1. William Shakespeare: His Life and Times

2. Early Life Shakespeare was born April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He was born to John Shakespeare (a glove- maker and local politician) and Mary Arden (the daughter of a wealthy landowner). Not much is known about Shakespeare’s early childhood.

3. Location of Stratford-upon-Avon

4. Shakespeare’s Birthplace

5. Probably attended the King’s New School in Stratford. Started attending at around the age of six or seven. Studied Latin (main language classes were taught in) and some English. Studied the Latin and Greek classics. Stopped attending school around age thirteen because father could not afford it due to financial difficulties. Education Puts into question how he was capable of writing his plays or poems.

6. The King’s New School

7. Adult Life: Family In 1582, at the age of eighteen, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway (26). At the time of their marriage she was pregnant with their first daughter (Susanna). A few years later in 1585 they had twins: Hamnet & Judith. Hamnet dies at the age of eleven—possibly due to bubonic plague.* Sometime between 1585- 1592, he moved to London and began working in theatre. *Connection between Hamnet and Shakespeare’s famous Hamlet.

8. Anne Hathaway’s Cottage

9. Conditions in London The conditions in London during Shakespeare’s early days were pretty rough. The Thames River was polluted with raw sewage; meaning everyone’s bathroom business was all over the river. The trees around the country were being cut down for fuel. The country was stricken with poverty. Since the Thames was polluted, it was considered dangerous to bathe. Everyone in the country had a case of strong body odor (B.O.). Disease was common, especially among children. Children often didn’t make it past five years of age. Small Pox and the Bubonic Plague affected many at the time.

10. Smallpox & Bubonic Plague Smallpox is a contagious viral disease. Gets its name from the pus-filled blisters that form around the skin. Spreads through saliva: coughing, sneezing, and talking. Bubonic Plague: A disease carried by rodents. Spread through fleas and rodent droppings. Red spots appeared on the skin, which later turned black, hence the name Black Death.

11. Living Conditions There was no running water, so people had to go down to wells and rivers. You already know how that went…River was polluted. Toilets and sewage systems were still in the works, so chamber pots were the best option. Open sewers meant that it was not unlikely that you would trip into someone else's business. Living in Shakespeare's time was difficult due to it being quite crowded.

12. People usually wore the same items of clothing all year round—they did not change. Their clothes were rarely washed. Clothes Their undergarments were their pajamas. They usually got up in the morning and just slipped on their clothes they’ve worn everyday.

13. Theater Career Performed in courtyards of inns. The Theater was the first public theater. It opened in 1576. The Theatre was in the open air, and most plays were done in the day. Since in those days they did not have fancy lighting, if the play had a night scene, people would leave and continue their usual routines and came back at night to watch the rest of the play. Shakespeare and the theatres had a limited set, so they had to rely heavily on music, sounds, their costumes, props, and phenomenal description on the playwrights end. A play being put on at an inn.

14. Shakespeare worked with The Lord Chamberlain Men for about a third of his career as an actor and playwright. He later became part owner of the group. The name was changed to The King’s Men in the 1600s due to receiving patronage from James I. Elizabeth I was known to be rather fond of The Lord Chamberlain Men, and as a result, she requested them to perform often. In 1599 the renown Globe Theatre built was built by The Lord Chamberlain Men with Shakespeare as its primary investor. The Globe Theater was three stories high and had no roof. This is similar to the amphitheaters we have today. Ex. Bayfront Park Amphitheatre. Capable of holding about 1,500 people. Only lasted thirteen years. During a performance of Henry VIII in 1613, a misfired canon ball set the Globe’s thatched roof on fire. As a result, the whole theatre was consumed. Theatre

15. The Globe Theater

16. The Rebuilt Globe Theater, London

17. Actors Only men were allowed to act. Female parts played by young boys There was no actual kissing or hugging allowed on stage. This would not be permissible and one would be tried for homosexuality.

18. Groundlings People who could not afford to sit down. Basically all the poor audience members. Stood around stage in what is known as “the pit”. Are infamous for throwing rotten vegetables at bad performances.

