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Shakespeare: His Life and Times
Adapted from
http://www.public.asu.edu/~muckerrm/English_321_S2005/Introduction.ppt
Early Life
• Born 1564—died 1616
• Stratford-upon-Avon
• Parents: John and Mary Arden
Shakespeare
• Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner
• John—glovemaker, local politician
•When was he born?
Location of Stratford-upon-Avon
From: http://www.where-can-i-find.com/tourist-maps.html
Stratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s Time
As reproduced in William Rolfe, Shakespeare the Boy (1896).
Stratford-upon-Avon Today
From Stratford’s web site: http://www.stratford-upon-avon.co.uk/index.htm
Where is Stratford upon Avon?
Shakespeare’s Birthplace
From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/
Education
• Probably attended King’s New School in
Stratford
• His school day was long and rigorous
Educated in:
-Rhetoric
-Logic
-History
-Latin
• Shakespeare dropped out of ‘middle school’
when his father lost his fortune
King’s New School
From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/
What did he study at school?
Married Life
• Married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, who
was pregnant at the time with their first
daughter
• Had twins in 1585- Hamnet & Judith
• Hamnet died from the plague at age 11
• Sometime between 1583-1592, he moved
to London and began working in theatre.
• The years 1583-1592 are know as ‘The
Lost Years’
• No one know where he was, or what he
was doing during those years
Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/
• Who was his wife?
- When did he start working in
the thatre?
Theatre Career
• Globe Theater was built in 1599 with
Shakespeare as primary investor
• The theatre burned down in 1613 during one of
Shakespeare’s plays
The Rebuilt Globe Theater, London
The Globe Theater
The Plays
• 38 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare
• 14 comedies
• 10 histories
• 10 tragedies
• 4 romances
• Possibly wrote three others
• Collaborated on several others
How many plays did he write?
The Poetry
• Two major poems
• Venus and Adonis
• Rape of Lucrece
• 154 Sonnets
• Numerous other poems
Shakespeare’s Death
• Shakespeare died on April 23rd, 1616
• Not exactly sure what he died from
– History says he drank too much wine and ate too
many pickled herrings
• In his will, Shakespeare left money, horses,
stables, etc. to his two sons-in-law
• But only left his wife one thing- the “second-best
bed”
– Was he trying to make a point?
Shakespeare’s Death
• Shakespeare is buried in
Holy Trinity Church in
his birth village of
Stratford.
• His grave is covered by
a flat stone that bears an
epitaph warning of a
curse to come upon
anyone who moves his
bones.
Where is he buried?
Shakespeare’s Language
• Shakespeare did NOT write in “Old English.”
• Old English is the language of Beowulf:
Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum
Þeodcyninga Þrym gefrunon
Hu ða æÞelingas ellen fremedon!
(Hey! We have heard of the glory of the SpearDanes in the old days, the kings of tribes, how
noble princes showed great courage!)
Shakespeare’s Language
• Shakespeare did not write in “Middle English.”
• Middle English is the language of Chaucer, the
Gawain-poet, and Malory:
We redeth oft and findeth y-write—
And this clerkes wele it wite—
Layes that ben in harping
Ben y-founde of ferli thing… (Sir Orfeo)
Shakespeare’s Language
• Shakespeare wrote in “Early Modern
English.”
• EME was not very different from
“Modern English,” except that it had some
old holdovers.
Shakespeare’s Language
• Shakespeare coined many words we still use
today:
• Critical
• Majestic
• Dwindle
• And quite a few phrases as well:
• One fell swoop
• Flesh and blood
• Vanish into thin air
See http://www.wordorigins.org/histeng.htm
Shakespeare’s Language
• A mix of old and very new
• Rural and urban words/images
• Understandable by the lowest
peasant and the highest noble
Describe the language of
Shakespeare..
Elizabethan
Theatrical
Conventions
A theatrical convention is a
suspension of reality.
 No electricity
 Women couldn’t
act on stage
 Minimal, contemporary
costumes
 Minimal scenery
These
control the
dialogue.
 Soliloquy
 Aside
 Blood and gore
 Use of supernatural
Types of
speech
Audience
loves to be
scared.
 Use of disguises/
mistaken identity
 Last speaker—highest in
rank (in tragedies)
 Multiple murders
(in tragedies)
 Multiple marriages
(in comedies)
Describe theatrical
conventions of
Shakespeare’s theatre
Love poem….sonnet
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Gli occhi della mia donna non sono come il sole;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red; Il corallo è assai più rosso del rosso delle sue labbra;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; Se la neve è bianca, perché allora i suoi seni sono bigi;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. Se i capelli sono setole, nere setole crescono sulla sua testa.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white, Ho visto rose damascate, rosse e bianche,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks; Ma tali rose non vedo sulle sue guance;
And in some perfumes is there more delight E in alcuni profumi c’è più delizia
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. Che nel fiato che dalla mia donna esala.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know Amo sentirla parlare, eppure ben so
That music hath a far more pleasing sound. Che la musica ha un molto più gradevole suono.
I grant I never saw a goddess go, Ammetto (che) mai vidi una dea camminare,
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground. Ma la mia donna, quando cammina, calca la terra.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare Eppure, in nome del cielo, penso (che) il mio amore (sia) tanto raro
As any she belied with false compare.
she = woman Quanto qualsiasi donna travisata da falsi paragoni.
My mistress eyes…
• The poet loves the woman for her human
qualities.
• The poem describes the things in nature
that are commonly perceived as beautiful
and that this woman has not.
• The poem raises the question: «what is
beauty?»
What does the poem describe?