William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born April 23, 1564. His parents were John and Mary Shakespeare. He was
their 3rd child of 8, but their first son. Shakespeare was born in the town named “Stratford-uponAvon”. Avon is the name of the river that the town is next to.
William attended school through grammar school. In those days, students of the well-off (upper
middle class and above) were the only ones who attended grammar school, and they went until they
were about 15 or 16. However, grammar school was much more in-depth than what students get
today. They would have studied thoroughly how to speak and write Latin and learned the Latin
grammar structures (hence the name, grammar school). They would have studied such classical
authors as Ovid, Plautus, and Seneca. Seneca would play a big part in Will’s later works such as Titus
Andronicus and other works from the ‘theater of blood” era.
Additionally, they would have studied rhetoric (the art of persuasion), logic, philosophy, and Latin
history, among other subjects.
William got married when he was 18 years old. He married an older woman, Anne Hathaway. She
was the ripe old age of 26. There is some speculation that Shakespeare HAD to get married, because
he and Anne had their first baby 6 months after the wedding….and the baby survived long enough to
be christened, which would have been unusual for a preemie in those days. Susanna (the child) lived
to be 66 years old. Will and Anne also had twins, Hamnet (the boy) and Judith in 1585. Hamnet died
when he was only 11, of the bubonic plague. Judith died when she was 77.
Between 1585 and 1592, nothing is known of Shakespeare – these are called the “Lost Years”. All
kinds of speculation exists, including that he went to a larger town to try to get into the acting business,
or that he was running from the law because he was guilty of poaching.
Some people believe that because several of his plays are so detailed about some subjects, including
sailing and law and Italy, that he may have been a law clerk or a teacher or a sailor who ended up in
Italy. All we really know though is that he began his career as a playwright during this time.
Shakespeare’s men were called “Lord Chamberlain’s Men’. Shakespeare helped to build the theater
called “The Globe”, which was built in 1599. More about the architecture of the theater in a bit… The
first play in the theater was Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. The playhouse motto was "Totus mundus
agit histrionem," roughly translated as "All the world's a stage." After King James took the throne after
Queen Elizabeth’s death, Shakespeare changed the name of his company to “The King’s Men”.
Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, when he was 52. One thing that is often pointed out about his
will is that he left his wife his “second best bed”, which some people think meant they were having
problems – but the 2nd best bed was the bed that he and Anne slept in. The best bed was the one that
guests used. He did, however, leave the bulk of his estate to his daughter, Susanne.
When Shakespeare died, he stipulated that the following epitaph be on his tombstone: “good friends,
for Jesus’ sake forbear,/ To dig the bones enclosed here!/Blest be the man that spares these stones,/And
curst be he that moves my bones.” It was the custom in those days to dig up graves periodically and
take them to a charnel house, where they would boil the bones to clean them, and then take them to a
different location for storage. Shakespeare was trying to prevent this happening to his body, and so the
curse, since he knew charnel workers and grave diggers were a superstitious lot – but it worked, and no
one has disturbed him since.
The Globe Theater
The Globe theater was very important. We are going to go over its construction and how that affected
the plays performed, acting traditions, and other miscellaneous information about it.
The first proper theater as we know it was called the Theatre, built at Shoreditch, London in 1576.
Before this time plays were performed in the courtyard of inns or inn-yards, or sometimes, in the
houses of noblemen or in extreme circumstances on open ground. The most famous Elizabethan
playhouse (theater ) was the Globe Theatre (1599) built by the company in which Shakespeare had a
stake - now often referred to as the Shakespearean Globe. The Globe was built from the timbers and
building materials from the first theater, the Theatre, when it lost its lease and couldn’t stay where it
was. The owner of the land thought he was going to get to keep the building, but the actors had a
clause in their lease that let them keep the materials, so in order to prevent the greedy landlord from
getting the benefit of their theater, they tore it down and carted off the materials for the Globe.
