1. William Shakespeare

2. The Life of William Shakespeare

3. Here is what we know…
Baptized April 26, 1564 (probably born on April 23rd since it was common to baptize babies at 3 days old).
Married Anne Hathaway when he was eighteen years old (1582) and remained married until his death.
They had three children together: Susanna and twins Judith and Hamnet.
Shakespeare’s only son dies at 11 years of age.
Shakespeare dies on April 23, 1616 (thought to be his 52nd birthday; cause of death unknown)
Buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

4. The Works of William Shakespeare
The Bard wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and 2 epic narrative poems.
He created the most vivid characters of the Elizabethan stage. His usage of language, both lofty and low, shows a remarkable wit and subtlety.
The works of Shakespeare have been studied, analyzed, and enjoyed as some of the finest masterpieces of the English language.
His themes are so universal that they transcend generations to stir the imaginations of audiences everywhere to this day.

5. The Plays of Shakespeare
Comedies Midsummer Nights Dream, As You Like It, All’s Well That Ends Well
Tragedies Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet Prince of Denmark, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra
Histories Henry IV Part I, Henry IV Part II, Henry V, Richard II
Late Romances The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale

6. Why do we still study Shakespeare 400 years after his death?

7. Why do we still study Shakespeare 400 years after his death?
Shakespeare is undoubtedly the world’s most influential poet and dramatist, leading Ben Jonson to note that, "He was not of an age, but for all time!" Four centuries later, Jonson’s words still ring true. Students and people new to Shakespeare often ask “Why has Shakespeare stood the test of time?” – In an attempt to answer this question, I’ve listed the top five reasons for Shakespeare’s success.

8. 5. He gave us Hamlet
Without doubt, Hamlet is one of the greatest dramatic characters ever created and is possibly the crowning achievement of Shakespeare’s career. Shakespeare’s skillful and psychologically-astute characterization is utterly remarkable because it was written hundreds of years before the concept of psychology was invented.

9. He shaped the Modern English language
Modern English has been heavily influenced by Shakespeare’s writing, highlighting his continued cultural impact four centuries after his death. Today, we still use hundreds of words and phrases coined by him in our everyday conversation.

10. Shakespearian turns of phrase we still use today…
A dish fit for the gods - Julius Caesar A foregone conclusion - Othello A laughing stock - The Merry Wives of Windsor A sorry sight - Macbeth All that glitters is not gold - The Merchant of Venice All's well that ends well - All's Well That Ends Well As dead as a doornail - Henry VI As pure as the driven snow - The Winter's Tale At one fell swoop - Macbeth Bloody minded - Henry VI Cold comfort - The Taming of the Shrew The dogs of war - Julius Caesar Eaten out of house and home - Henry V, Part 2 Fair play - The Tempest Fancy free - A Midsummer Night's Dream Flesh and blood - Hamlet For ever and a day - As You Like It
Green-eyed monster - Othello High time - A Comedy of Errors I have not slept one wink - Cymbeline
I will wear my heart upon my sleeve- Othello In a pickle - The Tempest In my mind's eye - Hamlet In stitches - Twelfth Night In the twinkling of an eye - The Merchant Of Venice Lay it on with a trowel - As You Like It Lie low - Much Ado About Nothing Love is blind - The Merchant Of Venice Milk of human kindness - Macbeth More fool you - The Taming of the Shrew Mum's the word - Henry VI, Part 2 Neither here nor there - Othello Send him packing - Henry IV Set your teeth on edge - Henry IV The Queen's English - The Merry Wives of Windsor There's method in my madness - Hamlet This is the short and the long of it - The Merry Wives of Windsor Too much of a good thing - As You Like It Tower of strength - Richard III Vanish into thin air - Othello

11. Words Shakespeare coined
Academe, accused, addiction, advertising, amazement, arouse, assassination, backing, bandit, bedroom, beached, besmirch, birthplace, blanket, bloodstained, barefaced, blushing, bet, bump, buzzer, caked, cater, champion, circumstantial, cold-blooded, compromise, courtship, countless, critic, dauntless, dawn, deafening, discontent, dishearten, drugged, dwindle, epileptic, equivocal, elbow, excitement, exposure, eyeball, fashionable, fixture, flawed, frugal, generous, gloomy, gossip, green-eyed, gust, hint, hobnob, hurried, impede, impartial, invulnerable, jaded, label, lackluster, laughable, lonely, lower, luggage, lustrous, madcap, majestic, marketable, metamorphize, mimic, monumental, moonbeam, mountaineer, negotiate, noiseless, obscene, obsequiously, ode, Olympian, outbreak, pander,s pedant, premeditated, puking, radiance, rant, remorseless, savagery, scuffle, secure, skim milk, submerge, summit, swagger, torture, tranquil, undress, unreal, varied, vaulting, worthless, zany, gnarled, grovel

12. He wrote Sonnet 18, Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?
Shakespeare’s collection of 154 love sonnets is possibly the most beautiful written in the English language. Although not necessarily Shakespeare’s best sonnet, Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? is certainly his most famous. The sonnet’s endurance comes from Shakespeare’s ability to capture the essence of love so cleanly and succinctly.

13. 2. He wrote great dialogue
Every moment of Shakespeare’s play drip in poetry. Evidently he understood the power of language – its ability to paint landscapes, create atmospheres and create compelling characters. Shakespeare wrote for his fellow actors and his dialogue therefore translates into performance with ease. Forget criticism and textual analysis because everything an actor needs to understand and perform Shakespeare is right there in the dialogue.

