William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s Life 1564-1616 The man behind the legend

ENGLAND

London

Boyhood in Stratford-Upon-Avon Born April 23, 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon Parents John and Mary Arden Shakespeare Seven brothers and sisters Grammar School from age 7 to 13

Stratford-Upon-Avon

William Shakespeare’s Home

Marriage and Life in London 1582 at age 18 married Anne Hathaway 1583-1592 ??? 1592 (28 years old) went to London actor and playwright first accused of borrowing from other playwrights 1592-1594 Plague

Shakespeare Prospers 1598 built Globe Theatre Owned shares in it Father granted a coat-of-arms Gentlemen Recognized as a genius in his own time

Globe Theatre

Honored as Actor and Playwright Queen Elizabeth dies in 1603 King James I takes the throne Shakespeare’s Theatre company becomes the King’s Company Member of famous writer’s group (Mermaid Tavern)

Death and Burial at Stratford 1610 retired from theatre 1613 Globe theatre burns down lost much money but still wealthy helps rebuild Globe theatre Dies on April 23, 1616 at age 52

Shakespeare’s Grave

Did Shakespeare really write his plays? Many believe it is impossible for Shakespeare to have written his plays Lacks heights and depths of passion could not learn aristocratic sports and manners lacked schooling

Secrets of the Sonnets 154 Sonnets, 60 songs Love, broken trust of friend, loss of love, forgiveness friend, dark lady, rival poet

Shakespeare’s Four Periods First Period- Apprenticeship (Age 26-30) Second Period- Mastered his art! Favorite “Romantic Comedy” Third Period- Problem of Evil in the World Forth Period- Creates a new drama form “Tragicomedy” or the dramatic romance

Shakespeare as an Elizabethan Queen Elizabeth reigned (1558-1603) Emerging from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance Age was extravagant and brutal elaborate, ornate clothing, language and manners language was growing fast middle class (stern, moral, and independent)

Elizabeth I Symbolizes the Age Queen Elizabeth Glory of England To people, she represented beauty and greatness one of the most powerful countries in the world

Queen Elizabeth 1558-1603

Drama in the Elizabethan Age After defeating the Spanish Armada, England became intensely interested in the past. (Patriotic) Historical plays thrived. Playwrights were practical men, bent on making a living Plays were written to be acted, not read. Once a playwright sold his manuscript, he had no personal right to it.

Shakespeare’s Plots and Characters First reading =quick Second reading=more leisurely Plots=romantic, poetic, farfetched, imaginative, supernatural Characters=realistic, alive, three dimensional, powerful and eternally true

The Elizabethian Theater Round, wooden, roofless building Three galleries of seats Pit (no seats) cost a penny “groundlings” Main stage 40 feet wide 27 feet projection into the pit Recessed inner stage (curtains and balcony) Music Room Heaven and a Hell

The Stage Influences on Shakespeare’s Methods Open, free stage=quick changes, rapid action Encourages speechmaking, passionate soliloquies No women actors Only day time light= speeches about time, season and weather (Macbeth=40 such speeches Closeness of different classes

Shakespeare as a Dramatist Objective of Plays= give pleasure Fanciful, imaginative plays Audience= everyday people, uneducated, wanted to escape Wrote in verse=free use of words

His Poetic Greatness Most quoted writer in the world diversity of speech from common men to philosophers Examples of his Poetry

Critics Rank the Plays Tragedies-Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Othello Comedies- The Tempest, As You Like It, The Winter’s Tale, The Merchants of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Histories- Henry IV, Henry V, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII

Test of Greatness A great play is one that affects the audience deeply.

Reasons for his Popularity

The Great Shakespeare Collections Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery in San Marino, California British Museum in London,England Bodleian Library in Oxford, England

To be or not to be? What’s the question

To be or not to be? That is the question! Wait a second!!! To my own self be true Then thou canst not be false to any man Be quiet Will! What’s going on And it must follow as the night and the day.

Web cites for pictures and additional information on William Shakespeare http://daphe.palomar.edu/ shakespeare/timeline/genealogy. htm http://www.shakespeare.com/link. Htm www.stratford.co.uk/birthplace/ www.rdg.ac.uk/globe/Data-Base/Images/NewGlobe.htm www.legends.dm.net/shakespeare/macbeth.htm/ www.britishliterature.com

Tragedy A serious play or drama typically dealing with the problems of a central character, leading to an unhappy or disastrous ending brought on, as in ancient drama, by a fate and a tragic flaw in this character, or in modern drama, usually by moral weakness, psychological maladjustment or social pressures.

Tragic Hero A person of high rank who is brought to eventual ruin by a flaw in his/her character. Example: Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his ambition which leads him into a series of bloody and increasingly indefensible acts.

Comedy A drama or narrative with a happy ending or non-tragic theme. Comedy of manners- depicts and satirizes the manners and customs of fashionable society. High comedy- appeals to and reflects the life and problems of the upper social classes, characterized by a witty, sardonic treatment. Low comedy- farce, slap stick,burlesque, horse play

Catharsis The purging or purifying of the emotions or relieving of emotional tension, especially by art. (This concept was applied originally by Aristotle to the effects of tragic drama on the audience.)

Conflict The struggle or interplay of forces, that takes place within the story. The main character may be in conflict with another person, value system, fate or with nature.

Plot The sequence of events that create and then resolve a conflict. Plot movement: Climax (peak tension) or Crisis (dramatic turning point) Falling action (fall of tragic hero) Rising action Resolution or Denouncement (Point at which conflict ends and outcome is made clear) Beginning of story

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