William Shakespeare THE bard. aka POET

Shakespeare…the man, the legend ► Born 1564 in Stratford upon Avon ► Family Life  Dad, John Shakespeare, was a merchant  Mom, Mary Arden, daughter of affluent landowning farmer  3 rd of 8 kids  Schooling – until age 14

Shakespeare…the man, the legend ► Leaves school at age 14 ► Marries Anne Hathaway at 18

The man, the legend. MISSING! ► THE LOST YEARS  There is a period of time that biographers cannot account for,  Dad had financial problems?  Legends – had to flee London

Shakespeare…the man, the legend…is found! ► 1585 – Shows up in London  He was married with children  He showed up alone  He was working as an actor

Shakespeare in London ► WORK  Theater company – Lord Chamberlain’s Men (name change in 1603, King’s Men)  Will in company until retirement in 1610  While in King’s Men ► Part owner of Globe ► Actor ► Playwright

His Work ► 37 plays, 154 sonnets ► 3 Categories/genres: Comedy, Tragedy, History ► Romeo and Juliet = Tragedy  Written in his early years  Not original ► “Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet” by Arthur Brook

But what was life like? ► Renaissance – England’s Elizabethan Era, in honor of Queen Elizabeth 1  Queen Elizabeth was Britain’s first female monarch. Daughter of Henry VII who had her mother’s head chopped of since she never had a boy ► Bubonic Plague caused the close of many theaters  Many people wanted the theaters closed, but the Queen loved them, so the show went on!

THE Globe ► Built in 1599 by Burbage Brothers ► Will owned 10% ► Flag on top  When waving, it meant there was a show that day ► Afternoon – need daylight ► Only men can act ► Burned down in 1613, Rebuilt in 1614, burned down 30 years later by Puritans