Born 1564 in Stratford upon Avon, England…April 23rd William Shakespeare Born 1564 in Stratford upon Avon, England…April 23rd

Shakespeare…the facts Parents were John—glovemaker, local politician and Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner Shakespeare had 7 brothers and sisters    Shakespeare’s house

Shakespeare…the facts Spelling not yet standardized, thus name spelled in different ways Shakespeare, Shakspere, Shackspere, Shaxper, Shagspere, Shaxberd, etc.

King’s New School – Shakespeare’s school    From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/

Married Life Married in November, 1582, to Anne Hathaway Anne was pregnant at the time First daughter Susanna born in May, 1583 Twins (Hamnet and Judith) christened on February 2, 1585 No documentary evidence between 1585-1592 Sometime in this period, he moved to London and began working in the theatre.

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/

Throughout the middle ages plays were performed by workers in towns and were religious based, often retelling stories from the Bible or mythology.    Elizabethan writers introduced theatre audiences to horror, the supernatural and GORE… Introduction

Elizabethan Playwrights The most well known playwright of Elizabethan times is Shakespeare. But there were also other writers who in their time were just as, or even more famous than the Bard.

Theater Career Member and later part-owner of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men Theaters in London closed from 1593-1594 due to the plague

Theater Career After the accession of James I in 1603, the company was granted permission to change its name to the King’s Men London theatres: Blackfriars, Rose, Swan, Curtain, Globe Wrote during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth (Elizabethan period) and King James I (Jacobean period) Queen Elizabeth

The Globe Theatre Globe built in 1599 by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, with Shakespeare as a primary investor Burned down in 1613 during a production of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII when a cannon misfired and a spark landed on the thatched roof

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

The Rebuilt Globe Theater, London

Globe Theater The wooden “O” Flag The Heavens Tiring House Galleries Image from: byrnesenglish12ap.blogspot.com The wooden “O” Flag The Heavens Tiring House Upper stage Galleries Inner Stage Main Stage Open Yard

More about Globe Theater Built in 1598 on south side of Thames River in London Octagonal shape (nearly round) Bare stage, lack of scenery, lack of lighting Audience could be up to 3,000 people All social classes attended For more money, sit in partially enclosed galleries Groundlings = stood on ground and paid a penny to get in & watch from the pit

More about Globe Theater Stage about 40 feet across and 27 feet deep Actors close to audience Three tiers of seating for more prosperous patrons Flag flew white for comedy, black for tragedy and red for history Trapdoor in the main stage allowed for rise or descent of witches, ghosts, devils, etc.

View of the Stage from Lower Gallery

The Heavens

Boxed Seats

Lower, Middle, and Upper Galleries

Upper Stage/The Heavens

View Looking Up

Groundlings’ View of the Stage

Globe Facts Rebuilt in 1997 due to push by American actor Sam Wanamaker who unfortunately died 2 years before the Globe was completed Only building in London allowed to have a thatch roof (Norfolk reed) since the Great London Fire of 1666 (current roof sprayed with flame retardant) Could accommodate 3,000 people in the 1600’s; only allowed 1,600 people today by fire code Area where groundlings stood originally covered in hazelnut shells and cinders; changed to cement today because other combination was tried when the Globe was first rebuilt and was deemed too messy Groundlings also referred to as Penny Stinkards Groundlings were not as rowdy as we are led to believe

More Globe Facts Lower gallery spectators paid 2 pence; middle gallery cost 3 pence; upper gallery seating cost 5 pence Besides plays, Globe was also used for Italian rapier fighting matches Globe originally located in the middle of London’s red light district and was accessible by either crossing the London Bridge or paying one pence to cross the Thames by boat Women’s only entertainment options at the time were plays or animal fighting (bear baiting) and they had to have an escort since streets were not safe; women could not go out alone Wealthy people (Lords) paid 6 pence to sit on the stage with the objective of being seen; they really couldn’t see the play very well from behind On the upper gallery, prostitutes nicknamed “Winchester Geese” wore white aprons and waved white hankies to advertise their services to men who became bored with the play; they were actually licensed by the Bishop of Winchester because the Church of England owned most of the brothels

The Performances The theatres often had mechanisms that allowed “angels” and “gods” to be lowered down onto the stage. Stages were also equipped with a trapdoor leading to a “Hell” beneath the stage. The trapdoor was also used as a grave in theatrical funerals. There was very little scenery available for theatres, so the writers often used to dialogue to explain to the audience where the scene was taking place. Costume was very important in Elizabethan theatre. Actors wore colourful and elaborate costumes that would tell the audience the characters status, family ties or profession. The emphasis that was given to a character’s clothing made the theme of disguise a common convention of Elizabethan theatre. In order to exchange places with another character or conceal his identity, all an actor needed to do was to change his costume.  The Elizabethan theatre also used a variety of sound effects. Music played an important role in the setting the mood of the plays. Other sounds created were thunder, running horses, falling rain, and cannon blasts.

