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Shakespeare
Who is this guy and why
do we still learn about him??
Life at the time of Shakespeare
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No running water. You had to haul it or draw it from a well…if you
had one.
Food – Summer and Fall were fine as you had fresh food. Winter to
spring were the longest seasons as you had to store much of your
own food. If you stored enough, you were fine. If you did not….
There were no refrigerators, or freezers or electricity…
No sewers or indoor plumbing. Maybe you had an outhouse.
Maybe you went in a “Chamber pot” and then tossed it out the
window in the morning.
Baths – What is that? Most people bathed, maybe once a month or
so. There were some who thought it was a sin to bathe. People
would wash their hands and face everyday.
Seriously, it was so unsanitary that rats roamed the city. No one
realized there was a connection between sanitation and disease yet.
Between 1348 and 1666 there were 16 outbreaks of plague in the
city of London.
Typical 17th Century Sea Side village.
Bedroom from that time period.
Cooking for the family.
Typical Town scene.
The rulers of England while
Shakespeare lived.
Queen Elizabeth I
King James I
Who is Shakespeare?
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Baptized April 26, 1564 (birth assumed April 23; believed—we don’t know! He
was baptized on the 26th, so if his family followed tradition, he was baptized
at about three days of age).
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Lived: 1564-1616
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Father: John—successful glove-maker & businessman.
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Mother—Mary Arden, daughter of John’s landlord.
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Third of 8 kids in this family, and the oldest son.
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Boyhood—no written evidence, however, probably attended Stratford
Grammar School.
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1582—married Anne Hathaway, 26, he was 18,
they had to get married!
The Bard
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Daughter, Susanna, born 1583.
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Twins—Hamnet and Judith, born, 1585. (Hamnet died, 1596, age 11, possibly of the
plague, very tragic!)
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1588 – believed to have arrived in London.
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1592 – Bill had been up to something, because he was attacked by English Dramatist
Robert Greene in his book Groat’s Worth of Wit. “..an upstart crow…”
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1593 – Had two poems published (The first thing he ever had published) because the
theatres were closed due to plague.
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1594, part owner and principle playwright of Lord Chamberlain’s Men, most
prestigious acting company in London.
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1594 (December)– Bill’s first play performed; A Comedy of Errors. This after the
theatres opened up again after being closed for almost TWO YEARS.
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1599, company built The Globe Theatre, most of Will’s plays were performed there.
Shakespeare’s London:
about 200,000 people lived here.
The walled city was about one square mile along the Thames River.
Today there are over 7,000,000 people in London and its suburbs.
This is a satellite picture of London at night. The City of London covers a
little over 600 square miles. That is an area that is about 24 miles square.
The Shakes-man
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Lord Chamberlain’s Men boasted the best acting
company; the best actor, Richard Burbage, and the
finest playwright; William Shakespeare.
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1603, King James I, took control of the Company after
Elizabeth I died. He paid it the highest tribute by
renaming it, The King’s Men and personally “backing”
or sponsoring it.
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Shakespeare, a major stockholder, continued to write
and act in plays for the company.
William’s way
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1594 – 1610 William wrote plays. He never earned a dime off a play. He
made his $$ by being part owner of the theatre and the performing
company. He bought several properties.
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1610, retired to Stratford, a successful playwright, actor, and businessman.
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Died, April 23, 1616, age 52 (if scholars are correct, on his Birthday!)
Cause of death, unknown. But a report in the Holy Trinity Church indicates
he may have had a wee too much to drink the night before. “died of a fever
… contracted after a night of drinking with Ben Jonson and Michael
Drayton, friends and fellow writers.”
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Susanna inherited the bulk of the estate. His other daughter Judith received
300 pounds (There is a story here…). Susanna had one child, Elizabeth,
who died childless. Judith had three sons, none lived to have children.
This means there are NO living descendants of William Shakespeare!
Shakespeare’s Signature on his will.
The Shakespeare Family
Shakespeare’s granddaughter, Elizabeth
…a Willing way…..
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Wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets. He is profoundly influential in
Western Literature and Culture. Why? Because he took a language
without meaning and by using words and phrases, gave our English
Language much of the meaning it has today. He also wrote plays
and poems which caused the reader or audience to think. Unheard
of at the time.
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Shakespeare’s plays were performed at the courts of Queen
Elizabeth I and King James I more frequently than those of any
other dramatist of that time.
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He is considered the Greatest English writer and master of
characterization.
