Download Well-known Facts about Will

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William Shakespeare
April 23, 1564 - April 23,
1616
Lived: Stratford – on –
Avon
His father was a
tanner/glove-maker
Anne Hathaway was his
wife
He wrote sonnets – 14 line
poems with a rhyming
scheme
Was an actor in Lord
Chamberlain’s Men
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Great writer of
England
Plays translated into
all languages,
musicals, ballets
Born Stratford-uponAvon
Well-to-do, affluent
while alive
Most quoted, other
than the Bible
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Teen father: married
pregnant 26 year old
Anne Hathaway when
he was 18
Deadbeat dad: Left
wife and children for
London stage career
Father of twins
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Thames River
polluted with raw
sewage
Trees used up for
fuel
Poverty
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Bathing considered dangerous
Body odor strong
Childhood diseases
Children often died before 5 years
Small Pox
Bubonic Plague
No running
water
 Chamber
Pots
 Open Sewers
 Crowded
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QuickTime™ and a
GIF dec ompres sor
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One set used all
year long, rarely
washed
Underclothing
slept in,
infrequently
changed
Clothes handed
down from rich to
poor
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Performed in
courtyards of inns
The Theater-first
public theater-1576
Daytime/open air
Limited set design
Relied on music,
sound, costumes,
props and great
description
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Built in 1599
Across the Thames- “Wrong side of town”
King’s Players - Shakespeare’s company
Penny admission
Shakespeare owned the Globe Theater
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All men
Female parts
played by young
boys
No actual kissing
or hugging on
stage
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Conventions are the ways things are done in
theatre
All actors were male in this time
The performances were always in the day because
there was no electricity
There was no curtain – this is why people always
died offstage
There was no scenery
Shakespeare always included a scene of comedy to
break things up even in the saddest plays for those
who were standing (groundlings)
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Groundlings are the
people who stand in the
middle of the theatre to
watch the play
Poor Audience members
Stood around stage in
“the pit”
Women not allowed
(had to dress up as men
to attend)
Threw rotten vegetables
at bad performances
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Bastard daughter of
King Henry VIII and
Ann Boleyn (2nd of 6
wives)
Henry had Ann
beheaded for
“treason”
Younger sister of
“Bloody Mary.”
“Virgin Queen”?
A tease and a player
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