William Shakespeare: the Man, the Myth, and the Legend Placing Shakespeare in Context

A Bit of History… William Shakespeare Born (baptized) April 26th, 1564 In Stratford, England “Stratford-upon-Avon” Small market town in Warwickshire, England Died April 23rd, 1616

A Bit of History… English Renaissance Queen Elizabeth King James 1st Early 16th to late 17th centuries Queen Elizabeth 1558 – 1603 King James 1st 1603 – 1625 Commercial Theater in England 1567 – 1642 The Theatre First structure for “the playing of plays” The Globe Built in 1599, burned to the ground in 1613 “The house that Shakespeare built”

Before and After… Let’s take a tour of The Globe Before the Renaissance Medieval Dramas (highly religious) Morality plays Mystery plays Performed in wagons During and After the Renaissance Plays were performed at universities Later performed in playhouses The Theatre, The Globe, ETC… Let’s take a tour of The Globe

The Man, the Industry, the Hollywood Icon, the Cultural Touchstone We know who he is…don’t we? The Industry and Hollywood Icon Think about our Pop Culture exercise The Cultural Touchstone Molding Shakespeare to fit any genre Music Movies ETC…

What do you think? Something to ponder… Anxiety of influence Do writers after Shakespeare become derivative of him? Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “The German Shakespeare” Has Shakespeare said it all? What do you think?

Did Shakespeare Exist? Stratfordian vs. Anti-Stratfordian Christopher Marlowe Some argue that Shakespeare was a “front” for Marlowe, among others Controversy of Authorship Was it a combination of forces and his pure talent? Was he a “front man” for the writing? Seven signatures of Shakespeare Mention his education, his appearance in London, had intimate knowledge of “The Court”…too many coincidences?

Did Shakespeare Exist? Was Shakespeare a “genius” and are his works universal? Or was he at the right place at the right time?

Performances, Playhouses, and the Players What about the theater is different? You are in control of the perspective You look where you want to look Every performance is different Audience vs. Spectator Audio- EAR Spectacle- EYE “Let’s go hear a play” Combo of EYE and EAR to create meaning People were good listeners because most were illiterate

Performances, Playhouses, and the Players Patronage Funding, important for livelihood Outside Amphitheaters vs. Indoor Playhouses Universities had the indoor playhouses Amphitheaters were for the “people” Actors were called players They were “playing” Fun, pretend, ILLUSION, fiction, escape The Lord Chamberlain’s Men and King’s Men Playwrights were called poets Shakespeare is a poet