William
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is one of
the most important
playwrights the world has
ever known. Theatres
throughout the world perform
his plays more than any other
playwright’s, living or dead.
Shakespeare was born in the
small village of StratfordUpon-Avon. Stratford is about
120 km northwest of London. Shakespeare’s father was a glove maker. His father also
served as alderman and mayor of Stratford. Young William likely attended the grammar
school in Stratford. Only the sons of prominent families could attend the schools of the
time. William would have been eligible to attend, due to his father’s elected office.
The details of Shakespeare’s childhood remain a mystery. At the age of 18, William
married Anne Hathaway. They had a daughter named Susanna. Two years later, Anne
gave birth to twins, a boy, Hamnet, and a girl, Judith. Shakespeare left Stratford soon
after the birth of the twins. No one knows what Shakespeare did from the time he left
Stratford until he became known in London seven years later. Historians refer to this
time as the “lost years”.
The first record of Shakespeare in London appears in 1592.
By 1594 he was a member of a theatrical troupe, The Lord
Chamberlain’s men. Shakespeare wrote at least 37 plays
and several poems from 1590 to 1608. According to legend,
Shakespeare worked as an actor as well as a playwright
for the company.
In 1599 Shakespeare and his associates built the Globe
Theater. They built the Globe on the south bank of the
Thames River, just opposite the centre of London. The
Globe was an open-air theatre. The company performed in
the Globe in the summers. During the winters, they also
performed in The Blackfriars, an indoor theatre.
Shakespeare’s plays became popular, and his company often performed for Queen
Elizabeth I and her court. They later performed for King James I. The King issued a
patent to Shakespeare’s company, and the name was then changed to The King’s
Company.
Shakespeare gradually retired from the theatre. He built a
home in Stratford, which he named New Place. He died in
April 1616 and was buried in the crypt of the Holy Trinity
Church in Stratford.
Shakespeare wrote comedies, tragedies, and histories. He is
noted for his wonderful use of language; his plays contain
beauty as well as prose. He used many jokes, puns, and other
language tricks. Many of Shakespeare’s lines are still quoted
today. His plays are also famous for their important
characters. Shakespeare was very observant of human nature.
His characters are remarkable human beings. Numerous
stage, film, and video productions of his works bring
Shakespeare to new audiences each generation.
How Shakespeare Saw the World
The world of William Shakespeare was much smaller than the one we live in today. The
parameters of how a person could behave and what a person could believe were
limited. ________________________________ freedoms which we consider so important
today were unknown to the people of Shakespeare’s England. To fully appreciate a play
by Shakespeare, it is helpful to understand how he and his fellow citizens viewed the
world.
They saw the world as a huge _________________________ written, staged, and directed
by God. In this play there were only ____________________________, with nothing in
between. Everything happened so there would be a balance between good and evil. If
the king or queen was cruel and tyrannical, or if a family was struck by a devastating
_________________________________________, it was a sign that God was
______________________________. Going against what was taught to be God’s will
would certainly lead to severe punishment in life and hell after death. There was no
mistaking right and wrong. They were taught in the
_________________________________.
God was the ruler of everything and everyone. Events occurred according to what He
wanted. There were no _______________________. The church and its leaders were
_________________________of God on earth, and the king was king because God
intended him to be. Everyone else existed at ___________________________________,
with noblemen and churchmen above the common people. _________________________
held the authority which otherwise would have gone to a king.
Children had no rights except those allowed by ____________________________.
Teenagers had to obey every wish of their parents until they married, and marriage was
usually arranged by the parents with little concern for the child’s desires. Children
married young, often by _________________ A wife was _________________________
her husband, just as she had obeyed her father. A father had the God-given right to
force his daughter to ___________________ a man she did not love. If she refused, he
could send her to a ____________________ (or perhaps worse) for the rest of her life, and
she could do nothing about it.
The earth was the ____________________ of the universe with God and church in
charge. God had made the king the centre of the _____________________. A father was
the centre of his home, and the “king” of his own ______________________________.
Everyone was obliged to obey this order. There were severe _______________________
____________________ for anyone daring to go against it.
Activity
Complete the Venn diagram on the next page by:
 In section A list values and beliefs which were held by the people of
Shakespeare’s England but which are not held by us today.
 In section C list values which we hold today but which were not held by
the people of Shakespeare’s England
 In section B list values and beliefs which both we and Shakespeare’s
people time hold.
How Shakespeare Saw the World
A
Shakespeare’s Time
B
Both Times
My Time
C
The Globe Theatre
William Shakespeare and his partners built the Globe Theatre in ______________ in a
London suburb named Southwark. Southwark was on the south bank of the
______________________________, just across from the centre of the city. This was a
major entertainment area of the time.
The Globe was a three-storied building. It had a small ______________ on top of the
roof. The owners of the theatre raised a __________________________ on top of the hut
on the days of performances. London citizens could look across the river and see which
of the theatres would have a production that day.
The Globe enclosed an open courtyard. The theatre patrons named this courtyard the
______________. People who paid the lowest ticket price stood in this area; they were
referred to as the __________________________. Almost surrounding the pit were three
seating _____________________. Audience members who paid for more expensive
tickets would sit in these galleries. In addition to being able to sit while watching the
play, the audience members in the gallery were ________________________ fro the sun
and rain by a _________________________________.
A large platform, called the ____________________________, protruded from one end of
the pit. Most of the action of the play occurred here. The theatre owners cut a
_________________________ into the main stage floor. The trap door could be opened to
allow scenes in which ________________ and _________________ would appear or
disappear; it could also become a grave, as in a famous scene from Hamlet.
A roof, supported by two large _____________________, covered the stage area. This
roof protected the actors and their costumes from the rain. Paintings of the sun, moon,
and stars covered the underside of the roof. The roof area above the stage became
known as ______________________________ because of this decoration. In some plays,
technicians lowered actors portraying angels or spirits from the heavens onto the main
stage as if the actors were descending from heaven.
In the back of the main stage was a small room. A curtain hung between this room and
the main stage. The name of this room was the ___________________________. They
opened this to reveal scenes to the audience.
Above and to the rear of the stage was a balcony that was used when actors needed to
____________________ some action on the main stage below. In back of this balcony was
another small curtained room, called the ______________________________, that was
used in much the same manner as the inner-below. The theatre also had two small
________________________, one on each side of the main stage.
In Shakespeare’s time the audience did not expect the plays to be ___________________.
Scenery was not used; one or two items or pieces of furniture would suggest the location
of the scene. If the audience saw a _________________ on the stage, they knew the
location was in a palace or castle. If they saw a couple of ______________________ on the
stage, they knew the scene was in a forest. Since the crew did not need to move the
scenery, the plays contained many ________________________ and a variety of
______________________. Though theatres of the time did not use scenery or special
lighting, they did use colourful ___________________, musical ______________________,
and special ____________________________.