2.  What does this quotation about William Shakespeare mean?

3.  Born April 23* 1564  Stratford Upon Avon, London – no more than 2500 people lived there at this time  Dad: John Shakespeare – worked with leather  Mom: Mary Arden * some say the 23 rd while others claim the 26 th - due to the lack of written records and documentation of the time

4.  Went to Grammar School in Stratford, no college for him, though  Married Anne Hathaway – NOT the actress!  Had 3 kids (Susanna & twins Judith and Hamnet)  1585-92 went to work in London  Wrote an acted with Lord Chamberlain’s Men then they became the Kings Men  1610 he finally retired

5.  37 plays  154 sonnets  2 long narrative poems  Plays translated into ALL living languages  Most quoted works other than the Bible – WOW!  Most performed playwright of all time  Invented 1,500-1,700 words that we still use today – at the time he had an expansive vocabulary and knew how to conjugate words well

6.  Most works were written between 1590-1613  Early plays were comedies and histories  Then Shakespeare wrote tragic-comedies – who doesn’t love a rollercoaster of emotions?!  Wrote tragedies until 1608

7.  Tragedy  Likely written around 1595  Contains highly moral tone: disobedience, as well as fate, leads to the deaths of two “star- crossed lovers”

8.  Tragedy  1599  1 st performance Sept 1599  Caesar isn’t central character Brutus is

9.  Follows Aristotle’s formula – main character’s personal motivations connect all cause-and-effect chains  Protagonist is a flawed character, but admirable and quite likable – their flaws lead to the tragic downfall within play ( both Romeo & Julius )  Death is a definite  Fate is always a factor

10.  Tragedy - a dramatic composition, often in verse, dealing with a serious or somber theme, typically that of a great person destined through a flaw of character or of conflict with some overpowering force, such as fate or society, to downfall or destruction.

11.  In 1599 the Chamberlain’s Men moved into a new theater: The Globe (Shakespeare was part owner, along with 5 others)  Julius Caesar (1599) was actually one of the 1 st plays performed here  Lord Chamberlain’s Men became The King’s Men after Queen Elizabeth died – Shakespeare had close ties with her as she loved drama (plays)  Groundlings: paid lowest admission charges & stood entire time  Rowdy events: fights usually broke out, alcohol was allowed  Stage lacked scenery yet costumes & props were elaborate

13.  Enjoy the synopsis of Shakespeare’s life via the following TWO links: 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc2MQh_GwkQ 2. https://www.brainpop.com/english/famousauthorsandbooks/williamshakespeare/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc2MQh_GwkQhttps://www.brainpop.com/english/famousauthorsandbooks/williamshakespeare/