Download Williams Shakespeare (1564-1616) The Early Years Birth date: April

Williams Shakespeare (1564-1616)
 The Early Years
o Birth date: April 23rd, 1564
o Birth place: Stratford-on-Avon, England
o Family
 Father: John Shakespeare
 A prosperous glove maker
 Respected by his neighbors and held various town offices
 Mother: Mary Arden
 From a good family and some fortune
 She inherited considerable farm property
o Schooling
 Stratford Grammar School
 Emphasis was on Latin grammar, plays, and poetry
 Shakespeare also studied logic, history, natural history, and Greek
 Introduction to drama came from traveling players who visited Stratford
o Marriage and Family of His Own
 1582: Married Anne Hathaway
 She was 26; he was 18
 May 1583: Shakespeare’s first child, Suzanna, was born.
 1585: Twins, Judith and Hamnet were born
o
 Professional Career
o Life as an actor/playwright began 1-2 years after the birth of the twins. Shakespeare travelled
to London. Anne and his family stayed behind.
 Some speculate that Anne’s decision to stay behind was rooted in her faith as a Puritan.
 Puritans believed that the stage and its actors corrupted people’s morals.
o Despite the rise of Puritanism, playgoing was still a popular pastime that was enjoyed and
sponsored by Queen Elizabeth
o Initially Shakespeare was supported financially by friends, but by 1594 (when the theatres reopened after a temporary closing due to the plague epidemic) Shakespeare saw success as a
part owner and principal playwright of Lord Chamberlain’s Men.
 Shakespeare wrote The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
o 1599: The Globe Theater was built
o 1603: Name of group was changed from Lord Chamberlain’s Men to The King’s Men by
James I after Elizabeth died.
 Retirement
o 1610: Shakespeare retired to Stratford-on-Avon
 Wise investments and shares in the Theater Company allowed him to move into the
second largest house in Stratford
 Death
o Shakespeare wrote his will on March 25th, 1616
 The bulk of his property went to Suzanna because he had no male heir (Hamnet died in
1596)
 Anne Hathaway received a lifetime income of 1/3 the estate
 No living descendants came from Suzanna or Judith
o Shakespeare died April 23rd, 1616 (His birthday)
The Shakespearean Theater
 The Globe
o Characteristics:
 “O” shape (round/ octagonal in shape
 Held between 2,500-3,000 people
 Stage was a platform that extended into the pit (where the groundlings stood)
 Build around roofless courtyards
 No artificial light was used
 Performances were during daylight hours
 Three levels of galleries
 Benches were for wealthy playgoers
 Poor spectators (groundlings) stood in the courtyard
 Galleries behind and above the stage were used for dressing and storage rooms
 Second level gallery above stage was the upper stage
o Characteristics of the Plays
 No scenery and few props were used
 Eloquence in speech was a sought after skill; people believed that man’s use of speech to
express thoughts and emotions set him apart from the animals
 So no, people didn’t really talk the way Shakespeare’s characters do.
 Elaborate costumes were used
 Plays were fast-paced and colorful; they usually lasted 2 hours
 Actors were ONLY men and boys, no women
 Boys ages 11-13 played the roles of women
 Plays were primarily verbal, not visual
 Shakespeare uses words to express the setting and mood of his dramas
 Reconstructing the Globe
o 1613: June 29, Fire at the Globe Theatre
 During a performance of Henry VIII, a cannon was used to mark the king's entrance,
which fatefully set fire to a beam, which in turn ignited the thatch of the roof, and so set
alight the entire theatre, which was destroyed within an hour.
o 1614: Globe Theatre was rebuilt on original foundations, this time the roof is tiled, not
thatched
o 1642: The English Civil War beaks out between the Parliamentarians (Puritans) and the
Royalsists
o 1642: September 2 - Parliament issues an ordinance suppressing all stage plays
o 1644: The Globe Theatre demolished by the Puritans.
o The site of the old Globe theatre was rediscovered in the 20th century and a reconstruction of
the New Globe Theatre has been built near the spot using traditional carpentry techniques
 The first full season began on June 8th, 1997