1. Shakespeare: His Life and Times

2. Early Life
Born April 23rd 1564— Died April 23rd 1616… he was the master of irony after all
Stratford-upon-Avon
Parents: John and Mary Arden Shakespeare
Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner
John—glovemaker, local politician

3. Location of Stratford-upon-Avon

4. Stratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s Time

5. Stratford-upon-Avon Today

6. Married Life
Married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, who was pregnant at the time with their first daughter
She was 26 and he was 18
Had twins in 1585
Sometime between , he moved to London and began working in theatre

7. Conditions in London-BAD!
Thames River polluted with raw sewage
Trees used up for fuel
Poverty

8. Personal Hygiene/Disease
Bathing considered dangerous
Body odor strong
Childhood diseases
Children often died before 5 years
Small Pox
Bubonic Plague

9. Living Conditions
No running water
Chamber Pots
Open Sewers
Crowded
                  

10. Theater Career Performed in courtyards of inns
The Theater-first public theater-1576
Daytime/open air
Limited set design
Relied on music, sound, costumes, props and great description
Theater Career

11. Theatre
Member and later part-owner of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later called the King’s Men
Globe Theater built in 1599 by L.C.M. with Shakespeare as primary investor
Burned down in 1613 during one of Shakespeare’s plays

12. The Rebuilt Globe Theater, London

13. The Globe Theater

14. Clothes One set used all year long, rarely washed
Underclothing slept in, infrequently changed
Clothes handed down from rich to poor

15. Actors All men Female parts played by young boys
No actual kissing or hugging on stage
Actors

16. Groundlings Poor audience member Stood around stage in “the pit”
Women not allowed (had to dress up as men to attend)
Threw rotten vegetables at bad performances

17. The Plays 14 comedies 10 histories 10 tragedies 4 romances
38 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare
14 comedies
10 histories
10 tragedies
4 romances
Possibly wrote three others
Collaborated on several others

18. The Poetry
Two major poems; numerous others
154 Sonnets

19. Shakespeare’s Language
Shakespeare did NOT write in “Old English.”
Old English is the language of Beowulf:
Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum
Þeodcyninga Þrym gefrunon
Hu ða æÞelingas ellen fremedon!
(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!)

20. Shakespeare’s Language
Shakespeare did not write in “Middle English.”
Middle English is the language of Chaucer, the
Gawain-poet, and Malory:
We redeth oft and findeth y-write—
And this clerkes wele it wite—
Layes that ben in harping
Ben y-founde of ferli thing… (Sir Orfeo)

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

22. Shakespeare’s Language
Shakespeare coined many words we still use today:
Critical
Majestic
Dwindle
And quite a few phrases as well:
One fell swoop
Flesh and blood
Vanish into thin air
See

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

24. Elizabethan Theatrical Conventions

25. A theatrical convention is a
Theatrical Conventions
of Shakespeare's Theatre
A theatrical convention is a
suspension of reality.
No electricity
Women forbidden
to act on stage
Minimal, contemporary
costumes
Minimal scenery
These control the dialogue.

26. Theatrical Conventions of Shakespeare's Theatre
Soliloquy
Aside
Types of speech
Audience loves to be scared.
Blood and gore
Use of supernatural

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