By William Shakespeare
1564 – 1616
Born in Stratford, England
Shakespeare went to grammar school but never attended a university
It is said that he may have been a school teacher for a short amount of time.
In 1582 he married Anne Hatheway [next slide] (he was 18, she was 26)
Little is known about his private life because he kept no journals or diaries
William Shakespeare
In the late 1580s, he moved to London and joined
The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, the most popular group of actors in London.
While acting, he also wrote plays and earned recognition as one of greatest playwrights in England – his writing appealing to people in all walks of life.
Other tragedies that he wrote include King Lear and Macbeth
William Shakespeare
Lived and wrote during the English Renaissance, a
time during which many parts of society changed, including the theater
Wrote a total of 37 plays
William Shakespeare
Shakespeare died at the age of 52
He used his epitaph as a warning:
“Blest be the man that spares these stones, and curst be he that moves my bones.”
William Shakespeare
Plays were mostly performed during the twelve days
of Christmas
Acting groups often performed in the open (gathering places, village green, etc.) tp avoid persecution
The Theater
Because of religious issues, very few plays were
published
When plays grew in popularity, there was growing tension between rich nobles who supported plays and Puritan who believed plays were sinful.
The Theater
Shakespeare often wrote one of two copies and the
actors memorized them.
The actors sometimes performed up to 12 different plays within a month – all memorized!!
The Theater
The Globe Theater [next slide]: most famous of
Shakespeare’s performance venues.
Seated 3000 people
No scenery, a trapdoor, a balcony, and ceiling rigging for “flying” scenes
Open-air, octagonal amphitheater rose 3 stories high
The Theater
In 1613, theater burned to the ground
Reconstructed in 1996
The Theater
The audience on the ground paid a penny to stand
there the entire play. They often brought peanuts to eat and would throw them at the villains (hence “peanut gallery). They were uncovered and would stand in mud and rain to watch a play.
Higher paying members of the audience would share a bench in the balcony – and one could pay extra for a cushion.
The Theater
“Hamlet has onstage action in . . . plenty. A ghost
walks the stage; people are killed by stabbing and poisoning; a young woman runs mad, is drowned offstage, and is buried on stage; two skeletons are dug up and scattered over the stage; armies march, and there is a fencing match that ends up in a general slaughter.”
–Edward Hubler. “Introduction to Hamlet”
Hamlet
One of Shakespeare’s most popular and frequently
performed dramas
At its heart, questions the nature of good and evil
Characters driven to dramatic action by anger, grief, love, and despair
Classified as a tragedy: type of drama that presents a heroic or noble character with conflicts that are difficult or impossible to resolve
Hamlet
Play corresponds to a legendary figure in Denmark’s
history called Amleth
More than 25 movies have been made based on this story
Play is set in northern Europe, several hundred years before Shakespeare was born
Most action takes place in and around Denmark’s royal castle
Hamlet
Apparition: ghost; spirit
Calumnious: slanderous
Canon: church law
Countenance: face; expression
Vocabulary
Discourse: conversation
Imminent: ready to happen; inevitable
Perilous: dangerous
Portentous: threatening
Vocabulary
Prodigal: wasteful; extravagant
Sullied: tarnished
Vocabulary