Introduction to
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
Born 1564, died 1616
 Wrote 37 plays
 Wrote over 150 sonnets
 Actor, poet, playwright

Childhood
William Shakespeare was born on April
23rd, 1564.
 Shakespeare died on April 23rd, 1616.
 William’s father was John, a local business
man, and his mother was Mary.
 William was the third oldest child.
Shakespeare had seven brothers and
sisters.

Marriage
In 1582 Shakespeare, then 18, married 26
year old Anne Hathaway.
 The eight year age gap was unusual for
the time.
 At the time they were married Hathaway
was pregnant with their first child,
Susanna.
 Shakespeare did not like his wife

Family
Anne and William had two other children,
twins Judith and Hamnet.
 At the age of eleven Hamnet passed away.
 Shakespeare was very distraught by the
death of his son and paid tribute to him in
the play Hamlet.

Family
Shakespeare had a very small family for
the time, usually people had larger
families due to high child mortality rates.
 Though Shakespeare’s family resided in
Stratford Shakespeare spent the majority
of his time in London.
 Shakespeare resided in Stratford only
during the winter.

Family
Shakespeare’s house
Types of Plays

Shakespeare wrote:

Comedies - light and amusing,
usually with a happy ending

Tragedies –serious dramas
with disastrous endings

Histories – involve events or
persons from history
Types of Plays

Shakespeare began his career
with the comedies and ended
with the tragedies.
Shakespeare’s Comedy


Shakespeare’s comedy generally involves
some sort of romantic folly where there
are mismatched romantic pairings.
One trait of Shakespeare’s comedy is
that nobody will die.
Midsummer Night’s Dream
Merchant of Venice
Shakespeare’s Tragedy




Shakespeare’s tragedy involves a main
character who is a prominent figure in
his/her society.
There is always a flaw in this person’s
character that he/she doesn’t realize.
The main character will always fall from
power.
The main character will always die.
Macbeth
Hamlet
Shakespeare’s Plays



Shakespeare’s plays typically have five
acts.
Typically there is a character of lower
class who can see through all of the
confusion in the play and tells the
audience what is really going on.
Shakespeare also relies on soliloquies
and asides to inform the audience of plot.
Soliloquy



A soliloquy is anytime where a character
is alone on stage and talking to the
audience.
The character will break the fourth wall
and tell the audience what he/she is
thinking.
Typically in tragedy this is where we
learn the main characters tragic flaw.
Aside


An aside is similar to a soliloquy but the
character is not alone on the stage.
Again the fourth wall is broken, but only
the audience knows what is going on.
The Theatre
•
The Globe
Theatre:
•
Open ceiling
•
Three stories high
•
No artificial
lighting
•
Plays were shown
during daylight
hours only
Spectators

Wealthy people got
to sit on benches

The poor (called
“groundlings”) had
to stand and watch
from the courtyard

There was much
more audience
participation than
today
Actors

Only men and boys

Young boys whose
voices had not
changed played the
women’s roles

It would have been
indecent for a woman
to appear on stage
Actors

So will you kiss the
Juliet when “she” is
actually a boy?
Resting Place
Shakespeare's financial success in
the London theatre enabled him to
retire and return to his home in
Stratford around 1610. He lived
there comfortably until his death on
April 23, 1616. He is buried in Holy
Trinity Church in Stratford-uponAvon.
Shakespeare’s effigy
Questions for you!
1.
What is “tragedy?”
serious dramas with disastrous endings
2.
1. What is “comedy?”
light and amusing dramas,
usually with a happy ending
3.
What are the four great
Shakespearean tragedies?
Othello, Macbeth, Hamlet, King
Lear
 4.
Is “Romeo and Juliet” a
tragedy or a comedy?
 5. “Romeo and Juliet” isn’t
among the four great tragedies.
Why not?

6. Is “Merchant of Venice” a comedy or a
tragedy? Why?
7.


Which is greater?
A comedy or a tragedy?
Why?