Wm. Shakespeare Biography William Shakespeare was born in
Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 Father was an alderman and the mayor of
town Shakespeare was educated in Latin, mythology, reading, and
writing at the local school Married at 18 to Anne Hathaway Daughter
Susanna born in 1583 Twins Judith and Hamnet born in 1585
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Wm. Shakespeare Biography By 1592, he had become a minor
celebrity in the London theater scene By 1594, he had become a
major shareholder, actor, and writer for The Kings Men theater
troupe 1596 Son Hamnet died Shakespeares Globe theater was built
along the Thames River in 1599 The Kings Men performed for Queen
Elizabeth and King James
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Wm. Shakespeare Biography Between 1599 and 1612, Shakespeare
wrote most of his major works including: Hamlet, Othello, King
Lear, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, 12 th Night, A Winters Tale,
The Tempest, King Henry VIII These were likely written and
performed at the Globe The Globe burned down during a performance
of King Henry VIII in 1613 and was rebuilt a few years later
Shakespeare returned to his hometown a wealthy man He died in 1616
at age 52
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Elizabethan Theater & The Globe Theater was viewed
differently in Elizabethan England It was seen as disreputable and
possibly immoral or dangerous It was entertainment for the masses
In a city of 200,000, perhaps 15,000 people went to the theater
annually Women were not allowed to be actors in theater troupes Men
played all of the parts
Slide 7
Elizabethan Theater & The Globe The Globe was rebuilt in
the mid- 1900s and is used today to stage plays and other
performances During Shakespeares time, entrance to stand at the
ground cost a penny and the best seats cost sixpence It could hold
several thousand people because they crammed in tightly, including
around the stage The people standing were called groundlings
Slide 8
Elizabethan Theater & The Globe Sets were minimal or
non-existant Lighting was provided by the sun Scene changes had to
be shown by other means Audiences came from all walks of life, so
plays had to be written with a little something for everyone Pop
culture references, dirty jokes, violence, supernatural events,
revenge, poetry, high drama, psychological character-driven
stories, and plot-driven romantic comedies could all be mixed
together
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Language of Shakespeare BUT SOFT, WHAT LIGHT FROM YONDER WINDOW
BREAKS? IT IS THE EAST, AND JULIET IS THE SUN. ARISE FAIR SUN, AND
KILL THE ENVIOUS MOON, WHO IS ALREADY SICK AND PALE WITH GRIEF THAT
THOU, HER MAID, ART MORE FAIR THAN SHE. BE NOT HER MAID SINCE SHE
IS ENVIOUS. HER VESTAL LIVERY IS BUT SICK AND GREEN, AND NONE BUT
FOOLS DO WEAR IT. CAST IT OFF. ROMEO AND JULIET (2.2.2-9)
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Word Choices & Expectations Shakespeare was a poet who
wrote 154 sonnets in addition to dozens of plays His plays are
written and structured because theyre all dialogue written in
poetic form which is what audiences expected of stories at the time
As poems, they use a rhythm called iambic pentameter
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Iambic Pentameter: What and Why FootballDestroyEmphasisSyllable
TremendousMajestic Well, I can meet the plane at ten of six. Ill
meet him at the stairs before the gate. Walking to the doorway
exhausted Will.
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Iambic Pentameter: What and Why Writing in verse caused
Shakespeare to structure his plays like poems and to sometimes
shift around words to hold true to this rhythm Mostly Shifts in
this beat can signal times the audience should really pay attention
or they can signal important clues to the speakers emotion WHAT if
compared to what IF and TOMORROW compared to AND tomorrow Shifts in
this rhythm can also come from actors performing When reading do
not get stuck looking for iambic pentameter. Do not try to read
with iambic pentameter. Just read and hear the words in your mind.
Dont force it. (1.2.67) A little more than kin and less than
kind.
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Contributions to language Addiction Arch-villain Assassination
Bedazzled Belongings Cold-blooded Dishearten Eventful Eyeball
Fashionable Hot-blooded Radiance Hurry Generous Frugal Critical
Courtship Zany Undress Rant Majestic Lonely Inaudible Manager
New-fangled Pageantry Scuffle Swagger Uncomfortable Gloomy
Laughable Laughing stock Sorry sight Dead as a doornail Eaten out
of house and home Fair play I will wear my heart upon my sleeve In
a pickle Too much of a good thing Vanish into thin air Shakespeares
scripts contain over 2200 words never before seen in print
Slide 14
Elizabethan Language English has been remarkably static over
the past 400 years, except Some words have shifted in meaning
Others have fallen out of use Others have changed in pronunciation
and meaning Thee, thy, thou Ere Wilt Marry Cus/Cuz Art