The Plays plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare 14 COMEDIES – ends in marriage Midsummer Night’s Dream, Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Much Ado about Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew… 10 HISTORIES – Richard III, Richard II, Henry IV… 10 TRAGEDIES – ends in death Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello… 4 romances – Pericles, Cymbeline, Winter’s Tale, Tempest

The Poetry Two major poems Venus and Adonis Rape of Lucrece 154 Sonnets Numerous other poems Poetry usually dedicated to a patron

Shakespeare’s Language Shakespeare did NOT write in “Old English” Old English is the language of Beowulf: Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum Þeodcyninga Þrym gefrunon Hu ða æÞelingas ellen fremedon! Hey! We have heard of the glory of the Spear-Danes in the old days, the kings of tribes, how noble princes showed great courage!

Shakespeare’s Language Shakespeare did not write in “Middle English” Middle English is the language of Chaucer, the Gawain-poet, and Malory: We redeth oft and findeth y-write— And this clerkes wele it wite— Layes that ben in harping Ben y-founde of ferli thing… (Sir Orfeo)

Shakespeare’s Language Shakespeare wrote in “Early Modern English” EME was not very different from “Modern English,” except that it had some old holdovers. Beginning about 200 years before Shakespeare, and largely complete by his day, long vowel pronunciation shifted: ex: good, name, life

How to Read Shakespeare Unusual Word Arrangements Students have asked if people really spoke the way they do in Shakespeare's plays.  The answer is no.  Shakespeare wrote the way he did for poetic and dramatic purposes.  There are many reasons why he did this--to create a specific poetic rhythm, to emphasize a certain word, to give a character a specific speech pattern, etc.  Let's take a look at a great example from Robinson's Unlocking Shakespeare's Language. I ate the sandwich. I the sandwich ate. Ate the sandwich I. Ate I the sandwich. The sandwich I ate. The sandwich ate I.

How to Read Shakespeare Unusual Word Arrangements Robinson shows us that these four words can create six unique sentences which carry the same meaning.  When you are reading Shakespeare's plays, look for this type of unusual word arrangement.  Locate the subject, verb, and the object of the sentence.  Notice that the object of the sentence is often placed at the beginning (the sandwich) in front of the verb (ate) and subject (I).  Rearrange the words in the order that makes the most sense to you (I ate the sandwich).  This will be one of your first steps in making sense of Shakespeare's language

How to Read Shakespeare Poetry We speak in prose (language without metrical structure).  Shakespeare wrote both prose and verse (poetry).  Much of the language discussion we will have in this guide revolves around Shakespeare's poetry.  So, it is important that you understand the following terms: Blank Verse:  unrhymed iambic pentameter. Iambic Pentameter:  five beats of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables; ten syllables per line. 'So fair / and foul / a day / I have / not seen' 'The course / of true / love nev/er did / run smooth'

How to Read Shakespeare Omissions Again, for the sake of his poetry, Shakespeare often left out letters, syllables, and whole words.  These omissions really aren't that much different from the way we speak today.  We say: "Been to class yet?" "No.  Heard Ulen's givin' a test." "Wha'sup wi'that?“ We leave out words and parts of words to speed up our speech.  If we were speaking in complete sentences, we would say: "Have you been to class yet?" "No, I have not been to class.  I heard that Mrs. Ulen is giving a test today." "What is up with that?"

How to Read Shakespeare Omissions A few examples of Shakespearean omissions/contractions follow: 'tis ~ it is ope ~ open o'er ~ over gi' ~ give ne'er ~ never i' ~ in e'er ~ ever oft ~ often a' ~ he e'en ~ even

How to Read Shakespeare Unusual Words Most of us run into problems when we come across archaic words that are no longer used in Modern English.  Or worse, when we run across words that are still used today but have much different meanings than when Shakespeare used (or invented!) the words.   This is particularly troublesome, because we think we know what the word means, but the line still doesn't make sense. Although it is frustrating when we come across these unknown words, it is not surprising.  Shakespeare's vocabulary included 30,000 words.  Today our vocabularies only run between 6,000 and 15,000 words!  Because Shakespeare loved to play with words, he also created new words that we still use today.

Shakespeare’s Language Shakespeare coined many words we still use today: Critical Majestic Dwindle And quite a few phrases as well: One fell swoop Flesh and blood Vanish into thin air See http://www.wordorigins.org/histeng.htm

Shakespeare in Language Elizabethan theatre has had a very important effect on today’s theatre, and other parts of every day life. For example: Shakespeare coined over 1600 words still used today including countless, critical, excellent, lonely, majestic, obscene and its. Names coined by Shakespeare: -         Imogen in the play Cymbaline, -         Jessica in the play The Merchant of Venice -         Miranda in the play The Tempest -         Olivia in the play Twelfth Night -         Cordelia in the play King Lear

Shakespeare Today Elizabethan theatre is still plays a part in our day to day lives, mostly through the influence of Shakespeare. You can find references to his work in films, novels, plays, musicals, songs, poetry, artwork, satire…Even today his characters and storylines continue to inspire…

And lastly… “If you cannot understand my argument, and declare "It's Greek to me", if your lost property has vanished into thin air, if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your brows, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, laughed yourself into stitches, if you have too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or if you think it is high time and that that is the long and short of it, if you believe that the game is up and that truth will out even if it involves your own flesh and blood, if you lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul play, if you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop) without rhyme or reason - it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare!”

The End Died April 23, 1616 - 52 * Actor * Poet * Playwright