Download William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare
1564-1616
Early Life
• Though we
know little
about his
personal life,
what details we
do have are
culled largely
from church
records,
historical
documents, etc.
Shakespeare’s birthplace
Early Life
• We do know that William
Shakespeare was the son of
a glover, baptized in
Stratford upon Avon on
April 26, 1564.
• Since baptism usually
happened three days after
birth, we celebrate his
birthday on April 23rd.
Early Life
• His father’s position in the
community would have
allowed William to attend
grammar school, where his
education likely included
Greek and Roman classics,
as well as British history.
Early Life
• After finishing school,
he probably apprenticed
with his father, though
no one knows for sure.
• Some have theorized
that he might have
worked as a school
teacher.
Anti-Stratfordians
• Some critics have argued
that the William
Shakespeare of Stratford
may not be the same person
as the William Shakespeare
who wrote plays in London,
or that “W. Shakespeare”
might have been the pen
name for a nobleman like
Sir Francis Bacon.
Anti-Stratfordians
• There is little evidence to support this
claim, however, and it is likely a product of
anti-rural snobbery (“How could a country
boy with no college education be such a
great playwright?”)
Anti-Stratfordians
• The fact of the matter is, the allusions in
Shakespeare’s plays, from Greek and Roman
mythology, to the history of English monarchs, is
derived from material he would have been exposed to
in grammar school.
An imprint from a 16th century copy
of Ovid’s Metamorphosis, from
which Shakespeare may have taken
much of his inspiration.
Marriage
• In 1582, Shakespeare
married Anne
Hathaway, a woman
several years his senior.
• Their daughter Susanna
was born seven months
later.
Marriage
• The hasty nature of the marriage, and the
fact that Shakespeare left his family in
Stratford to work in London for long
periods of time, have led many to suppose
that the union might have been somewhat
strained.
Marriage
• A few years later, Anne gave birth to twins,
Judith and Hamnet.
• Hamnet died during an outbreak of the black
plague in Stratford, at the age of eleven.
The Lord Chamberlain’s Men
• Shakespeare moved to London sometime in
the early 1590’s, and joined the acting
company the “Lord Chamberlain’s Men.”
• He would later become a share holder in the
company and the Globe Theatre, making
him a wealthy man.
The King’s Men
• When King James I
took the throne, the
company changed its
name to “The King’s
Men,” to honor their
new patron.
Actor and Playwright
• Shakespeare wrote
and performed plays
in several theatres,
including the Globe.
• The Globe was an
open-air, public
theatre, which could
accommodate about
3,000 people.
Career Success
• Shakespeare became
popular in the early-tomid 1590’s, and
maintained a highly
successful career before
retiring back to Stratford
around 1610.
Career Success
• He is credited with writing 37 plays,
including,
Comedies
Such as
–
–
–
–
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Taming of the Shrew
Much Ado About Nothing
The Comedy of Errors
Histories
• Such as
–
–
–
–
Richard the III
Julius Caesar
Henry IV, Parts I and II
Henry V
Romances
• Such as
– The Tempest
– The Winter’s
Tale
Tragedies
• Such as
– Romeo and Juliet
– Titus Andronicus
and the “four great tragedies” for which he is
most famous . . .
The Four Great Tragedies
• Othello
• King Lear
• Hamlet
• Macbeth
Death
• Shakespeare died on his birthday, April
23rd, in the year 1616, having bequeathed
his property to his daughter Susanna and her
husband, and his “second best bed” to his
wife, Anne.
Death
He was buried in Stratford,
under the epitaph,
“Good friend, for Jesus’ sake
forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares
these stones,
And cursed be he that moves
my bones.”
Legacy
• Friends and colleagues, who
believed that his work should
be preserved for future
generations, officially
published Shakespeare’s
plays for the first time after
his death (some unofficial
copies were published during
his lifetime, but most are
corrupt / inaccurate versions
of the author’s original text).
Legacy
• In the introduction to
his collected works,
called the first folio,
playwright and friend
Ben Johnson wrote,
“he was not for an age, but for all time.”
Why is Shakespeare Considered
a Genius?
• His beautiful and haunting poetry.
• His three dimensional, psychologically complex
characters (pre-Freudian understanding of human
psychology).
• His appeal to a broad audience, with deep
interpretive themes for the more scholarly, and
broad physical and verbal humor for the less well
educated.