1. William Shakespeare 1564-1616 “All the world 's a stage, /
And all the men and women
merely players.”

2. Eighteen plays printed small books called quartos First folio in 1623
Born in Stratford
The 3rd of 8 kids
Married at age 18
(his wife was 26)
Worked as an actor
Eighteen plays printed
small books called
quartos
First folio in 1623

3. The Globe Theater 1599
Burned in 1613

4. The New Globe Theater

5. Which plays have you heard of?
The Plays
Comedies
Tragedies
Histories
The Tragedies
Hamlet
Romeo and Juliet
Othello
King Lear
Macbeth
Which plays have you heard of?

6. Characters: Macbeth Characters: Duncan – King of Scotland
Malcolm – heir to the throne
Macbeth – general of the king’s army
Banquo – general of the king’s army
Macduff – Macbeth’s foil
Lady Macbeth – wife of Macbeth

7. Themes: Macbeth Violence resulting when social order is tampered with
Qualities of good and evil combined in a single individual
Seduction of power and ambition turns noble people into tyrants
Internal desires versus external realities

8. The Gunpowder Plot of 1605
the seeds of discontent were sown in the late 1520s during the reign of Henry VIII when he parted from the Roman Catholic Church
subsequent monarchs decided the fates of the nation’s believers
Elizabeth became fearful of an encroaching Catholic Europe so she began to repress and persecute Catholics
"Remember, remember the fifth of November. Gunpowder, Treason and Plot. I see no reason why Gunpowder Treason Should ever be forgot."

9. three British Catholic gentlemen met in secret (Catesby, Wintour, and Wright)
King James promises a relaxation in the anti-Catholic laws, but it now appeared that he would be even more severe in their persecution than his predecessor had been
the plan was to blow up the King and the House of Lords at the next Opening of Parliament by renting a cellar right under the House of Lords
they would then seize the royal children and return Catholicism to the land

10. To commemorate the discovery of the Plot, King James had a medal created picturing a serpent hiding amongst flowers
“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t”
The Shakespearean audience would have understood the context and allusion
Guy Fawkes was able to fill the underground storehouse with some thirty-six barrels of gunpowder
Everything was set in place: all the conspirators had to do now was wait.
The plan was foiled when a letter was sent to Lord Monteagle telling of the plot
All the conspirators except for one were executed for their crimes

11. Elizabethan Belief in Witches
Ghosts, malevolent spirits, witches, and other supernatural elements were common belief
Queen Elizabeth I passed the 1562 Elizabethan Witchcraft Act forbidding “conjuration, enchantments, and witchcrafts”
Belief in witches inspired violent behavior in Shakespearean times
Historians cite that 16,000 women were killed due to witchcraft accusations
King James wrote a book on the subject Daemonology (Shakespeare incorporated this aspect of the king’s character when creating the role of Macbeth)