An Introduction to William Shakespeare

Gooda Gouda

William Shakespeare

Shakespeare – A Biography

Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England in 1564 Married at 18 to Anne Hathaway (not that one) Wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets & other poems There is some speculation that another wrote his works Early plays were comedies and histories, later plays were tragedies Died in 1616

Shakespearean Culture Women were not allowed to perform on the stage, men always played the parts This was during the Renaissance so there was a call-back to classical times

Greek & Roman Theatres were controversial. Wealthy families commissioned performances in their home. The theatre was a slightly more bawdy amusement

Words, Words, Words

Addiction, bedroom, bump, elbow, rant, swagger, grovel, zany

Epic poem (1182 lines) Written between 8th & 11th Century Written in Old Englishhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP2FyVbymTg

-Written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the late 14th Century in Middle English- Unfinished- Mostly written in a poetic form, although sometimes in prose-http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=QE0MtENfOMU

A Midsummer Night’s Dream- Written between 1590 & 1596- Set mostly in a forest outside of Athens- Major themes include love and the interaction of supernatural elements to interfere with love- “The course of true love never did run smooth”

Language is always Evolving- Old English- Middle English- Elizabethan English- Modern English- The development of slang- Webspeak- Text messaging/Twitter

It’s been over 400 years... Why do we still read & study Shakespeare?