19. The Plays There are 37 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare. His plays are divided into four major subgenres: Comedies – The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, and etc. Histories – King Richard II & III, Henry IV Parts I & II, Henry V, Henry VIII, and etc. Tragedies – Othello, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, King Lear, and etc. Romances – The Winter’s Tale

20. Wrote two narrative poems. Wrote several other poems. Famous for his 154 sonnets. Poetry

21. Shakespeare’s Death The cause of Shakespeare's death is a mystery, but an entry in the diary of John Ward, the vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford (where Shakespeare is buried), tells us that "Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and it seems drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted." He was only 52 years of age. In those days, Shakespeare was thought to have lived a long life. Today, we see it as him dying off too young. He is buried at Holy Trinity Church in his birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon.

22. Shakespeare’s Epitaph An epitaph is an inscription on or at a tomb or a grave in memory of the one buried there. Shakespeare also wrote his own epitaph because during his time, when the graveyard was full, people would dig up someone's corpse and burn it so that another could be buried in that person's place. This disgusted Shakespeare, and he didn't want this type of disrespect after his death. His epitaph reads as follows: Translation: “Good Friends, for Jesus' sake forbear, To dig the dust enclosed here: Blest be the man that spares these stones, And curst be he that moves my bones.”

23. Use of disguises/mistaken identity Multiple marriages (in comedies) Multiple murders (in tragedies) Last speaker—highest in rank (in tragedies) Theatrical Conventions of Shakespeare’s Theatre

24. Shakespeare’s Language Shakespeare did NOT write in “Old English.” Old English is the language of Beowulf:Beowulf “Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum Þeodcyninga Þrym gefrunon Hu ða æÞelingas ellen fremedon!” Translation: “Hey! We have heard of the glory of the Spear- Danes in the old days, the kings of tribes, how noble princes showed great courage!”

25. Shakespeare’s Language Shakespeare did NOT write in “Middle English.” Middle English is the language of Chaucer, the author of The Canterbury Tales: “Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour…”

26. Original Middle English: Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour; Modern Translation When fair April with his showers sweet, Has pierced the drought of March to the root's feet And bathed each vein in liquid of such power, Its strength creates the newly springing flower; The Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales The General Prologue

27. Shakespeare’s Language Shakespeare wrote in “Early Modern English” (EME). EME was not very different from “Modern English,” except that it had some old holdovers.

28. Omissions Again, for the sake of his writing, Shakespeare often left out letters, syllables, and whole words. These omissions really aren't that much different from the way we speak today. We say: "Been to class yet?" "No. Heard Ms. Lew’s givin' a test." "Wha'sup wi'that?“ We leave out words and parts of words to speed up our speech. If we were speaking in complete sentences, we would say: "Have you been to class yet?" "No, I have not been to class. I heard that Ms. Lewis is giving a test today." "What is up with that?"

29. Shakespearean Omission/Contraction Examples Omission/ContractionTranslation/Meaning ‘tisit is opeopen o’erover gi’give ne’ernever i’in e’erever oftoften e’eneven

30. Shakespeare’s Poetry We speak in prose (language without metrical structure). Shakespeare wrote both prose and poetry (verse). To understand his poetry, we need to understand these terms: Blank Verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter. Iambic Pentameter: five beats of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables; ten syllables per line. But screw your courage to the stickling place, And we'll not fail. When Duncan is asleep-- Whereto the rather shall his day's hard journey Soundly invite him--his two chamberlains Will I with wine and wassail so convince

31. Shakespeare’s Language Shakespeare coined many words we still use today: Critical Majestic Dwindle Fashionable Embrace (as a noun) Vulnerable When a word did not exist that Shakespeare could use, he made them up. He is known to have invented 1,700+ words.

32. Shakespeare’s Language Sayings we use today are all thanks to Shakespeare: one fell swoop flesh and blood vanish into thin air pomp and circumstance seen better days a sorry sight neither rhyme nor reason full circle dead as a doornail for goodness sake green-eyed monster

33. Shakespeare’s Language A mixture of old and very new language. Rural and urban words/images. Understandable by the lowest peasant and the highest noble.

34. Table Work: How Actors Unpack Shakespeare’s Language

35. Performance Clues

41. Romeo and Juliet Probably Shakespeare’s most well known play. A tragedy. Written in London in the mid 1950s.

42. The Plot: Spoiler Alert…Everybody Dies!

43. The Structure: The 5 Act Play

45. What to Watch For