Download The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet

The Most Excellent and
Lamentable Tragedy of
Romeo & Juliet
By
William
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
April 23, 1564-April 23, 1616
About Shakespeare
Considered to be the greatest dramatist of
all time
 Wrote 37 plays (comedies, tragedies,
histories)
 Wrote 154 sonnets (14 line poem)
 Wrote 2 narratives

Family
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon (80 miles
outside of London)
 Raised in a middle class family
 Parents:

 John–glovemaker,
very active in politics
 Mary Arden–daughter of wealthy landowner
Education
Attended Stratford Grammar School until
he was 12 years old
 School lasted 9 hours a day all year
 Students mainly studied Latin
 Became interested in theater early in life

Shakespeare’s Home
Adult Life
Married Anne Hathaway in 1582 when he
was 18 and she was 26
 Family moved to London and he joined a
theater company as a minor actor & editor
 Had three children: Susanna and twins,
Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died when
he was 11 years old.

Career
Was well-known in theatrical circles as an
actor & playwright by the time he was 28
 Became member & stockholder of Lord
Chamberlain’s Men (an acting company)
 Lord Chamberlain’s Men was the most
popular company of actors in England

More Career
Plague strikes London in 1592 and
theaters closed due to 1000’s of deaths
 Shakespeare was wealthy landowner and
established playwright by 1590’s
 Bought the Globe Theatre in 1599
 Retired in 1610
 Died from a fever on his birthday in 1616
 Buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford

The Globe Theatre
“All the World’s a Stage and Men and
Women Merely Players”
Shakespearean Theaters
London, 16th Century
Lots of rivalry amongst theaters
 Extremely popular
 No roof, no curtains, no stage settings
 Daylight shows only
 No scenery
 No lighting
 Atmosphere was created by words &
actions

Shakespeare’s popularity was at it’s
height during Queen Elizabeth’s reign
More About Theaters
First public theater (The Theatre) opened
in 1576 (owned by James Burbage)
 No females allowed to act
 Young boys played the female parts (boys
your age!!)
 Actors often had more than one role

Theaters Again!
Plays were always packed
 All types of people attended—rich, poor,
literate, illiterate, royalty, peasants)
 Audience ate & drank throughout
performance (fruit, nuts, beer)
 If the audience didn’t like the play they
would throw their food at actors
 Audiences loved excitement and action—
especially bloody fight scenes

“Groundlings” paid one cent to stand
in front of the main stage
Romeo & Juliet
Authorized & completed version printed in
1599
 Protagonists

 Romeo
 Juliet

Antagonists
 Montagues
vs. Capulets
“A pair of starcross’d lovers
take their life”
Romeo & Juliet

Setting
 Renaissance
(rebirth)
 14th or 15th century
 Verona & Mantua (cities in Northern Italy)

Themes
 The
force of love
 Love as a cause for violence
 Individual vs. Society
 Inevitability of fate
Source

Hadd, Cathi. English teacher. Brewer
Middle School, 2007.