Download Shakespeare Background Information

1564-1616
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women
merely players;
They have their exits and their
entrances,
And one man in his time plays
many parts…
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William Shakespeare’s birth was unregistered, but
it is supposed to have been on April 23, 1564.
Historians think this date because his baptism was
registered on April 26, and the custom of the time
was to baptize babies three days after they were
born. His birth date is also his death date: April 23,
1616.
William Shakespeare was born in the English town
of Stratford-On-Avon. It is called this because the
town of Stratford sits right on the Avon River. His
parents were John and Mary Arden Shakespeare.
He was their third child, but the first to survive.
After him, his parents had his brother Gilbert.
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His father was a glover at a time when the middle
class folk were moving up in the world, and he
eventually worked his way up to serving as mayor
of Stratford.
William Shakespeare attended Stratford’s local
grammar school called The King’s New School. He
went to school 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, all
year long.
While at The King’s New School, he studied Greek,
Latin, mathematics, natural science, logic,
Christian ethics, and the classics of literature.
When he was 15, he left the school because he had
learned everything that the teachers knew. He did
not attend a university after that; however this was
not uncommon as only the wealthy sons of the
elite or clergymen went to college.
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When he was 18, he married a local girl named Anne
Hathaway who was 26. She was not his lover but
supposedly was pregnant at the time.
William and Anne had a daughter named Susanna and later
twins, Judith and Hamnet.
A few years after the twins were born, Shakespeare left
Stratford under suspicious circumstances. There were two
theories as to why he left. One was that he was caught
poaching deer on the land of a local wealthy man named Sir
Thomas Lucy, who had a pet deer that he cared for a great
deal, and Shakespeare – either
purposefully or accidentally –
shot the pet deer. When Lucy
found out, he banished him.
Another theory is that he was
unhappy with his marriage and
perhaps was sent away for
being rough with the local
women. At any rate, he ended
up in London.
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In London, he went to the theatre to get a job. His dad had taken him to
see traveling shows when he was little, and it held his interest.
While at the theatre, Shakespeare started low on the totem pole and
worked his way up. He began as a stable boy, taking care of the horses for
the guests when they came to see shows. Later, he became a sort of janitor
and cleaned up inside the theatre after shows. He then progressed to
Prop-man where he handled all of the props for a show and made sure the
right props were used and with the correct actors. He then became the
Cue-man who would almost be similar to a modern-day stage manager.
He prompted the actors with their lines from offstage. After that, he was
let on stage as a walk-on (a person with no lines, who simply walks on and
off stage). From there, he progressed to Bit-player – a person with just a
few lines, a single monologue, or a specific talent he performs for just a bit
during the show. Once he started acting, he soon became the leading actor
and eventually took over as theatre owner.
His theatre was called The Globe.
During that time, theatres needed patrons to fund the acting companies
shows for them while the actors prepared for performances.
Shakespeare’s patron was the Earl of Southampton.
During all of this, he was constantly writing down play ideas and coming
up with scripts. Unfortunately, he would write these ideas on anything
that was handy, such as napkins, scraps of paper, etc., and a large portion
of his ideas was lost.
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Because there wasn’t much around in the way of media advertising,
to announce that a theatre was running a play, they would fly a red
flag on top of it.
The Globe Theatre was an open theatre with 8 sides and 3 levels of
seating with the top level being reserved for royalty.
 Admission prices were $.01, $.02, and $.03 depending on the level.
 Groundlings were people who got into the show for free, but they
had to stand on the ground in front of the stage during the
performance.
 There was a roof only over the stage and it was called The Shadow.
 Pillars held up the roof and were used in plays as ship masts or for
hiding places for villains.
 There was also a trap door in the floor which was used for
supernatural beings such as ghosts.
 There was no artificial lighting and just a few props such as books,
candles, torches, swords, or tankards.
 There were no curtains or scenery, so scene changes took place
very quickly.
 Audiences knew where the scenes were taking place because of the
actors, dialogue, and costumes – the costumes were very elaborate.
 When a ghost entered, gunpowder was used to create the smoke.
 A mishap with this gunpowder is what led to the original Globe
being burned down.
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Shakespeare’s acting company was named The
Lord Chamberlain’s Men, but they later
changed their name to The King’s Men when
King James of England became the king. If the
king requested a private show, this was known
as a command performance.
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A typical acting company usually consisted
of 12-16 men. Since women were not
allowed on stage at the time, the companies
usually had 3-4 young boys who hadn’t yet
reached puberty to play the female roles.
Another staple in every
acting company was a
Fool. The Fool warmed
up the audience before
a show. He was sort
of an opening act, getting
the audience excited.
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The Globe performed in repertory. Repertory
theatre runs one show while simultaneously
rehearsing 2 or more others.
The actors may have also put on more than one
show at a time; however, this practice is really
more of a new idea with theatres nowadays.
If a play was not well received, they would
only perform it twice.
If a play was well received, they would run it 10
or so times.
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During his career, Shakespeare
wrote 37 plays that were divided
into three categories: comedies,
histories, and tragedies.
In addition to his plays, Shakespeare also wrote
154 sonnets (14-line poems written in iambic
pentameter) which were dedicated either to his
patron or to “The Dark Lady.”
Very little is known about “The Dark Lady,” but
there are two theories about her. One is that she
was the secret love of his life, and he wanted to
keep her out of the public eye. Another idea was
that she was of a different race or nationality and
would have been looked down on at that time.
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Shakespeare also
wrote 2 long poems:
“The Rape of
Lucrece” and “Venus
and Adonis.”
In his writings,
Shakespeare coined
over 2,000 words and
phrases that are still
commonly used
today.
Some Words and Phrases Coined
by Shakespeare:
“Man of few words”
“I have not slept a wink”
Worn out
Coldhearted
Quarrelsome
Reclusive
Bedazzled
Eyesore
“Eaten me out of house and home”
“Elbow room”
“Seen better days”
Stealthy
“Wild goose chase”
Foul-mouthed
Puke
“Dead as a doornail”
Scuffle
“Heart of gold”
“Green-eyed Monster”
“In a pickle”
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When Shakespeare retired, he returned to Stratford and bought the 2nd best house there
called New Place.
There he made out his will.
It had three conditions:
1) His 2nd best bed would go to his wife, Anne
Hathaway.
 2) His daughter Susanna would get all of his fortune. (He
left it to her and not Judith because he knew for sure
that Susanna was his child. Hamnet had died by this
time).
 3) He would be buried in Trinity Churchyard in Stratford.
The city had made him, and he wanted to give himself
back to it.
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In 1623, his friends and colleagues got together
and collected all of his works to publish. This was
called The First Folio.
When he was buried, Shakespeare’s own selfwritten epitaph was inscribed on his tomb:
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.
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William Shakespeare is considered to be the
greatest writer of all time because he had such a
great understanding of human nature and because
what he wrote then is still applicable and
appropriate today.
Shakespeare’s works are surpassed in translation
and publication by only one book: The Bible.