Shakespeare, The Globe, and Macbeth

William Shakespeare   Born in Stratford- upon-Avon –Son of glove maker  DOB: April 26 or April 23, 1564  Married Anne Hathaway at age 18; she was 26

Biography continued  Fathered 3 children –Susanna –Twins: Judith & Hamnet Hamnet dies at age 11, devastating Shakespeare  Moves to London, becomes principle playwright for Lord Chamberlain’s Men  Built Globe Theater in 1599; part owner  Writes 154 sonnets; 38 plays  Dies 1616, possibly of a fever

The Globe Theater  Constructed in 1599  Built for Chamberlain’s Men (later called King’s Men)  1613: thatched roof caught fire during performance and burned entire building  Reconstructed and reopened by 1614  Lasted until 1644, when torn down

Globe Construction  Hexagon structure  3-stories high with no roof  Open courtyard and three semicircular galleries could hold more than 1,500 people  500 ‘groundling’ “seats”



Elizabethan Playhouses  Open to public eye at every turn  No scenery changes between scenes because there was no curtain to drop –All Shakespeare play scenes end on a denouement, with the actors walking off or being carried off the stage. –If play required a change of place in the next scene, most times the actors would not leave the stage at all, and it would be up to the audience to imagine the change had occurred

Macbeth  Written around 1606 as tribute to James I’s Scottish ancestry and theological interests (ID of witches in his book Demonology)  Story taken from Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland –Tells story of Scottish king who murdered his way to the throne in 1040 –Banquo-- founder of royal Stuart line from which King James was descended

Bibliography  Mabillard, Amanda. Shakespeare's Globe. Shakespeare Online Oct 23, 2007  Mabillard, Amanda. "William Shakespeare of Stratford." Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug Oct 23,  The Globe: An Insider's View (All Pictures Copyright 2000 by Rosalind Tedford) 