Introduction to the Literature of
William Shakespeare
The World’s Greatest Storyteller
“We do not understand Shakespeare
from a single reading, and certainly
not from a single play. There is a
relation between the various plays of
Shakespeare, taken in order; and it is
work of years to venture even one
individual interpretation of the
pattern in Shakespeare’s carpet.” T. S.
Elliot, Dante, 1929
Shakespeare’s Life (1564- 1616)
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Early Life
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Born in Stratford,
England to John
Shakespeare and
Mary Arden
Father was a
glove maker
Grammar school
still in use today
Saw a traveling
acting show at
the age of 4
Shakespeare’s Life, Cont.
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Later Life
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Married Anne Hathaway
at the age of 18 (she was
28) (Nov. 1582)
Children: Susanna and
twins; Hamnet and Judith
(Baptized 1583 and
1585)
Around 1587 left for
London
Shakespeare’s Theatrical Life
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Professional Life
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Member of the Lord
Chamberlain’s Players
Wrote first plays in 1592 (Henry
VI, Titus Andronicus, Comedy of
Errors, Love’s Labors Lost).
Comedy of Errors is said to be
the first.
Instant success with the public
(patriotic, violent; he was
experimenting)
Theatres closed down for two
years because of the plague
Shakespeare turned to writing
poetry (sonnets) “Venus and
Adonis” and “Lucrece” – only
published works ( great success)
Theatrical Life, Cont.
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1594 – theatres reopened;
Shakespeare began writing
for the stage (did not care
what literary world thought of
him) – opened with Romeo
and Juliet
1599- Globe Theatre
opened; Shakespeare part
owner; new acting company
– The King’s Men (1603 King
James, King of England)
Wrote and acted in 37 plays
in his lifetime
Retired to and died in
Stratford in 1616; buried in
Holy Trinity Church (“Cursed
be he who moves my
bones.”)
Queen Elizabeth
(Queen from 1533-1603)
– Patron of the arts
– Loved plays; they
were presented at
court at Christmas
– Would not let the
Puritans close the
theatres; they
needed the
practice
The Elizabethan Audience
Loved violence and gore; did not
mind that they were already
familiar with the plots
All classes of people attended;
loved the language of
Shakespeare’s plays; it was to
them what music is to us
today.
Wealthy got benches
“Groundlings” = poorer people
stood and watched from the
courtyard (“pit”)
All but wealthy were
uneducated/illiterate
Theatres
– Began in inn courtyards;
people hanging out their
windows to watch
– 1576 - James Burbage built
the Theatre in London
(Shakespeare was 12 – had
to be built _out of the city
limits)
– 1599 – the theatre lost its
lease; was rebuilt in another
part of town and named the
Globe
– Theatres were round, opened
in the center; a flag was put
each day to signify whether a
comedy or a tragedy was
playing; multilevel
– Very little use of scenery or
props; however, elaborate
costumes
Theatres, Cont.
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Plays performed during
the day (around 2 PM)
1613 – Globe Theatre
burned down during a
performance of Henry VI
1614 – rebuilt better, later
torn down (1641)
Late 1990’s rebuilt on its
original site on the
Thames in East London
The theatres were
repeatedly closed down
during the 1500’s and
1600’s because it was
believed to be connected
to many deaths (plague)
The Globe Theatre
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The Globe Theatre in London was the
venue at which the Bard's best known
stage works were first produced.
The Globe was built in 1599 and had a
total capacity of 2,000 -3,000 spectators.
Because there was no lighting, all
performances at the Globe were
conducted between 2 and 5
Acoustics were poor and the actors had
to shout their lines, stress their
enunciation, and engage in exaggerated
theatrical gestures.
– Productions were completely devoid
of background scenery.
– Changes of scene were indicated in
the speeches and narrative situations
that Shakespeare wrote into the text
of the plays.
The Globe was destroyed by fire in 1613,
rebuilt, and remained active until 1642. It
was demolished in 1644.
Excavation was begun in 1989; finished
almost 10 years later
Props & Scenery
– Hair: wigs
– Makeup: flour to
whiten faces for
ghosts or villains
– Ink: to draw features
such as wrinkles,
etc.
