1. William Shakespeare Learning Target: I can explain how literature thrived during the Renaissance and why William Shakespeare became known as one of the finest writers in the English language.

2. Early Life of William Shakespeare  William Shakespeare was born in 1564 (the exact date is unknown).  He was the third of eight children and the only son who survived into adulthood.  His father was a glove-maker and alderman (like a city councilman).  He received an education at a local grammar school in Latin and the classics.

3. His Career  In his early life, most people believe that Shakespeare earned a living as a school master at home in Stratford on Avon.  Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of the theater company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as the King’s Men.  In 1593, the Plague struck England and theaters were closed for two years. Shakespeare used this time to write.  He produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613.  He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later.

4. The Globe Theater  Shakespeare and his partners in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men theater company built the Globe Theater in London in 1599.  Shakespeare’s work was performed in other theaters, but the Globe produced his best known works.  Shakespeare often acted in his own plays.  The original theater burned to the ground in 1613, during a performance of Henry VIII. These photos are from the reconstructed Globe Theater built in 1997.

5. His Work  Shakespeare’s work includes poetry and plays.  His work modeled some of the classic works of Greek and Roman tradition.  Shakespeare was successful in his own lifetime; he was both famous and rich.  His work has even created famous expressions in modern English (e.g. “with baited breath” or “a forgone conclusion”).

6. Poetry  Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets poem of fourteen linespoem of fourteen lines follows a strict rhyme scheme and specific structurefollows a strict rhyme scheme and specific structure  Shakespeare also wrote three narrative poems. Sonnet 18 Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee.