Shakespeare’s Life Born April 23ish 1564 in Stratford upon Avon. His parents were middle class. At 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children. At 21, he left Stratford and went to work in London. He was a successful member of the acting group called the Lord Chamberlain’s men. This company made him rather wealthy. In 1613, he retired back to Stratford. He died in 1616.

Shakespeare’s Work He did most of his work between 1590 and He worked as an actor and playwright. He wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and a handful of longer poems. He wrote three kinds of plays: histories, comedies, and tragedies. He gained some renown during his lifetime, but did not become really famous until much after his death.

Shakespeare’s Influence The Romantics LOVED him. They based some of their poetry on his style. He made romance a topic for tragedies. He explored the thoughts of the characters more than the poets before him. Tons of today’s movies, plays, and books are based on his ideas. His work is still considered the best English literature.

While he was writing… Elizabeth I was Queen of England. (coolest monarch ever) England was becoming a world power. Exploration and settlement of the Americas was starting. The plague occasionally shut down markets, theatres, and other public places. The Puritans were gaining power in England as a religious force.

Some Vocabulary Soliloquy Iambic Pentameter A prolonged period where the actor speaks, but to the audience or him/herself rather than the other characters on stage. The rhythm that Shakespeare’s sonnets and play have.

More Vocabulary Tragic Hero: Hero with a flaw that will cause the play to end badly. (Achilles) Tragic Flaw: This thing wrong with the hero (His heel) Protagonist: Main character who drives the action (Tragic Hero) Antagonist: Works against the Protagonist to cause the conflict Foil: Character who is the opposite of the protagonist in some important way. Supporting and Minor Characters: others, less important

Some More Vocabulary Act- Shakespeare’s plays have 5 acts. These separate major events. Scene- Each act has some number of scenes. The distinguish between different settings. Line- Scenes are made of a series of line of dialogue.

Plot Structure Act 1: Introduction. Find out who the characters are, what the conflict is. Act 2: Rising Action Things start happening Act 3: Climax The turning point, something changes that determines how the play will end Act 4: Falling Action It’s not looking good for our intrepid hero Act 5: Catastrophe The bad ending. Many characters suffer because of the bad actions of the protagonist.

Look at this Cool Building!

All these cool people are going to watch Shakespeare!

A House In Stratford from Shakespeare’s Day

Henry likes Shakespeare, and you should too!