1. Background Information
William Shakespeare
Background Information

2. Elizabethan =
during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603)
Jacobean =
during the reign of James I (1603 – 1625)

4. Childhood little known about childhood
born Stratford-upon-Avon 4/23/1564
Father – John Shakespeare, a shopkeeper and property owner held municipal offices (alderman, mayor)

5. Education probably went to Stratford Grammar School
Elizabethan Schools -
1. not like modern schools
2. taught Latin and Greek language, literature, plays, history

6. Shakespeare the Adult documentation about adult life
1. married Anne Hathaway 1582
2. 3 children, 40+ god-children

8. Shakespeare the Adult
3. retired to Stratford 1613, purchased the 2nd largest house in Stratford, granted title of gentleman
4. died 4/23/1616 (age 52)

9. Sh. the Playwright a popular playwright in his lifetime
well-known as playwright in 1598
both a shareholder and actor in theater company

10. Sh. the Playwright doubt about the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays
no manuscript exists in Shakespeare’s handwriting
Shakespeare made no effort to publish plays

11. Elizabethan
Theater

12. Actors
1. actors organized into companies under protection of a patron
2. low social status, high popularity (esp. w/king & queen)
3. no actresses – men and boys

13. Theater Buildings
Stage jutted into pit area
no curtains at front of stage – need action to clear stage
no elaborate moveable scenery
balcony above back of stage and at sides of stage

17. Theater Buildings
trap door in stage floor and above
standing room around stage
tiered seats in galleries around stage

21. Theater Buildings
open roof
plays held during the day
no electricity - to be heard, loud speeches included

22. Audience and Others
1. the audience - wide cross-section, but mostly common men and women
2. groundlings – cheap seats around stage, included cheap thrills to keep them under control
3. city officials didn’t approve of plays

23. English Language History

24. Old English Period
Uses letters no longer used in English language
Looks and sounds like another language

25. Leofan men gecnawað þæt soð is: ðeos worolde is on ofste & hit nealæcð þam ende.

26. ð eth ð
þ thorn þ
æ aesh æ

27. Middle English Period
Uses some letters no longer used in English language
Sounds a little like modern-day English

28. Lauerd me steres, noght wante sal me: In stede of fode þare me louked he

29. Early Modern English Period 1500-1800
Uses some pronouns and verbs no longer used in English language
Words are sometimes spelled differently

30. …in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare…

31. Modern English Period
1800 –present
At the Society’s annual luncheon in Albuquerque on January 7, President Joan Houston Hall announced…

32. Shakespeare wrote and spoke
Early Modern English!