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Plays are still produced, read, and studied, etc. 400 years later.
His Plays are divided into three
categories.
Comedies
All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado about Nothing
Taming of the Shrew
Tempest
Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter's Tale
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Next….
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Histories
Cymbeline
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Pericles
Richard II
Richard III
One more…
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Tragedies
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida
The Elizabethan Stage
“Elizabethan” after Queen Elizabeth
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The Globe was an “open air” theatre that held about 3000 spectators—the “wooden
o” concept.
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It was built across the River Thames so it was ‘outside’ of town. Beyond the City
Council’s ability to control it. There were many who did not like the theatres; the
authorities did not like crowds, and many people feared crowds spread the plague!
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Performances were every day but Sunday from 2 to 5 in the afternoon.
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A raised flag and a trumpet fanfare proclaimed a show at 2—black-tragedy, whitecomedy, & red-history.
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As patrons entered the theatre, they would drop their admission into a box—hence
“box office”.
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Vendors offered beer, water, oranges, nuts, gingerbread, and apples, all of which
were occasionally thrown at the actors. Hazelnuts were the most popular snack … the
Elizabethan equivalent of Raisinets.
The Stage, continued…
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There were no restrooms for 3000 people, nor intermissions,
remember… few Elizabethans bathed regularly!
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There was no producer or director; the actors were in complete
control of the production.
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Scenery and props were minimal. Actors described the setting
through dialogue.
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Costumes were elaborate, spangled affairs of gold, lace, silk and
velvet in styles of the day.
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Actors wore make-up, an abomination to the Puritans!
The Globe
A cutaway look at the Globe
The Globe ….Stage
More on The Globe
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Women were forbidden to act on the public
stage, thus, female roles were played by
prepubescent boys! (Yes! Juliet was a boy!)
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Rehearsal time was minimal. Actors learned their
parts in about a week. A leading man might
have to memorize 800 lines a day.
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A leading man would learn and retain over 70
roles in three years.
The Globe shines on…
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Like most other playhouses, The Globe had its own
company, which was under the patronage of a
nobleman.
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Plays belonged to the acting company and not to the
playwright. Shakespeare didn’t own or have any right to
publish his own plays. His plays weren’t published until
after his death.
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The patron system grew out of the Puritan city fathers’
decision not to permit a “masterless” man, regarded as
“unemployed” and a threat to law and order.
The Globe….Inside
The Globe meets its “match”…
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The Globe burned down in 1613, when a prop
cannon exploded during the first-night
performance of Henry VIII. One man’s breeches
were set afire —and were doused with beer.
The only other casualty was the playhouse itself;
needless to say, the play had a short run.
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After 70 years, the Puritans at last triumphed.
In August 1642, Parliament passed an ordinance
that shut down all the theatres.
The Globe shall rise again.
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In February,1989, archaeologists found the remains of The Rose
playhouse, Shakespeare’s original theatre. Then, on October 12th,
they unearthed The Globe.
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The Globe may have had as many as 20 sides because it took so
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The Globe that was found was a combination of the 1st one which
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For many years, Sam Wanamaker battled for the right to rebuild
The Globe near its original Southwark site. At times, the fight
mirrored a Shakespearean play—hostile city fathers, prejudices
against actors, and restrictions over land use. In the end, the ‘new’
Globe was built about 200 yards from the original site.
many to make it look circular.
burned down in 1613 AND the 2nd, which was rebuilt on the same
site and pulled down in 1644 when all the theatres closed.
The Gate of the New Globe
The Power of William
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His contemporary Ben Jonson declared him “not of an age, but for
all time.”
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Although his works were regularly staged in the late 17th and early
18th centuries, theater companies hardly treated his plays with
reverence. When they performed the plays, they most often used
versions rewritten for the fashions of the age, “purged”—as their
adaptors maintained—of their coarseness and absurdities.
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The views of the romantic movement have in many ways been
cemented during the 20th century. Institutions such as the Folger
Shakespeare Library, established in the United States in 1932, and
the Royal Shakespeare Company, founded in Britain in 1961, have
ensured that Shakespeare’s work remains a central icon of Western
culture.
The Final Curtain
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Shakespeare can be enjoyed all over the world. There are many
festivals and companies which produce wonderful performances:
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The Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon
The New Globe Theatre, London
The New York Shakespeare Festival
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, Oregon
The Utah Shakespeare Festival, Cedar City, Utah
The Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Your Local Theater!
The Cinema!