– Cheeks: brick dust,
or slap them around
before going out on
stage; charcoal for
black faces
Props & Scenery, Cont.
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Props: blood, real blood, an
animal spleen or heart
(Shakespeare one of the first
to show violence on stage)
– Expensive costumes
(often reused)
– Cannons for battle
scenes
– Open sky
– Music – created mood
and scene; also done by
language – drums and
trumpets (special effects
for distance)
Bright colors, banners,
fireworks, processions
Dress easily distinguished
social class and profession
Actors
Richard Burbage-most
famous Shakespearean
actor of the time
– Only men
– Needed to be able to sing, dance,
tumble, swordfight
– Had to have fantastic memories
(often had to do several plays a
week)
– Rarely wrote their own plays
– Were often looked down upon;
were not university educated;
however, they were respected and
well known abroad
– Young boys were used for the
women’s parts (boys were often
kidnapped and forced into the
theatre life…until their voices
changed)
– The same actor was often well
known for a certain type of
character, and plays were written
with this in mind (Richard Burbage
played Othello)
Subjects & Themes of Shakespeare’s Plays
– All of Shakespeare’s 37 plays
were adaptations, not original
creations
– Shakespeare added elements
of human nature to all his plays;
made cardboard characters
more rounded; made plots more
complicated, therefore lifelike
– Ideas for plays came from:
• History plays: Holinshed’s
Chronicles; classical
mythology; England’s own
history
• Comedies and tragedies:
poems and classical
literature
• Shakespeare was the first
to mix comedy with tragedy
Subjects & Themes of Shakespeare’s Plays, Cont.
– Shakespeare’s plays were
criticized during his lifetime
because they did not follow the
formula that other dramatists
followed, particularly university
educated writers. Shakespeare
wrote for the common man. His
plays were not published in his
lifetime. The action took place
off stage.
– Frequent themes found in
Shakespeare’s plays are
revenge, hate, love, jealousy,
power
– Plays weren’t published until
1623 in the First Folio by two
members of Shakespeare’s
acting company who issued it as
a memorial to their fellow actor.
Language in Shakespeare’s Plays
– Written in iambic pentameter
(unstressed/stressed accent)
– Blank verse
– Often rhymed to help actors
learn lines and to show when
a scene was coming to an end
– Is rich with new words added
to our language (afeared)
– Shows the development of
the English language (you,
thou, thee)
– Is filled with many frequently
quoted passages (“To be or
not to be…”)
– Language was used to
establish the setting as there
was no curtain
– Used contractions,
elongated words
Quick Write:
• Please take a minute to write down
all the
Shakespearean
plays you have
heard of or read.
Shakespeare wrote:
• Comedies
• Histories
• Tragedies
All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
The Comedy of Errors
Cymbeline
Love's Labours Lost
Measure for Measure
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merchant of Venice
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Taming of the Shrew
The Tempest
Troilus and Cressida
Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter's Tale
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Richard II
Richard III
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Typical Images of Shakespeare
Atypical Images…
Q: What do the following words
have in common?
Addiction Advertising Bedroom
Champion
Drugged
Elbow
Eyeball
Gossip
Hint
Lonely
Skim milk
Tranquil
A: They were all coined by
Shakespeare.
• William Shakespeare invented over
1700 words by changing nouns into
verbs, changing verbs into adjectives,
connecting words that were never
before used together, adding prefixes
and suffixes, and devising original
words.
The Will
The Bard's will
gave most of his
property to
Susanna, his first
child and not to
his wife Anne
Hathaway.
Instead his wife
received his
"second-best bed".
The Cursed Grave
Good friend, for Jesus’
sake, forbear
To dig the dust enclosed
here;
Blest be the man that
spares these stones
And curst he that moves
my bones.
Publishing
• William never published any of his plays.
• We read his plays today only because
seven years after his death, fellow actors
posthumously recorded his work as a
dedication to Shakespeare in 1623.
• This collection, The First Folio, is the
source from which all published
Shakespeare books are derived and is proof
that he authored his plays.
• FOLIO: The largest common size of a book
or manuscript, usually about 38 cm (or 15
in.) in height and made up of folded sheets.
