Introduction to Shakespeare

The Bard of Avon

Shakespeare Life and Times

• Born in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 23, 1564.

• Do the math how long ago was this? • He died April 23, 1616.• Rumor has it he died of a chill after a night

of partying with fellow authors.• While not rich William Shakespeare grew

up in a comfortable home.

Shakespeare’s BirthplaceStratford-Upon-Avon

Shakespeare

• Shakespeare attended Stratford Grammar School

• There he received a standard Elizabethan curriculum based on

• Greek and Latin literature • Christian ethics (including a working

knowledge of the Holy Bible). • Did not go to college

Early Years

• November of 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway

• A daughter, Susanna, is born six months later.

• Two years after that, the Shakespeares had twins: Hamnet and Judith.

• Hamnet, Shakespeare's only son, would die at the age of eleven.

Moving to London

• 1585(?): Shakespeare leaves Stratford sometime between 1585 and 1592, and joins a company of actors as a performer and playwright.

• 1592: London theaters are closed due to plague.

Romeo and Juliet

• Sometime between 1591 and 1595, Shakespeare writes the play. It is published in 1597.

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From Elizabeth to James

• 1603: Queen Elizabeth dies. The new king, James I (James VI of Scotland), arrives in London a month later, and proves to be a generous patron of the theater and of acting troupes.

• Shakespeare’s acting troop become the King’s Men to honor King James.

The Professional Shakespeare

• 1608:Theaters are closed again because of plague.

• 1609: Shakespeare's sonnets are published.

The Globe Theater

• 1599: The Lord Chamberlain's Men lease land for the Globe Theatre.

• 1613:The Globe Theatre burns down.

• 1614: The Globe Theatre reopens on the opposite bank of the Thames.

• 1642: Torn down for religious reasons

Globe Theater

• The Globe Theater was built from timbers from the Theater. Owned by business associates of Shakespeare’s.

• Located in London.

• The signal that a play was to be performed was a flag over the Globe.

• Black/tragedy; white/comedy; red/history

Globe Theater

• Wealthy watched plays from any of three balconies in the theater

• The groundlings or poor watched from the pit or ground around the stage.

• Two trap doors known as Heaven and Hell were used as entrances, exits, and disappearances

An Early 17th Century drawing of the Globe

in the time of Shakespeare

Picture of the outside of the reconstructed Globe. The original Globe was surrounded by trees, but the

new globe sits on the bank of the Thames.

Picture of the stage of the reconstructed Globe (1997).

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Picture of the slabstone over Shakespeare's tomb, which reads:Good Friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear

To dig the dust enclosed here:Blessed be the man that spares these stones,

And curst be he that moves my bones.