14. 1. He gave us Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare is best known for writing the greatest love story of all time: Romeo and Juliet. Thanks to Shakespeare, the name Romeo will forever be associated with young lovers and the play has become an enduring symbol of romanticism in popular culture. This tragedy has entertained across the generations, spawned endless stage versions and film adaptations including Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film classic and has been the conceptual basis other movies, songs and literary works (West Side Story, Romeitte and Julio).

15. In other words…Shakespeare wrote about the timeless, ageless human condition. He wrote about…
falling in love, losing love, family strife and struggle, passion, betrayal, ambition, deceit, regret, honesty, loyalty, illness, death, insecurities, and conceit.
In short, Shakespeare wrote about feelings and emotions which are just as relevant today as they were 400 years ago; he did it better than anyone else.

16. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

17. Tragedy
A tragedy is a dramatic play that tells a story of a main character, usually of noble class, who meets an untimely and unhappy death or downfall, often because of a specific character flaw, or a twist of fate.
Shakespeare’s audience knew that the play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was not going to end well for the young lovers, simply by the title of the play.

18. The Prologue
An introductory speech given by the Chorus (sometime just one actor) provides the audience with a brief outline of the plot.
The prologue of Rome and Juliet is a Shakespearian Sonnet.

19. Shakespearian Sonnet 14 line poem With a defined rhyme scheme
Written in 3 quatrains and one final couplet all written in iambic pentameter.
Iambic pentameter is 5 units/feet of an unstressed then stressed syllables.

20. the first quatrain
Two households both alike in dignity (A) In fair Verona where we lay our scene (B) From ancient grudge break to new mutiny (A) Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean (B)
The colors represent the stressed/unstressed syllables. Have the students read aloud to see the rise and fall of iambic pentameter

21. The Globe Theatre

22. The Globe Theatre
To really understand Shakespeare, you need to see his plays live on stage and explore the theater experience during Shakespeare's lifetime . It’s a sad fact that today we normally study Shakespeare out of a book, but it’s important to remember that the Bard wasn’t writing for today’s literary audience; he was writing for the masses, many of whom couldn’t read or write (so don’t tell me that you “can’t” understand).

23. To make noise, or to not make noise, that is the question.
The experience of visiting a theater and watching a play was very different in Shakespeare’s time. You were not expected to be still and silent throughout the performance like you are today. Rather, it was the modern equivalent of going to see a popular band.

25. The Major Differences
The audience would eat, drink and talk throughout the performance
Often, the groundlings (those standing directly in front of the stage) would be drunk and even heckle/interrupt the actors
Theaters were open air and used natural light
Plays were performed in the afternoon in the daylight
Female characters were often played by boys
Plays used very little scenery, instead using language to set the scene

27. The Changing Status of Theater
Shakespeare saw the public’s attitude towards theater change during his lifetime.
Theater was once considered to be a disreputable pastime and was frowned upon by the Puritan authorities, who were worried that it might distract people from their religious teachings. During the reign of Elizabeth I, theaters were banned within the city walls of London (even though the Queen enjoyed the theater and gave it her patronage).
Over time, theater became more popular and a thriving “entertainment” scene grew on Bankside, just outside the city walls. Bankside was considered to be a “den of iniquity” with its brothels, and theaters .

29. The Acting Profession
Theater companies were extremely busy; performing around six different plays each week, which could only be rehearsed a couple of times.
There was no stage crew like we have today; every member of the company would have to help make costumes, props and scenery.
The Elizabethan acting profession worked on an apprentice system, making it very hierarchical. Even Shakespeare would have had to rise up through the ranks:
Shareholders and general managers were in charge and profited the most from the company’s success.
Actors were employed by the managers and became permanent members of the company.
Boy apprentices were at the bottom of the hierarchy. Sometimes they were allowed in act in menial roles or play the female characters.

30. Authorship Debate

31. Why not Shakespeare?
Why do theorists believe that Shakespeare did not write all (or any) of the works attributed to him?
He was not well educated or traveled, therefore he was not intelligent or experienced enough to write the works attributed to him.
There are not letters or journals to prove he spent his life working on all the plays, sonnets and epic poems which he is credited to writing.

32. If not Shakespeare….
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford: This contemporary of Shakespeare has been strongly advanced since the 1930s as the true author of Shakespeare's plays. A well-educated and well-traveled nobleman of Queen Elizabeth I's court, de Vere has been championed by the author Charlton Ogburn using parallels of the Earl's life with material from Shakespeare’s works. Francis Bacon, Philosopher and Writer: Bacon has been a traditional favorite of the anti-Stratford camp, and retains a high place on the list of potential candidates. Bacon proponents point toward Bacon's learning, his correspondences and memoirs (most notably, his notebook, Promus),. Although Bacon was an undisputed man of letters, his style and expression vary greatly from that of Shakespeare's works. Bacon also produced such a voluminous output of his own, it's hard to conceive of him finding spare time enough to produce the quality output of work attributed to the Bard. Christopher Marlowe, Playwright: Marlowe would be the ultimate ghost writer, as he was stabbed to death in a tavern brawl in However, there are those that say Marlowe really didn't die; according to some, he was actually an occasional spy in the employ of the Crown. This eventually necessitated a fake death, after which Marlowe went on for an undetermined number of years penning poetry and plays under the nom de plume of Shakespeare.

33. Sources used in this presentation