William Shakespeare
and His Theater
Actor ~ Businessman ~ Writer ~ Legend
What do you already know
about Shakespeare, his
works, culture, and his
history?
Actors in Shakespeare’s Day
Considered immoral, irresponsible,
and rowdy.
Believed to promote disturbances.
Called sacrilegious for boys playing
female roles (cross-dressing).
 Functioned on a Repertory system
Rarely acted the same play two
days in a row
Costumes
Lavish and expensive costumes
Bright in color
Contemporary clothing
Most prized possession
Usually donated by nobles
Main characters wore historically accurate costumes
Costumes
The Theater
a polygonal structure
made of wood
thatched roof only over
the galleries and the
stage
center open to the sky
no curtain with a stage
jutting into the yard
Many theaters burned
down.
The Theater
cheap seats = standing room
only on the floor (the “yard” or
“pit”)
Also called “penny seats” and
groundlings
expensive seats = galleries
above
very few set pieces and some
small props
yelling from audience
members = allowed
Threats to English Theater
 Fires
 Bubonic Plague
 Puritan Movement
 Ended the golden age of English theater 1642
Disapproval by Church and London
Theaters . . .
were located in “bad” areas – prostitution,
blood sports, disreputable taverns, beggars
(but London officials wouldn’t allow them
elsewhere).
caused traffic problems (since thousands of
people attended).
supposedly caused violence and lawlessness.
Disapproval by Church and London
Theaters were . . .
blamed for spreading the plague.
attended by apprentices who skipped work.
the sources of “curses” (fire, sickness, natural
disasters, etc.) from God for the immorality
and violence on stage.
Writers
Modest backgrounds
Paid in increments
Wrote 1 to 2 plays a year
Actors and Shareholders
Who was Shakespeare?
Shakespeare’s Childhood
Birth: April, 1564 (exact date unknown)
Parents: John and Mary Shakespeare
Birthplace: Stratford-upon-Avon, an important
agricultural and market center
Shakespeare’s Education
Most likely attended
Stratford’s grammar school
Subjects – English classics
and Latin grammar
Apprentice to his father (who
worked in leather and
agricultural goods)
Shakespeare’s Marriage and
Children
Marriage: November
28, 1582 to Anne
Hathaway (eight
years older than 18
year old William)
Children: Susanna,
Judith, and Hamnet
“The Lost Years”
No records exist after his children were
born in 1585 until his appearance in
London in 1592.
Legends
 poached deer and escaped to London
 worked for an attorney
 joined a theater group and went to London
 went to Italy
 became a schoolmaster
Shakespeare’s Early Career
 Well known by 1592 in the theater business
 Playwright, play mender, poet, shareholder, and
actor involved with many acting companies
 By 1594 - member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men,
an acting company that had the honor of playing
for the queen that year.
Shakespeare’s Growing Success
Late 1590s: author of numerous plays
and manager for the Lord Chamberlain’s
Men, the most popular company in
London
1599: Globe Theater, the most famous
playhouse in London
Shakespeare’s Later Years
1603 - Lord Chamberlain’s Men
became the King’s Men (James I new patron)
Era of greatest tragedies, including
Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King
Lear
Financial success  wealthy in
retirement
Shakespeare’s Retirement & Death
Returned to Stratford
in 1612 and died in
1616
Buried in Holy Trinity
Church (curse on
gravestone)
Good friend for Jesus’ sake forebear,
To dig the dust enclosed here;
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones.
Shakespeare’s Legacy
154 sonnets and
poems
Nearly 40 plays
(scholars know of at
least one lost play,
Cardenio), all of which
are still performed in
theaters or on the big
screen
Numerous new words
or new forms of words
Shakespeare coined countless English
words/phrases, including:
• Eaten out of house and home
• Pomp and circumstance
• Foregone conclusion
• Full circle
• The makings of
• Method in the madness
• Neither rhyme nor reason
• One fell swoop
• Seen better days
• It smells to heaven
• A sorry sight
• A spotless reputation
• Strange bedfellows
• The world's (my) oyster
• Amazement
• Assassin
• baseless
• clangor
• countless
• dishearten
• dwindle
• eventful
• gnarled
• laughable
• monumental
• obscene
• premeditated
• submerge
And even…Yes…That’s right…
Types of
Plays
1.
