WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
(1554-1616)
William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet who is
considered to be the greatest dramatist of all time. Also known as the "Bard of
Avon," Shakespeare's plays and poems are known throughout the world, but
his personal life is very mysterious.
He was the third of six children including two older sisters and three younger brothers.
He wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets. Growing up in Stratford-upon-Avon William lived in a house with his
big family on Henley Street. He went to the local grammar school where he learned about poetry, history,
Greek, and Latin.
When William turned eighteen he married Anne Hathaway. Anne was eight years older than William. They
soon had a family including a daughter named Susanna and twins named Hamnet and Judith.
Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly
comedies and these works remain regarded as some of the best work produced in these genres. He then
wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered
some of the finest works in the English language.
Shakespeare worked as an actor as well. His plays became very popular in London and soon the Lord
Chamberlain's Men were one of the most popular acting companies in the city. Some of Shakespeare's
early plays include Richard III, Romeo and Juliet (published around 1594 and written in 1594), and A
Midsummer Night's Dream. These early plays were peformed at a theater called the "Theatre". The land
was owned by Giles Allen. In 1597 Allen decided he wanted to tear the Theatre down. He locked it up and
refused to let the actors perform.
One night, several members of the company dismantled the Theatre and moved the timber across the
Thames River to another spot. There, they built a new theatre called the Globe Theatre.
The globe theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London
associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in
1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord
Chamberlain's Men. It was destroyed by fire on 29
June 1613. A second Globe Theatre was built on the
same site by June 1614 and closed by an Ordinance
issued on 6 September 1642.
A modern reconstruction of the Globe, named
"Shakespeare's
Globe",
opened
in
1997
approximately 750 feet (230 m) from the site of the
original theatre.
FIND THE INFORMATION IN THE TEXTS
SHAKESPEARE
1. JOBS :
2. PLACE OF LIVING :
3. NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS :
4. NAME OF HIS WIFE :
5. NUMBER OF PLAYS HE WROTE :
6. MOST FAMOUS PLAYS :
7. NAME OH HIS ACTING COMPANY :
8. PLACE WHERE HE LEARNT ABOUT POETRY AND GREEK :
9. ROMEO AND JULIET PUBLICATION DATE :
10. PLACE WHERE HE PERFORMED HIS EARLY PLAYS :
11. DATE WHEN THE ‘THEATER’ WAS LOCKED UP :
,
THE GLOBE THEATRE
12. CONSTRUCTION DATE :
13. CAUSE OF ITS DESTRUCTION :
14. DATE OF THE FIRE :
15 . DISTANCE BETWEEN THE ANCIENT AND THE MODERN CONSTRUCTION :
Now, prepare questions about Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre, based on the notes
Example (2.) : Where did Shakespeare live ?
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