Shakespeare: His Life and Times

Early Life Born 1564 —Died 1616 Stratford-upon-Avon, England

As reproduced in William Rolfe, Shakespeare the Boy (1896). Stratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s Time

Shakespeare’s Birthplace

Married to Anne Hathaway Had twins - Hamnet & Judith, and daughter Susanna Sometime between , he moved to London and began working in theatre. Member and later part-owner of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later called the King’s Men Globe Theater built in 1599 Burned down in 1613 during one of Shakespeare’s plays Family and Theatre

Elizabethan Theatrical Conventions

The Rebuilt Globe Theater, London

The Globe Theater

The Stage In Shakespeare’s Time Shakespeare created at least 38 plays, made up of tragedies, histories, comedies, and tragicomedies. A show lasted about 2 ½ hours, usually in open air theatres during the afternoon. There was no scenery, but elaborate props and costumes to give reality. Devices such as trap doors and scaffolds were used to make gods, witches, etc. disappear.

The Stage In Shakespeare’s Time (continued) There were no actresses. All parts were played by men or boys. In front of stage was a big open area where the "penny-public" stood to watch as they could not afford seats. The wealthy had seats on upper levels.

Tragedy and the Tragic Hero Shakespeare’s tragedies are often called his “greatest plays.” Every tragedy contains a “tragic hero” –Tragic hero: a main character who goes through a series of events that lead to his/her downfall

Qualities of a Tragic Hero Possesses importance or a high rank Exhibits extraordinary talents Displays a tragic flaw—an error in judgment or defect in character—that leads to downfall There are attempts to mislead him Faces downfall with courage and dignity

Soliloquy and Aside Shakespeare uses soliloquies and asides even though these are not things that are used in real life. Soliloquy: a long speech given by a character while alone on stage to reveal his or her private thoughts or intentions. (monologue) Aside: a character’s quiet remark to the audience or another character that no one else on stage is supposed to hear. A stage direction (often in brackets) indicates an aside

WE’RE DOING NOTES AGAIN; OPEN YOUR NOTEBOOKS.

Aside Example Trebonius: Caesar, I will. [Aside] And so near will I be That your best friends shall wish I had been further. The audience is meant to hear the aside, but not Caesar. What does the aside suggest?

Dramatic Irony Irony: the contrast between appearance and reality Dramatic Irony: when the reader or audience knows something that one or more of the characters do not know. –Ex: In Romeo and Juliet when we know Juliet is married to Romeo, but her parents do not.

Verbal Irony Verbal irony = when you say one thing and mean another (sarcasm is a type of verbal irony) –Ex: When Ms. Hintz says she’s happy to see your enthusiasm when you are sleeping in class.

Situational Irony Situational irony = When the opposite of what you expect happens –Ex.: A fire station catches on fire

Elizabethan England – The Renaissance

The Time and What It Stood For This period is associated with Queen Elizabeth I’s reign ( ). England during this period had a centralized, well- organized, and effective government. They were also greatly profiting from trade with the colonies. This age – also known as the English Renaissance – is considered the GOLDEN AGE in English history literature, poetry, and theatre all broke away from the past and expanded in new creative directions.

Random interesting things.. Catholics and English Protestants were fiercely opposed to each other in England at this time. Catholics made many terrorist attempts to assassinate Queen Elizabeth so the Pope could regain control in England. Spain went to war with England over this too. Women were relatively unrestrained, torture and persecution were at an all-time low, the borders were open to travelers from other countries. Travel and exploration were important and most new inventions were related to travel of some sort.

The True History of Macbeth

Sources for Macbeth Holinshed ’ s Chronicles – a fantastical account of Scotland ’ s history Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, and her Scottish cousin James I took the throne. Shakespeare wanted James to continue funding his plays, so he did his best to please King James in how he conveyed the story of Macbeth. (Borrowing from James’s book Demonology and making King Duncan–James’s ancestor- look like a great ruler.)

King Duncan I - “ The Sick ” Took the throne in 1033A.D. He was young, but sickly… and not the most popular ruler. Close with Macbeth since a young age. “ cousins ” In 1039, Duncan was horribly defeated when he went south to Durham to claim land. Macbeth murdered Duncan within a year of the defeat.

Macbeth - “ The Red King ” Macbeth became the unrefuted king thanks to his title and his wife (the Gruochs were of royal lineage). Duncan ’ s family went into hiding in Atholl, located at the center of Scotland. Malcolm ’ s supporters – including Siward - and England ’ s Edward the Confessor made many attempts to dethrone Macbeth. King Macbeth even met his opposing armies on the battlefield, and showed great valor.

The Good of Macbeth Actually was not considered all that horrendous in respect to the time he ruled. He also was known as a fair king by many. He was the first Scottish king who was a benefactor of the church. He even gave away money “ as if it were seed ” to the poor of Rome. …alas in 1057, Malcolm III, son of Duncan I, overtook Macbeth finally. Macbeth was killed by Macduff and Malcolm III took the throne of Scotland.