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Shakespeare’s Homes today
His Birth Home
His “New Place”
Shakespeare in Love – One of many
movies…
More Shakespeare movies
Why study this guy?!?!
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Examples of Shakespeare’s genius include: the richness
of his literary devices; the compelling drama of his plots;
the penetrating nature of his characterizations; the
universal interest and appeal in his dialogs and
monologues; his delightful sense of humor; his enduring
wisdom and wit; and his many famous, unforgettable
lines.
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Given the magnitude of his contribution, it is no wonder
that E.D. Hirsch, well known cultural literacy professor
from the University of Virginia, insists that a healthy
knowledge of Shakespeare is essential to a basic,
“cultural literacy.”
Why learn about him???
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We study Shakespeare because;
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He tells us so much about human nature. This is probably one of the major
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reasons why Shakespeare's plays are still watched and studied. If the things he
wrote about were not the perennial aspects of human nature, we wouldn't be
interested in watching the plays any more.
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He reveals to us so much about our own natures. This fits in with the above.
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Because we recognize so much about ourselves and understand ourselves better
when we watch and read Shakespeare, we go on doing so through the ages.
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He is a brilliant dramatist. Shakespeare might have lots of profound things to say
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to us, but we wouldn't watch the plays unless they worked as drama. The
experience of watching the plays is entertaining and spectacular as well as
revealing many things about life to us.
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He is a great poet. The plays are full of memorable passages of poetry, which
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along with all Shakespeare's other achievements, contributes to the enduring
success of his plays.
More??
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And here’s still another way of looking at it:
People who have studied Shakespeare:
Have a broader view of the world in general.
Have little trouble in other literature classes.
Do well in logic and philosophy.
Appreciate other art forms as well: music, drama, art, costume,
writing.
Have an easier time grasping the concepts of character, plot, irony,
universal truth, advanced vocabulary, etc.
Understand concepts in clear speaking.
Have a broader view of important historical events.
Have a greater understanding of human nature (greed, faithfulness,
love, power, gentleness, poor choices, honesty, integrity, popularity,
danger, patriotism, selfishness, self-sacrifice, etc.)
Why was this guy a genius??
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The English language owes a great debt
to Shakespeare. He invented over 1700 of
our common words by changing nouns
into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives,
connecting words never before used
together, adding prefixes and suffixes,
and devising words wholly original.
Here are some of the words
attributed to Bill…
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Academe, Accused, Addiction, advertising, amazement, arouse,
assassination, backing, Bandit, bedroom, beached, besmirch,
birthplace, blanket, bloodstained, barefaced, Blushing, bet, bump,
buzzer, caked, cater, champion, circumstantial, cold-blooded,
Compromise, courtship, countless, critic, dauntless, dawn,
deafening, discontent, dishearten, drugged, dwindle, epileptic,
equivocal, elbow, excitement, exposure, eyeball, fashionable,
fixture, flawed, frugal, generous, gloomy, gossip, green-eyed, gust,
hint, hobnob, hurried, impede, impartial, invulnerable, jaded, label,
lackluster, laughable, lonely, lower, luggage, lustrous, madcap,
majestic, marketable, metamorphize, mimic, Monumental,
moonbeam, mountaineer, negotiate, noiseless, obscene,
obsequiously, ode, Olympian, outbreak, panders, pedant,
premeditated, puking, radiance, rant, remorseless, savagery, scuffle,
secure, skim milk, submerge, summit, swagger, torture, tranquil,
undress, unreal, varied, vaulting, worthless, zany
A glimpse into Julius Caesar
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Julius Caesar was written about 1599 and first published in 1623. Though a
serious tragedy of political rivalries, it is less intense in style than the tragic
dramas that followed it. Shakespeare based this political tragedy concerning
the plot to overthrow Julius Caesar on Lives of the Noble Grecians and
Romans by 1st-century Greek biographer Plutarch. Plutarch’s Lives had first
appeared in English in 1579, in a version produced by Thomas North from a
French translation of the original. The North translation provided
Shakespeare and his contemporaries with a great deal of historical material.
Shakespeare followed Plutarch closely in Julius Caesar; little of incident or
character appears in the play that is not found in the Lives as well, and he
sometimes used North’s wording. Shakespeare’s play centers on the issue
of whether the conspirators were justified in killing Caesar. How a
production answers that question determines whether the conspirator
Brutus is seen as sympathetic or tragically self-deceived.
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From MSN Encarta-http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562101_8/Shakespeare.html