The Globe theater was state-of-the-art for its day. This theatre could hold several thousand people!
Days out at the Globe Theater would have been an exciting event. The grounds surrounding the Globe
Theater would have been bustling with people. There would be Stalls selling merchandise and
refreshments creating a market day atmosphere. Non playgoers would flock to the Globe Theater to go
to the market stalls and 'soak in ' the holiday-like atmosphere. The Globe would have particularly
attracted young people and the were many complaints of apprentices avoiding work in order to go to
the theater. A trumpet was sounded to announce to people that the play was about to begin at the
Globe Theatre in order for people to take their final places.
Towering above the Globe was a small tower with a flag pole. Flags were used as a form of
Elizabethan Advertising! Flags were erected on the day of the performance which sometimes displayed
a picture advertising the next play to be performed. Color coding was also used - a black flag meant a
tragedy , white a comedy and red a history.
The purpose built Globe theatre allowed stage productions to become quite sophisticated with the use
of massive props such as fully working canons, although it would of course had to be left on stage for
the entire performance of the play. Special effects at the Globe were also a spectacular addition at the
theater allowing for smoke effects, the firing of a real canon, fireworks (for dramatic battle scenes) and
spectacular 'flying' entrances from the rigging in the 'heavens'. The stage floor had trap-doors allowing
for additional surprising incidents. Music was another addition to the Globe productions. It was no
wonder that the Globe Theater and this form of Elizabethan entertainment was so popular.
There were no actresses. Female characters had to be played by young boys. The acting profession was
not a credible one and it was unthinkable that any woman would appear in a play. The parts of women
were played by boys whose voices hadn’t changed yet; since they matured later in those days, that
meant until about the ages of 16 or 17.
The Elizabethan general public (the Commoners) referred to as groundlings would pay 1 penny to
stand in the 'Pit' of the Globe Theater. Their area was standing room only. The gentry would pay to sit
in the galleries often using cushions for comfort! Rich nobles could watch the play from a chair set on
the side of the Globe stage itself. Theatre performances were held in the afternoon, because, of
course, there was no artificial lighting. Men and women attended plays, but often the prosperous
women would wear a mask to disguise their identity. The plays were extremely popular and attracted
vast audiences to the Globe. The audiences only dropped during outbreaks of the bubonic plague,
which was unfortunately an all too common occurrence during the Elizabethan era. This happened in
1593, 1603 and 1608 when all theaters were closed due to the Bubonic Plague (The Black Death).
The Globe was only in use until 1613, when on June 29 a fire broke out at the Globe Theatre . The
canon used for special effects, such as heralding great entrances, was loaded with gunpowder and
wadding. The thatched roof caught on fire and the Globe Theatre burned to the ground. It is not known
whether there were any casualties but there must have been some panic. In 1614 the Globe Theatre was
rebuilt.
In 1642, under the force of the Puritans, the English Parliament issued an ordinance suppressing all
stage plays in the theatres..
The structure of the Globe was roughly circular. It had 20 sides to it. The stage was in the open air, as
were the groundlings, and the only covered areas were the seating areas for the wealthy. The stage was
a rectangle that was approximately 45 feet long, it was 5 feet high, and 30 feet deep.
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The Globe was pretty much open to every social class. The poor
only had to pay one pence to stand in the yard. This was the
cheapest place in the theatre. The next 'levels' were the outer
galleries and middle gallery. It cost 2 pence for a seat on gallery
benches, but the middle gallery was considered better than the
outer galleries because there was a better view at the stage from
it. Then were the comfy cushions gentlemen's rooms, 3 pence,
and - the highest - the lords' rooms - that cost 6 pence a seat. Up
to 3,000 people could be squeezed into the Globe at a time.
The Globe Floor Plan
Yard
Outer Galleries
Middle Gallery
Gentlemen's Rooms
Lords' Rooms
Musicians' Loft
Stage