Shakespeare: His Life and Times What comes to mind when you hear, “SHAKESPEARE?”

Shakespeare: His Life and TimesShakespeare: His Life and Times

What comes to mind when you hear, “SHAKESPEARE?”

Early LifeEarly Life

Born 1564—died 1616 Stratford-upon-Avon Parents: John and Mary Arden

Shakespeare• Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner• John—glovemaker, local politician

From: http://www.where-can-i-find.com/tourist-maps.html

Location of Stratford-upon-AvonLocation of Stratford-upon-Avon

As reproduced in William Rolfe, Shakespeare the Boy (1896).

Stratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s TimeStratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s Time

From Stratford’s web site: http://www.stratford-upon-avon.co.uk/index.htm

Stratford-upon-Avon Today

From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/

Shakespeare’s BirthplaceShakespeare’s Birthplace

• Probably attended King’s New School in Stratford

• Educated in:• Rhetoric• Logic• History• Latin

EducationEducation


King’s New SchoolKing’s New School

• Married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, who was pregnant at the time with their first daughter

• Had twins in 1585• Sometime between 1585-1592, he moved

to London and began working in theatre.

Married LifeMarried Life


Anne Hathaway’s CottageAnne Hathaway’s Cottage

• Member and later part-owner of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later called the King’s Men

• Globe Theater built in 1599 by L.C.M. with Shakespeare as primary investor

• Burned down in 1613 during one of Shakespeare’s plays

Theatre CareerTheatre Career

The Rebuilt Globe Theater, LondonThe Rebuilt Globe Theater, London

The Globe TheaterThe Globe Theater

The PlaysThe Plays

38 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare14 comedies10 histories10 tragedies4 romances

Possibly wrote three others Collaborated on several others

• 154 Sonnets• Numerous other poems

The PoetryThe Poetry

Shakespeare’s Language

• Shakespeare did NOT write in “Old English.”•5th-12th Centuries (400-1100)

• Old English is the language of Beowulf:Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum Þeodcyninga Þrym gefrunonHu ða æÞelingas ellen fremedon!

(Hey! We have heard of the glory of the Spear-Danes in the old days, the kings of tribes, how noble princes showed great courage!)

Shakespeare’s Language• Shakespeare did not write in “Middle English.”•12-16th centuries (1100-1500)

• Middle English is the language of Chaucer, the Gawain-poet, and Malory:

We redeth oft and findeth y-write—And this clerkes wele it wite—Layes that ben in harpingBen y-founde of ferli thing… (Sir Orfeo)

“Often in books - and men of letters will vouch for this - we find tales that were originally intended to be sung and which have lying at their core some strange and wonderful things.”


• Shakespeare wrote in “Early Modern English.” (1500-1650s)• EME was not very different from “Modern English” (1650s to now)


• A mix of old and very new• Rural and urban words/images• Understandable by the lowest peasant and the highest noble

QUIZ

1. When (approx) did Shakespeare live?

2. What social class was he born into?

3. How many children did he have?

4. What theater did he help build?

5. What four categories do his plays fit into?

6. Did Shakespeare write in Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, or Modern English?

Documents

Shakespeare: His Life and Times What comes to mind when you hear, “SHAKESPEARE?”