William Shakespeare
1564-1616
“All the world 's a stage, /
And all the men and women
merely players.”——
Born on April 23, 1564
in Stratford-on-Avon in
England.
Died April 23, 1616
Married Anne Hathaway
at age 18
• (his wife was 26)
Worked as an actor,
poet, playwright,
businessman.
Had 3 children.
Spent most of his time in London
working in the theater while his family
was back home.
Shakespeare
He owned part of The Globe Theater.
He owned part of a Troupe called Lord
Chamberlain’s men, and later called the
King’s men. A troupe is a group of
actors (10 – 12 men).
All of his plays have 5 acts each and
were written in BLANK VERSE
(unrhymed iambic pentameter).
The Globe Theater 1599
Burned in 1613
The Globe
Was a 3 story wooden building that held 3,000
theatergoers.
In the center was an open-air courtyard with a
platform stage on which the plays were performed.
A white flag flew at the Globe the day a play was
performed to advertise it.
The people paying the least amount for admissions
were called GROUNDLINGS. They only paid a PENNY!
Groundlings stood in the pit, the part of the courtyard right
near the stage.
Groundlings tended to be very loud with appreciation,
cheering the heroes, yelling insults at the villains, and
laughing loudly at humorous characters jokes.
The Globe
All the social classes enjoyed the plays
– there was a little something for
everyone included – powerful speeches,
fancy sword fights, humor, eerie
supernatural events, and insightful
observations about human nature.
The Plays
Comedy
Tragedy
Historical
Comedies
The Taming of the Shrew
Much Ado About Nothing
As You Like It
Twelfth Night
Midsummer Night’s Dream
Tragedies
Hamlet
Romeo and Juliet
Othello
King Lear
Macbeth
Julius Caesar
Shakespeare’s Contribution to
the English Language
He invented 32,000 words.
We use about 5,000 today.
Have you heard these phrases?
I couldn’t sleep a wink.
He was dead as a doornail.
She’s a tower of strength.
They hoodwinked us.
I’m green-eyed with jealousy.
We’d better lie low for awhile.
Keep a civil tongue in your head.
Julius Caesar (The Play)
Shakespeare borrowed his information
for this play from Plutarch’s book called
Lives of Noble Grecians and Romans.
Shakespeare took what really happened
over three years and condensed it to
make it look like three days.
Julius Caesar (The Play)
Written in 1599
Set in 44 BC in Rome
Theme of the play: Why Caesar was murdered
and what happened to his murderers.
Although the title of the play is Julius Caesar,
Caesar is not the main character. The
protagonist of the play is Marcus Brutus.
Julius Caesar (The History)
Julius Caesar was one of the first of the great
European dictators.
He was popular with the common people
(called Plebains), but he wasn’t so popular
with some of his former political allies and
some of the upper class (called patricians).
He was a great military leader. He conquered
Gaul (France) and Belgium and invaded
Britain twice.
Julius Caesar (The History)
In the Civil War, he defeated Pompey (a
member of the first triumvirate (meaning 3men ruling). He pursued Pompey to Egypt
but Pompey was killed by Caesar supporters
before Caesar arrived.
He met Cleopatra and stayed awhile in Egypt.
He later defeated Pompey’s army and sons.
He granted amnesty to all opposing generals
in an attempt to unite Rome, which was a
major error in judgment.
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar is a TRAGEDY.
Tragedy – is a drama in which a series of actions
leads to the downfall of the main character, called
the tragic hero.
Tragic Hero – is the main character of a tragedy,
whose actions or error lead to their downfall.
Is usually of high social rank
Tragic flaw (error in judgment leads to downfall).
Suffers complete ruin or death
Faces his or her downfall with courage and dignity
Julius Caesar (The Play)
6 characteristics of a Tragedy:
Hero is a person of high rank whose fate
affects the destiny of others.
Hero is an outstanding and admirable man.
Hero has a tragic flaw.
Dual conflict – external and internal
Good always prevails in the end.
Use of the supernatural or coincidence.
Important Literary Techniques
Dramatic Irony – when the audience knows more
than one or more of the characters. Its builds
suspense.
Ex. Caesar does not know that people are plotting
against him, but the audience does.
Soliloquy – is a speech given by a character alone on
stage used to reveal his or her private thoughts and
feelings. – May help audience understand character’s
motivation.
Aside – a character’s remarks, either to the audience
or to another character, that no one else onstage is
supposed to hear. This lets the audience in on the
character’s thoughts or secrets.
Important Literary Techniques
Repetition – use of words and phrases more than once to
emphasize ideas.
Ex.Therein, ye gods, make the weak most strong; therein ye
gods you tyrants do defeat. (Act One, Scene 3, Lines 9192).
Parallelism – the repetition of grammatical structures to express
ideas that are related or of equal importance.
Ex. Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome
more. (Act Three, Scene 2, Line 20).
Rhetorical Questions – the use of questions that require no
answer to make the speaker’s rightness seem self evident.
Ex. Wherein hath Caesar thus deserved your loves? Alas,
you know not! (Act Three, Scene 2, Lines 232-233).