies Comedies. All were acted out by performers and intended to be viewed by an audience

History Plays - Based on the history of England Examples include: King Henry IV, V, VI King Richard II, III King John

*A Midsummer Night's Dream Comedies *A Midsummer Night's Dream *All's Well that Ends Well *The Merchant of Venice *Twelfth Night

Tragedies He is best known for his tragic plays Romeo and Juliet Hamlet Othello Julius Caesar Macbeth Antony & Cleopatra King Lear

- Shakespeare’s most written about and perhaps most complex play Hamlet - Shakespeare’s most written about and perhaps most complex play

Themes Dealing with death Corruption Evil Immortality Human Nature Self-identity Moral Choices

Hamlet - the character Melancholy – gloomy state of mind Indecisive – can’t make a decision Fatalism – submission to fate (all things possible) Cynicism – distrust others Disillusionment – not in touch w/ reality Sane? – sound healthy mind

Much of the play centers on relationships between parents and their children. Hamlet’s obvious admiration for his deceased father, distaste for his uncle and now stepfather, and ambivalence about his mother place him in a stressful situation that is exacerbated with the ghost’s command for revenge