1. William Shakespeare

2. Who is this guy?! Born: April 23, 1564, England
Died: April 23, 1616, England
Family: Dad was tanner and glover, later ‘Mayor’ of Stratford. Mom came from a good family. Shakespeare had 5 siblings and two others that died in infancy

3. Background
No record of education BUT clearly he was knowledgeable and went to school somewhere
Married Anne Hathaway in late November (he was 18, she was 26)
First child, Susanna, born May 23, 1583
Twins Hamnet and Judith born February 1585
Shakespeare lived and worked in London for many years

4. Shakespeare is AWESOME!! BUT WHY!?!
Very talented artist who not only wrote but also acted
He wrote poetry (e.g. his famous sonnets)
His works are filled with wonderful allusions (references to previous works), symbols, alliteration, assonance, metaphors and beautiful descriptive language (imagery)
Romance, tragedy, comedy and history stories that are still used today-relevant situations

5. The Globe Theatre
All theatres closed because of the plague in
They re-opened with vengeance in 1594, Shakespeare dominated!
Built in London, 1599
Located in the ‘Red Light District’ of town- away from authorities

6. The Globe No roof and no lighting so performances earlier
in day- weather permitting!
2-3,000 capacity
not much background scenery or props so language was important to let audience know what was happening
Stage was broken down into a few areas including side stages, a loft and trap doors
Audience members ranged from drunken low lifes to the more prestigious high class

7. The Globe Burned down in 1613
Re-built in 1614 and torn down in by new regime in power in England
re-built and used as a tourist attraction

8. Theatre Life What a show!!! Black flag-tragedy,
white flag- comedy, red
Flag- history. Every day
but Sunday
Workers from other theatres would come to watch and steal ideas and entire plays! No copyright!
People were drunk and loud and would yell and respond to actors! Major audience involvement!
No female actors, boys played women
Often no time to learn lines!
Facilities or lack thereof…. Yuck!
Throwing things, box office, immoral activities!

9. Still Relevant!? Still read in schools Plays still very popular
Plays made into major motion pictures

10. Macbeth Set in Scotland
Written for King James I (formerly of Scotland, then of England)
Queen of Denmark (James’s sister) was visiting
Many of the characters are ancestors of King James I.

11. The source of the play is Raphael Holinshed’s “Chronicles of England,
The Scottish Play is based loosely on an episode from history, the death of King Duncan at the hands of his
kinsman Macbeth.
The source of the play is Raphael Holinshed’s “Chronicles of England,
Scotland and Ireland” (1577).

12. King Duncan of Scotland
Murdered by cousin Macbeth
Honest and good
Malcolm & Donalbain
Sons of the King
Malcolm is the eldest son
Macbeth
Duncan’s most courageous general
Ambition to become king corrupts him causing him to murder Duncan
The Characters

13. Banquo Lady Macbeth Macduff General and Macbeth’s best friend
Suspects Macbeth in Duncan’s murder
An actual ancestor of King James I
Lady Macbeth
As ambitious as her husband
A dark force behind his evil deeds
Macduff
Scottish general, suspects Macbeth of murdering the king
Macbeth has his family murdered
Swears vengeance

14. So what really happens? Good guy goes bad Good guy wants power
Married to an evil, ambitious woman
She wants power
Kills people- LOTS of people
Gets power
Gets paranoid (a.k.a. goes crazy)
Ticks off a lot of people
Wants more power! Kill! Kill!
Gets what he deserves in the end

15. The Curse!

16. The Scottish Play
It is believed to be bad luck to even squeak the word ‘Macbeth’ in a theatre
Legend has it you will lose all your friends involved in the production--horribly

17. Best Line!
“Life’s but a walking shadow; a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And is heard of no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.”
- Act V; s.5