1. Introduction to William Shakespeare and Julius Caesar
Keep these notes until we complete the Julius Caesar unit.

2. Who is William Shakespeare?
Nickname: The _________ (Bard means “____”)
Birthday: Generally unknown, but it is assumed to be April 23, 1564.
Death: April 23, 1616 (He was 52 years old. Yes, he died on his presumed birthday.)
Siblings: He was the third of eight children. He was the first of four boys.

3. Shakespeare’s Childhood
Grew up in Stratford, _________________
Scholars attempt to reconstruct Shakespeare’s life because legal documents do not normally exist for children.
We know Shakespeare studied Latin and acquired some basic skills in Greek.
A contemporary playwright and friend, Ben Jonson, indicates Shakespeare did not attend _____________ .

4. Shakespeare as an Adult
When he was 18, in November 1582, he married ___________ __________________, who was 26 years old.
Anne was already three months pregnant when they were married!
The couple had twins in 1585, _____________ and _________________. Hamnet died at the age of 11.
Records cannot indicate where Shakespeare was between the ages of 21 and 28 years old.
Records find him again in 1592 when he was an actor and a playwright in ________________.

5. Stage Success
In 1594, Shakespeare joined the __________ ______________ ___________, an acting company.
At this time, he wrote history plays.
In 1597, he finally purchased New Place, one of the largest homes in Stratford, and he secured a _________ ___ _________for his family.

6. The Globe Theatre
In 1597, the lease expired on the Lord Chamberlain’s playhouse, called The Theatre.
The acting company was forced to perform at various playhouses until 1599 when the ___________ ____________was finished being built.
__________ _____________may have been the first play performed in The Globe Theatre.

7. The Globe Theatre

8. The Globe Theatre
A rectangular stage platform was in the middle of the open-air yard.
The stage itself was projected into the pit which allowed the audience to view the plays from the front and sides.
This also allowed for actors to have close contact with most audiences.

9. The Globe Theatre
On this stage there was a trap door for use by the performers to enter from beneath the stage.
This area beneath the stage was known as the ‘cellarage’.
There was a second trapdoor in the back of the stage that was used for the same purpose

10. The Globe Theatre
On two sides of the stage were large columns called ‘stage-posts’.
They supported a half-roof over a portion of the stage.
This ceiling was called the ‘heavens’ and was painted with images of the sky.
The half-roof over the upper balcony and the back of the main stage served as a hut that contained machinery to produce sound effects and various special effects.

11. The Globe Theatre
The back wall of the stage consisted of three doors on the first floor and a balcony on the second.
The doors led to the backstage area, known as the ‘tiring house’, where actors dressed and awaited their entrances.
The musicians usually occupied the balcony. It was also used for scenes that required and upper space.

12. The Globe Theatre
The balcony was also sometimes used as the ‘Lord’s Room’, where higher-paying audience members could pay to get the best view in the theatre.
The Globe Theatre only gave performances only during daylight hours because they had no artificial lights.

13. The Globe Theatre
The cheapest part of the theatre was the yard on all three sides of the stage. It was a standing area for which a ticket could be purchased for one penny.
The people found in this area were usually the poorest theatre-goers, such as the city’s common laborers.
1,000 of them usually fit into the Globe’s yard area.

14. The Globe Theatre
The three galleries held the other 2,000 attendees. The cost of a ticket to one of the three galleries was two pennies.
Seating was available, and a cushion could have been purchased for an extra penny.
Although the three galleries cost the same amount of money to sit in, the middle gallery was considered to be the highest status.

15. The Globe Theatre
The lower gallery was too close for comfort to the yard, while the upper gallery served as a meeting place for unsavory business deals, and a working ground for local prostitutes.
The most expensive seats in the theatre were located above the rear of the stage. These seats provided separation from the masses in the rest of the theatre, and a place for the rich to show off.
Tickets for the ‘Lords Rooms’ were sold for six pennies each.

16. The Globe Theatre
The setting was usually unknown to the audience until the characters identified it with a few lines of dialogue.
In addition, the main stage of the Globe Theatre had no curtain.
One scene had to follow the other quickly because there was no curtain to close and open and no scenery to change.
Although the stage lacked scenery details, various props were used.

17. Clothing in Elizabethan England

18. Julius Caesar “I came. I saw. I conquered.”
Full Name: Gaius Julius Caesar.
Position: A great Roman General and Statesman
Date of Birth: 12th or 13th July, 100 BC.
Place of Birth: Rome or Italy.
Date of Death: 15th March, 44 BC.
Famous For: Conquest of Gaul and raiding of Britain.
Julius Caesar

19. Facts on Julius Caesar:
Julius Caesar was the first Roman emperor to issue ________________ bearing his own name.
He was the first Roman ruler who held many offices. Apart from this he was a good scholar and author.
Julius Caesar was married three times and also had affairs with Cleopatra VII.
He was the last roman __________________.
Caesar decided to use a solar measure of time that became known as the __________ calendar; his system is the basis of the modern calendar. He changed the name of the month Quintilis to Julius (July), after his name.