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Introduction to William
Shakespeare
Elizabethan England
• England was a major
European power and
enjoyed great cultural
and economic advances.
• Queen Elizabeth was born
in 1533 and became the
queen in 1558, six years
before Shakespeare was
born.
• Kings and queens of
England ruled by divine
right, the belief that the
royal bloodline had been
anointed by God to be the
ruling family of England
• Many people thought
Elizabeth should get
married so that they
could have a proper
king.
• Elizabeth knew she
would be giving up
most of her power to
her husband, so she
chose to remain “The
Virgin Queen.”
• The English people believed in what they
called a Chain of Being.
• God was at the top of this chain, of course,
followed by Queen Elizabeth, the nobility,
priests, and bishops of the church,
gentlemen, commoners, beggars, and
slaves.
• No matter where they were on the chain,
men were thought to be superior to women.
• As a result, Queen Elizabeth had a lot to
prove.
• In 1588, the English Navy defeated the Spanish
Armada, a group of warships led by Phillip the II
of Spain, who thought that Elizabeth should not be
on the throne because she was female and because
she had chosen to be Protestant instead of Catholic.
• A Protestant is a person who is Christian but not
Catholic and who denies that the Pope has
authority over all Christians.
• Before the 16th century, the Catholic Church was
the only Christian church. It emphasized baptism,
marriage, tradition, and ordained clergy, such as
priests.
Queen Elizabeth I
• Elizabeth turned out to be a
successful queen.
• Elizabeth made a lot of
improvements.
• She supported commerce
and trade, bringing England
out of debt and raising the
standard of living.
• She made England into a
strong military force.
• She supported education
and founded many colleges.
Religion
• Although Elizabethan England was a very religious
society, non-religious ways of thinking were
becoming more prevalent in England than ever
before.
• Humanism was gaining acceptance. Humanists felt
that learning about Greek and Roman literature and
studies could be as worthy as the study of the Bible.
• In other words, they felt that goodness and
knowledge could come from human beings without
the aid of a divine being.
• Many Elizabethans believed in both Christianity and
humanism at the same time, though they might seem
contradictory.
Daily Life in Elizabethan England
• Homeless beggars were
very common.
• Epidemic diseases such
as the plague were
prevalent, even though
the worst of the plague
was over.
• During Shakespeare’s
lifetime, the plague
took about 75,000 lives.
Shakespeare: The Facts
• William Shakespeare
was baptized at Holy
Trinity Church in
Stratford-upon-Avon
(named so because the
town of Stratford sits
on the Avon River),
England, on April 26,
1564.
Shakespeare’s House
• Shakespeare bought a
big house called New
Place in Stratford in
1597.
• Although he lived in
London off and on for
the rest of his life, he
never sold New Place,
and his family most
likely lived there fulltime.
Marriage
• On November 28, 1582, Shakespeare was
issued a marriage license allowing him to
marry Anne Hathaway.
• He was eighteen and she was twenty-six.
• She was also pregnant with their first child.
Children
• Shakespeare and his wife had three
children.
• Susanna was born in 1583, and their twins,
Hamnet and Judith, were born in 1585.
• Hamnet died in 1596, when he was only 11
years. Old.
Business
• Along with other players,
or actors, Shakespeare
formed a theatre company
called the Lord
Chamberlain’s Men in
1594 and became an
owner in the Globe
Theatre in 1599.
• He bought quite a bit of
land in the Stratford area
and invested in a house in
London.
• He once testified in a
court case in London.
His Will
• In early 1616,
Shakespeare wrote his
will, leaving his “secondbest bed” to his wife,
some money and other
items to his daughter
Judith, and most of the
rest of his estate to his
daughter Susanna and her
husband.
• He also left some money
to three of the actors in
his company.
Death
• Shakespeare died on
April 23, 1616, and
was buried near the
Holy Trinity Church,
where he had been
baptized.
Just the Facts
• Believe it or not, those basic facts are pretty much
all we know about the life of the famous
playwright, William Shakespeare.
• Unfortunately, we will have to be content with
those basic facts.
• Many people have made educated guesses about
Shakespeare’s life based upon inferences derived
from his plays and sonnets.
Shakespeare’s Theatre
• Shakespeare’s Globe
Theatre was circular
with an open space in
the middle.
• The stage was on one
edge of the circle and
was what is known as
a thrust.
Typical 16th Century Theatre
• The stage had
two levels.
• The first level of
the stage was
where most of the
action took place.
• The second level
of the stage,
called the gallery,
was used for
things like
balcony scenes.
Audience
• During
Shakespeare’s
time, going to the
theatre was like
going to see a
modern-day
football game.
• The plays took
place in the
afternoon,
usually starting
at 2:00.
Audience (continued)
• The Globe was an openair theatre, so audience
members could see each
other clearly.
• A trumpeter would sound
several blasts on his horn
to signal the start of the
play.
Audience (continued)
• Once the play began, audience members could
move freely about the yard or the galleries,
discuss the action of the play, and yell funny
quips or insults to the characters onstage.
• People also moved about the crowd freely,
selling food, wine, tobacco, and playbills.
Costumes
• One of the biggest expenses for a theatre
company was costumes and props.
• The actors wore what is called court dress.
If an Elizabethan were lucky enough to be
invited to the Queen’s court for a visit, he
would dress in the very best clothes he
owned, and this type of clothing was what
actors used onstage.
Scenery
• One thing the Elizabethan theatre did not have was
scenery. Believe it or not, the concept had not really
occurred to anyone.
• There was no shortage of special effects at the Globe
Theatre however.
• The stage had a trap door so that devils or ghosts
could disappear or rise.
• There was a flying apparatus so that fairies or gods
could float above the stage or descend from the sky.
• There were musicians to provide birdcalls with
flutes and thunder with drums.