The Man That Would Be Shakespeare

1564-1616Stratford-on-Avon,

EnglandHe wrote 37 plays & 154 sonnetsHe started out as an

actor

Background of the Bard Born April, 1564 in Stratford on Avon Parents John & Mary Shakespeare Educated at Stratford Grammar School Learned business as an apprentice for his father Married Anne Hathaway November 28, 1582

She was 8 years his senior and 3 months pregnant when they married

Well-known Facts about Will

• Great writer of England• Plays translated into all

languages, musicals, ballets

• Born Stratford-upon-Avon

• Well-to-do, affluent while alive

• Most quoted, other than the Bible

Lesser-known Facts

• Teen father: married pregnant 26 year old Anne Hathaway when he was 18

• Deadbeat dad: Left wife and children for London stage career

• Father of twins• Elizabethan rapper:

uses rhythm and rhyme• “Plagiarism” ?

Queen Elizabeth I – ( 1558-1603 )

Ruled England for 45 years. Nicknamed “the Virgin Queen”

and produced no heir to the throne Restored Protestantism and formalized the

Church of England During her reign, the economy was weakened

by inflation, food shortages, and high rent. Outbreak of the black plague, food riots,

Catholic conspiracies, threats of invasion, etc. During the Elizabethan Period, hundreds of

people were convicted as witches and executed

King James I – ( 1603-1628 )

Renamed Shakespeare’’s acting troupe “The King’s Men”

Believed in the supernatural and interested in witchcraft

Religious and believed in the existence of supernatural evil

Commissioned a translation of the bible from Latin to English

Published a book about witchcraft called “Demonologie“ in 1597

The Renaissance

• 1500-1650• “Rebirth” of arts, culture,

science • Discovery of “New

World”• Copernicus: Sun-

centered Universe (1543)

• King Henry VIII = renaissance man (ideal)

• Reformation of Catholic Church

Witches and witchcraft were a morbid fascination Between 1560-1603, hundreds of people (nearly all

women) were convicted as witches and executed Witches could predict the future, bring on daytime and

nighttime, cause fogs and storms, and change into animals If convicted, people would be subjected to torture and

death by hanging or burning at the stake King James I was fascinated by witchcraft Signs of possession were: trance, change of appearance,

inability to pray, visions, disturbed behavior, lack of fear, indifference to life, and invitations to evil spirits to possess one’s body.

Shakespeare’s audience were religious Christians who believed in heaven and hell

Conditions in London-BAD!

• Thames River polluted with raw sewage

• Trees used up for fuel

• Poverty

Personal hygiene/health

• Bathing considered dangerous

• Body odor strong

• Childhood diseases

• Children often died before 5 years

• Small Pox

• Bubonic Plague

Living Conditions

• No running water

• Chamber Pots

• Open Sewers

• Crowded

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Clothes

• One set used all year long, rarely washed

• Underclothing slept in, infrequently changed

• Clothes handed down from rich to poor

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When in a play...

Only men were permitted to perform

Boys or effeminate men were used to play the women

Costumes were often the company’s most valuable asset

Costumes were made by the company, bought in London, or donated by courtiers

Staging AreasStage -- platform that extended

into the pitDressing & storage rooms in

galleries behind & above stageSecond-level gallery & upper stage

-- famous balcony scene in R & JTrap door -ghosts“Heavens”- angelic beings

English Theater

Plays were most often performed in outdoor theaters

Performances took place during the day so that the stage would be illuminated by natural light

The Globe Theater

THE GLOBE THEATER Built in 1599 The most magnificent theater in London Shakespeare was 1/5 owner He earned 10% of the total profit,

approximately £200-250 a year The Bard retired to Stratford and lived on the

profits he earned from the Globe June 19, 1613 the Globe burned to the

ground during a performance of Henry VIII

The Globe Theater – Many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed

here The stage was a large, rectangle that jutted out

into the yard Held 2,000-3,000 people tightly packed An open playhouse with a wooden structure

three stories high It was shaped like a 16 sided polygon General admission = 1 Penny entitled a

spectator to be a “groundling”-someone who could stand in the yard.

