QUESTION 1: the looks
Number 2.
QUESTION 2: the facts
Date of Birth: 23rd of April 1564
Father’s profession: glove maker
Married to: Anne Hathaway
Children: 3
Place of Birth: Stratford-upon-Avon
Date of death: 23/04/1616
Nickname: Bard
Burried at: Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
Number of plays written: 38
Number of poems written: 154 sonnets + 2 long poems
This queen ruled over England during most of Shakespeare’s life: Queen Elizabeth I
QUESTION 3: the books (and plays etc.)
TRAGEDIES
COMEDIES
HISTORIES
HOW DOES IT END?
tragic: the main
character dies
both good or bad
SUBJECT
the downfall of one
hero caused by bad
luck and bad
decisions
1 a lot of fighting
2 many deaths at
the end
3 a dilemma leading
to a wrong decision
due to the
protagonist’s own
failings
Julius Caesar
(about the murder
of Caesar)
Hamlet
Othello
King Lear
MacBeth
Romeo and Juliet
happy ending –
often with multiple
marriages
romantic love
3 CONVENTIONS
3 examples by
Shakespeare
1 jokes, farce and
innuendo (seksuele
ondertonen)
2 disguise (cfr.
Romeo and Juliet)
3 mistaken
identities (twins
etc.)
A Midsummer
Night’s Dream
As You Like It
The Merchant of
Venice
The Taming of the
Shrew
1
the stories of great
leaders and kings:
POWER
1 deal with the
individuals who
make history
2 asks the question
“what makes a
good king?”
3 conspiracy
4 a lot of battles…
Henry IV
Richard II (III)
Henry IV
QUESTION 4: the quotes
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
As You Like It
The world is a stage upon which people perform, and their different ages represent
different acts and scenes in the play. We’re all actors.
Intelligent remarks should
be short.
One problem is usually followed by another.
“Een ongeluk komt nooit alleen”
Should I commit suicide or stay alive?
You’d better become a nun! (Hamlet – during an
altercation with his girlfriend Ophelia)
QUESTION 5: the stories
Hamlet:
REVENGE
Othello:
OTHELLO (a black nobleman) is married to
DESDEMONA. The faithful CASSIO is his favourite
servant, and this causes a lot of envy. Iago (another
one of his lieutenants) is so jealous that he tries to
convince Othello that Desdemona and Cassio have an
affair (which is not true!).
In the end, Othello kills his innocent wife out of
jealousy, only to discover that it was a trap. He commits
suicide.
JEALOUSY
2
King Lear:
The play begins with King Lear taking the
decision to abdicate the throne and divide
his kingdom among his three daughters:
Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. However,
when Lear attempts to divide his kingdom
amongst his three admiring and flattering
daughters, Cordelia refuses to outdo the
flattery (vleierij) of her elder sisters, as
she feels it would only cheapen her true
feelings to flatter him purely for reward.
Lear, in a fit of anger, divides her share of
the kingdom between Goneril and Regan,
and Cordelia is banished. The King of
France however marries her, even after
she has been disinherited, possibly as he
sees value in her honesty or as a casus
belli to subsequently invade England.
Soon after Lear abdicates the throne, he finds that Goneril and Regan have betrayed
him, and arguments ensue.
Meanwhile, the English troops reach Dover, and the English, led by Edmund, defeat the
Cordelia-led French. Lear and Cordelia are captured. Goneril poisons Regan out of
jealousy over a man (Edmund) and then kills herself; Edmund’s betrayal of Cordelia
leads to her needless execution in prison; and Lear finally dies out of grief at Cordelia’s
passing. Albany, Edgar, and the elderly Kent are left to take care of the country under a
cloud of sorrow and regret.
FATHERLY
LOVE
MacBeth (the “Scottish play”):
Macbeth and Banquo, two Lords serving Duncan, King of
Scotland, meet three witches who prophesy (predict) that
Macbeth will become King. Lady Macbeth, MacBeth’s wife,
helps persuade her husband to murder Duncan while he is a
guest at their castle.
Malcolm, son and heir (erfgenaam) to Duncan, flees to
England. Macbeth, now King, has Banquo murdered, whose
ghost subsequently appears to him at a banquet. When the
witches warn Macbeth to beware of Macduff, a nobleman
who has gone to England, he has Macduff's wife and
children murdered. Macduff and Malcolm raise an army
against Macbeth. Lady Macbeth dies, possibly through
suicide. Macbeth is killed by Macduff and Malcolm is
crowned King of Scotland.
AMBITION
3
Shakespearean
Crosswords
3M
A
5S
1V
2R
I
I
N
4C
C
H
E
V
E
N
6A
N
8S
T
7S
R
A
T
F
I
9G
L
O
Y
A
L
R
I
S
P
N
N
E
I
N
R
R
D
N
E
D
I
C
K
O
L
I
L
O
Q
N
10B
E
N
A
12T
O
O
R
11B
O
Y
E
T
D
14S
13P
T
C
H
K
E
L
16H
A
M
U
L
O
E
17T
Y
B
A
L
T
4
Y
S