1. William Shakespeare

2. “The Bard” was Shakespeare's nickname
Shakespeare was born on April 26, 1564.
He was raised in Stratford Upon Avon, England.
Attended school and studied Latin and Literature
His father, John, was a prosperous wool, leather and grain farmer
Mother , Mary, was the daughter of a gentleman farmer

3. Bio continued…
In Married Anne Hathaway who was 8 years older than him ( Did not marry for love)
Had 3 Children
Daughter – Susanna
Twin sons – Hamnet (died as child) Judeth
1586 – Left Stratford to become stage manager of the Theatre in London
Soon after, joined acting company of The Theatre and performed in many plays

4. 1599 – Built Globe Theatre
He was part owner, playwright and actor for the Globe Theater in London
Most of Shakespeare’s plays were produced here
were Shakespeare’s best writing years
Late in 1608, Shakespeare and his partners purchased the Blackfriars Theatre to use as a winter location for play production

5. The Globe Theater

6. Globe Theater continued…
3 levels, no roof
Stage jutted out into the audience on 3 sides
Building was octagon-shaped
1¢ - price of admission to rowdy pit area
2¢ - admission got a seat
Free admission for Noblemen in lord’s rooms near stage
Always performed during the day (no electricity)
Flag flown on top of theatre on days when a play would be given

7. Setting/Staging Little to no interruptions
No curtains to signal end of an act
Settings were given through action/dialogue
Soliloquies made the audience feel involved – actors seemed to be talking directly to audience
Actor’s entrances & exits were seen openly by audience through 2 doors on either side of stage
Senior actors got the major roles
All actors were males

8. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets - All published in 1609
The names of his sonnets were all numbered.
They were poems that consisted of 14 lines.
Half of these were written to a dark lady.
The other half were written to a man.
None were written to his wife.

9. Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

10. Shakespeare wrote 37 plays.
He based them on 3categories.
Histories
Tragedies
Comedies.
All were acted out by performers and intended to be viewed by an audience

11. History Plays - Based on the history of England
Examples include:
King Henry IV, V, VI
King Richard II, III
King John

12. *A Midsummer Night's Dream
Comedies
*A Midsummer Night's Dream
*All's Well that Ends Well
*The Merchant of Venice
*Twelfth Night

13. Tragedies He is best known for his tragic plays
Romeo and Juliet
Hamlet
Othello
Julius Caesar
Macbeth
Antony & Cleopatra
King Lear

15. - Shakespeare’s most written about and perhaps most complex play
Hamlet
- Shakespeare’s most written about and perhaps most complex play

16. Themes Dealing with death Corruption Evil Immortality Human Nature
Self-identity
Moral Choices

17. Hamlet - the character Melancholy – gloomy state of mind
Indecisive – can’t make a decision
Fatalism – submission to fate (all things possible)
Cynicism – distrust others
Disillusionment – not in touch w/ reality
Sane? – sound healthy mind

18. Much of the play centers on relationships between parents and their children. Hamlet’s obvious admiration for his deceased father, distaste for his uncle and now stepfather, and ambivalence about his mother place him in a stressful situation that is exacerbated with the ghost’s command for revenge