History
2. Tragedy
3. Comedy
4. Romance
Structure of a Tragedy
 Act I: The first act serves to introduce the conflict(s), set the
scene and mood, introduce the principal players, and set the
plot in motion. (Setting and Exposition, Conflict)
 Act II: The second act serves to add complications to the
conflict(s) and to develop both characters and plot lines.
(Rising Action)
 Act III: The third act should continue the building of
complications until the action comes to a climax, which is the
turning point of the play. Actions after the climax are
irreversible. (Climax)
 Act IV: The fourth act contains the events after the climax. It
shows the consequences of characters’ actions. (Falling
Action)
 Act V: The fifth act is the end of the play. The conflict(s) is/are
“resolved” and the play ends. (Resolution/Denouement)
Shakespeare’s Language
Prose
-For common people
- Ordinary setting
Poetry
-Shows heightened emotion
- Royalty/magical
-Scene change
Blank Verse
- Iambic Pentameter
- 10 syllables in a line
- unstressed/ stressed
- A horse/ a horse/
my king/ dom for/
a horse !
Terms used in Shakespeare
In addition to the figurative language terms
you have already learned about,
Shakespeare also employs the following
literary terms.
Soliloquy – A monologue onstage where
the character is alone – shares inner
thoughts and feelings
Aside – The character is speaking to
himself or the audience, but the other
characters do not hear him/her. Inner
thoughts and feelings
Monologue – A long speech by a character.
Other characters are on stage with him/her.
Foil – A character who highlights certain
traits of another character by having
contrasting traits
Allusion – a reference to an important
person or event in history, mythological,
Biblical the author assumes the audience
knows
Supernatural – Things that don’t occur
naturally – weather, witches, etc.
Pun
A play on words
If someone steals someone’s coffee,
they are “mugging” them.
Don’t go to Starbucks or you could be
latte for work!
Tragic Hero – A fortunate or privileged person
(god, demi-god, hero, high ranking official) who
is generally brought down by a tragic flaw
A fundamental character weakness such as
destructive pride, ruthless ambition, or
obsessive jealousy
An Elizabethan tragic hero generally brings
about his own downfall
Conflict – The problem in the story.
Internal and external
Dynamic Character – A character that
changed throughout the story.
Static Character - A character that
doesn’t change throughout the story.
Foreshadowing
 When authors give clues to something that is going to
happen next.
 The ominous clouds foreshadowed something bad was on its
way.
Irony
 When something unexpected happens.
 Dramatic
 The audience knows something the characters do not.
 Verbal
 A play on words; a pun
 Situational
 When we don’t expect the event to happen.
Pop Culture
 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) from The Taming of the
Shrew
 She’s the Man (2006) from Twelfth Night
 The Lion King (1994) from Hamlet
 O (2001) from Othello
 West Side Story (1961) from Romeo & Juliet
 Shakespeare in Love (1998)- fictional story based on
Shakespeare’s romance while writing Romeo & Juliet
Shakespeare-inspired music
 “Love Story”- Taylor Swift
 “Romeo and Juliet”- Indigo Girls
 “Miss MacBeth”- Elvis Costello
 “Sister Moon” and “Be Still My Beating Heart”- Sting
 “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”- Blue Oyster Cult
 “Get Over It”- The Eagles
Your Turn
Has Shakespeare impacted your lives?
Have you seen any of these movies or
heard any of these songs? Have you used
any of these words, sayings, or notable
phrases? Can you think of any other
examples?
Please rise
O
We are going to say this word. A lot.
(Read “O” with the emotion in parenthesis)
O
(Surprise)
O
(Disappointment)
O
(Fear)
O
(Confusion)
O
(Discovery)
O
(Frustration)
O
(holding a puppy)
O
(Shock)
O
(Condescending)
O
(desire)
I didn’t say he killed our
king.
I didn’t say he killed our
king.
I didn’t say he killed our
king.
I didn’t say he killed our
king.
I didn’t say he killed our
king.
I didn’t say he killed our
king.
I didn’t say he killed our
king.
I didn’t say he killed our
king.
Beowulf - Old English
Canterbury Tales - Middle English
Hamlet summary