Name:________________
Shakespearean Cloze
Lord Chamberlain’s Men
men and young boys
fourteen
1564
Bubonic plague
Henry VIII
Sound effects
Word Bank:
groundlings
Renaissance
fourteen
Globe
Anne Hathaway
Eight
The King’s Men
Queen Elizabeth
forty
Globe
Stratford upon Avon
females
1616
Bard
flag
Stratford upon Avon
London
male
octagonal
costumes
William Shakespeare is often referred to as the _____, which means poet. He
was born on April 23 in _____ in the town of ________. So little is known about his life
that we are not exactly sure of the date of his birth, but baptismal records show he was
baptized on the 26, which usually happened three days after birth in the fashion of the
day. His father was a merchant. Because of his dad’s social standing, his son was able
to attend Stratford Grammar School until the age of _______ for free. Here he studied
Latin and Greek. Historians lose track of what happened to him after school until he
met _______. He and his wife, who was, we think, _____ years older, had three
children.
William Shakespeare eventually left his family behind and moved to _____
where he joined the ________, a successful theater company. This company later
changed its name to _____ in 1603 when they became favorites of the royal court.
Shakespeare acted in some minor roles, but he was primarily made a name for himself
as a director, playwright, and part owner in the theater.
Shakespeare was alive during the ______ in the late 1600s. In England was
referred to as the Elizabethan era. It was named after _______, who was Britain’s first
female monarch. She was the daughter of Henry VIII, who had her mother’s head
chopped off for not producing a _____ child. Shakespeare and his fellow theater
colleagues were fortunate that the Queen enjoyed theater because the theaters were
periodically closed due to the _______. When more than ____ people died in a week,
the Master of Revels would order the theaters closed.
The theater most commonly associated with Shakespeare was called the
_______. It seated about 2,500 to 3,000 spectators. It had an ______ shape, with the
customers who could afford it paying for seats around the three-story high edges while
the poorer customers, called the ________, stood on the ground in front of the stage.
This theater, like most of the time, had a ______ on top to be flown on days that plays
were in session. Because there was no electric lighting at the time, plays only occurred
during daylight hours. The theater burned down during a performance of________. A
canon was accidentally shot into the thatched roof and the whole theater was set
ablaze. Luckily, everyone managed to get out safely and the theater was rebuilt in 1614
without Shakespeare, who had retired by then.
Like all other Elizabethan theaters, it had only __________ perform on stage
because __________ were not allowed to act. Elaborate _______ and props were used
to help set the scene and musicians would add music and ___________.
William Shakespeare died on April 23, _____, leaving behind a legacy of beloved
comedies, tragedies and romances that have been performed to acclaim on stages all
over the world.