1. Shakespeare: His Life and Times
Adapted from

2. Early Life William Shakespeare Born April 26,1564—died 1616
Stratford-upon-Avon
Parents: John and Mary Arden Shakespeare
Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner
John—glovemaker, local politician

3. Location of Stratford-upon-Avon
From:

4. Stratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s Time
As reproduced in William Rolfe, Shakespeare the Boy (1896).

5. Stratford-upon-Avon Today
From Stratford’s web site:

6. Shakespeare’s Birthplace
From:

7. Education Probably attended King’s New School in Stratford
Educated in:
Rhetoric
Logic
History
Latin

8. King’s New School
From:

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

10. Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
From:

11. Theatre Career
Member and later part-owner of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later called the King’s Men
Performers would travel around to different cities putting on plays.
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 By 1592 many of his works were on the London stage
 Globe Theatre on the banks of the River Thames
Open air amphitheatre
3,000 spectators
Could see the plays for a penny
All male actors
No scenery

15. The Plays/ Poetry 154 Sonnets Numerous other poems
38 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare
14 comedies
10 histories
10 tragedies
4 romances
Possibly wrote three others
154 Sonnets
Numerous other poems

16. 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!)

17. 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)

18. Shakespeare’s Language
Shakespeare wrote in “Early Modern English.”
EME was not very different from “Modern English,”

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

20. Elizabethan Theatrical Conventions

21. 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.

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

23. 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)

24. Why Read Shakespeare?
Shakespeare is regarded as the greatest writer of English Literature.
Even 350 years after his death, his plays continue to be read and preformed.
The themes and characters in his plays are still relevant today and are the basis for many modern stories.

25. Let’s dramatize Shakespeare!!!
“All the world 's a stage,
And all the men and women
merely players.”
So…..
Let’s dramatize Shakespeare!!!