William Shakespeare 1564-1616 “All the world 's a stage, / And all the men and women merely players.”

Eighteen plays printed small books called quartos First folio in 1623 Born in Stratford The 3rd of 8 kids Married at age 18 (his wife was 26) Worked as an actor Eighteen plays printed small books called quartos First folio in 1623

The Globe Theater 1599 Burned in 1613

The New Globe Theater

Which plays have you heard of? The Plays Comedies Tragedies Histories The Tragedies Hamlet Romeo and Juliet Othello King Lear Macbeth Which plays have you heard of?

Characters: Macbeth Characters: Duncan – King of Scotland Malcolm – heir to the throne Macbeth – general of the king’s army Banquo – general of the king’s army Macduff – Macbeth’s foil Lady Macbeth – wife of Macbeth

Themes: Macbeth Violence resulting when social order is tampered with Qualities of good and evil combined in a single individual Seduction of power and ambition turns noble people into tyrants Internal desires versus external realities

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 the seeds of discontent were sown in the late 1520s during the reign of Henry VIII when he parted from the Roman Catholic Church subsequent monarchs decided the fates of the nation’s believers Elizabeth became fearful of an encroaching Catholic Europe so she began to repress and persecute Catholics "Remember, remember the fifth of November. Gunpowder, Treason and Plot. I see no reason why Gunpowder Treason Should ever be forgot."

three British Catholic gentlemen met in secret (Catesby, Wintour, and Wright) King James promises a relaxation in the anti-Catholic laws, but it now appeared that he would be even more severe in their persecution than his predecessor had been the plan was to blow up the King and the House of Lords at the next Opening of Parliament by renting a cellar right under the House of Lords they would then seize the royal children and return Catholicism to the land

To commemorate the discovery of the Plot, King James had a medal created picturing a serpent hiding amongst flowers “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” The Shakespearean audience would have understood the context and allusion Guy Fawkes was able to fill the underground storehouse with some thirty-six barrels of gunpowder Everything was set in place: all the conspirators had to do now was wait. The plan was foiled when a letter was sent to Lord Monteagle telling of the plot All the conspirators except for one were executed for their crimes

Elizabethan Belief in Witches Ghosts, malevolent spirits, witches, and other supernatural elements were common belief Queen Elizabeth I passed the 1562 Elizabethan Witchcraft Act forbidding “conjuration, enchantments, and witchcrafts” Belief in witches inspired violent behavior in Shakespearean times Historians cite that 16,000 women were killed due to witchcraft accusations King James wrote a book on the subject Daemonology (Shakespeare incorporated this aspect of the king’s character when creating the role of Macbeth)