More expensive seats were in the roofed galleries and most expensive seats were chairs set right on the stage along its two sides

Rebuilt in 1900’s

Aristocrats

The Queen/King

The Groundlings!

Actors

Only men and boys allowed onstageYoung boys whose voices had not

changed play women’s roles It would have been considered

indecent for a woman to appear on stage

DifferencesNo scenerySettings > references in dialogueElaborate costumesPlenty of propsFast-paced, colorful>2 hours!

SpectatorsWealthy got benches“Groundlings”>poorer people

stood and watched from the courtyard (“pit”)

All but wealthy were uneducated/illiterateMuch more interaction than today

The Cost of a Show1 shilling to stand2 shillings to sit in

the balcony1 shilling was 10% of

their weekly incomeBroadway Today:

$85 Orchestra$60 Balcony10% of a teacher’s

weekly salary

The Plays Early plays, 1590’s, were mainly comedy

Comedy (and this could be extended to most of Shakespeare's history plays as well)  is social--leading to a happy resolution (usually a marriage or marriages) and social unification. 

Shakespeare began to focus on tragedy/dramatic themes in the early 1600’s Tragedy is individual, concentrating on the

suffering of a single, remarkable hero--leading to individual torment, waste and death

1608 marks a change in tone from tragedy to romance, light, magic, and reconciliation

Comedy of Errors 1592The Taming of the Shrew 1592-94

Love's Labor's Lost 1594-95Two Gentlemen of Verona 1594-95A Midsummer Night's Dream 1595-

96The Merchant of Venice 1596-97Much Ado About Nothing 1598-99

As You Like It 1599-1600Twelfth Night 1599-1600

Merry Wives of Windsor 1601-02Troilus and Cressida 1601-02

All's Well That Ends Well 1602-03Measure for Measure 1604-05

Titus Andronicus 1593-94Romeo and Juliet 1594-95Hamlet 1600-01Othello 1604-05The Tragedy of King Lear 1605-06Macbeth 1605-06

Timon of Athens 1607-(?)Cymbeline 1609-10The Winter's Tale 1610-11Tempest 1611-12

Henry VI parts I, II, III 1590-92Richard III 1590-92King John 1594-96Richard II 1597-(?)

King Henry IV part I, part II 1597-98Henry V (1599) 1598-99Julius Caesar 1599-1600

Henry VIII 1613-(?)Antony and Cleopatra 1606-07

Coriolanus 1607-08

Aristotle’s Definition of Tragedy

A man of high standard who falls from that high because of a tragic flaw that has affected many”

***Macbeth is one of the most famous examples of the tragic hero.

Prose

Ordinary writing that is not poetry, drama, or song

Only characters in the lower social classes speak this way in Shakespeare’s plays

Why do you suppose that is?

Did people really talk this way?

Prose- language without metrical structure

Verse- poetic language and style

Blank Verse:  unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Iambic Pentameter:  five beats of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables; ten syllables per line.

'So fair / and foul / a day / I have / not seen'

Shakespeare will be some of the most difficult reading you will ever attempt. BE PATIENT!

Middle English vs. Modern English

Reading Tips

1. Read the Introduction

2. Read everything twice

3. First time- try reading without looking at footnotes, mark any interesting or difficult items

4. Try reading aloud5. Look up words you don’t know6. Keep a list of characters

Set in Scotland

Written for King James I (formerly of Scotland, now England)

Queen of Denmark (James’s sister) was visiting

Shakespeare researched The Chronicles –

Banquo is an ancestor of King James I

“The Scottish Play”

It is believed to be bad luck to even squeak the word ‘Macbeth’ in a theatre

Legend has it you will lose all your friends involved in the production—horribly.

Since 1606, hundreds of actors, stage crew, etc. have been hurt or have died during the production of this play.

It is believed that Shakespeare included black magic spells in the incantations of the weird sisters.

People refer to this play as “the Scottish Play” The only remedy to get rid of this curse is that

the offender must step outside, turn around three times, spit, and whisper a foul word, and wait for permission to re-enter the theater.