The First Folio
The First Folio
• When Shakespeare was writing, plays were not
really considered Literature were not published
with the care that his poems were. But in 1616,
Ben Jonson published his complete Works--and
included his plays (which he called "poems").
• Seven years later, the First Folio was
published.
• Had the First Folio not been published, we
would have lost three of Shakespeare's last
plays (Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, and The
Tempest), four tragedies (Julius Caesar,
Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, and
Coriolanus), and two of the mature comedies
(As You Like It and Twelfth Night).
Multi-Talented
Fact: Few people realize that
aside from writing 37 plays
and composing 154 sonnets,
William was also an actor who
performed many of his own
plays as well as those of other
playwrights (such as Ben
Jonson).
Elizabethan (QE) Words
• You have to understand a little of the
“Queen’s English”
• An,and:
If
• Anon:
Soon
• Aye:
Yes
• But:
Except for
• E’en:
Even
• E’er:
Ever
QE Words (cont.)
• Haply:
• Happy:
• Hence:
• Hie:
• Marry:
Perhaps
Fortunate
Away, from her
Hurry
Indeed
QE Words (cont.)
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Whence:
Wilt:
Withal:
Would:
Where
Will, will you
In addition to
Wish
Why Are These Plays “Good?”
1. Transcend Time and Place
2. Reflect Humanity:
– Emotions
– Continual Struggles
3. Reflect History
4. Still relatable
Blank Verse
• Much of Shakespeare is written in
it:
– unrhymed verse
– iambic (unstressed, stressed)
– pentameter( 5 “feet” to a line)
• ends up to be 10 syllable lines
Prose
• Ordinary writing that is not
poetry, drama, or song
–Only characters in the lower
social classes speak this way in
Shakespeare’s plays
–Why do you suppose that is?
Structure of The Bard’s Plays
• All have a Plot: The sequence of events
in a literary work
• All have Exposition:
– The plot usually begins with this:
– Introduces:
• setting
• characters
• basic situation
Inciting Moment
• Often called “initial incident”
–the first bit of action that
occurs which begins the plot
–For example, Romeo and
Juliet “lock eyes” at the party
Conflict
• The struggle that
develops
–man vs. man
–man vs. himself
–man vs. society
–man vs. nature
Crisis
• The point where the
protagonist’s situation
will either get better or
worse
Climax
• The turning point of the story
– everything begins to unravel from
here
–Thus begins the falling action
Resolution
• The end of the central
conflict
Denouement
• The final explanation or
outcome of the plot
–If this is included in
literature, it will occur
after the resolution.
Metaphorical
Language
• Comparison of unlike things
–Paris standing over the “lifeless
body” of Juliet, “Sweet flower,
with flowers thy bridal bed I
strew…”
–“Thou detestable maw…”Gorged
with the dearest morsel of the
earth…” Romeo
Dramatic Foil
• A character whose purpose is
to show off another character
–Benvolio for Tybalt
• look for others in R & J
Round characters
• Characters who have many
personality traits, like real
people.
Flat Characters
• One-dimensional,
embodying only a single
trait
–Shakespeare often uses
them to provide comic
relief even in a tragedy
Static Characters
• Characters within a story
who remain the same. They
do not change. They do not
change their minds,
opinions or character.
Dynamic Character
• Characters that change
somehow during the course
of the plot. They generally
change for the better.
Monologue
• One person speaking on
stage; may be other
character on stage too
• “Logue” – speech; “mono” one
Soliloquy
• Long speech expressing the
thoughts of a character alone on
stage. In R & J, Romeo gives a
soliloquy after the servant has fled
and Paris has died.
Aside
• Words spoken, usually
in an undertone not
intended to be heard by
all characters
Pun
• Shakespeare loved to use
them!!!
–Humorous use of a word
with two meanings
– sometimes missed by the
reader because of
Elizabethan language and
sexual innuendo
Direct Address
• Words that tell the reader
who is being addressed:
• “A right fair mark, fair coz,
is soonest hit.”
• “Ah, my mistresses, which
of you all/ Will now deny to
dance?”
Dramatic Irony
• A contradiction
between what a
character thinks and
what the
reader/audience
knows to be true
Verbal Irony
•Words used to
suggest the
opposite of what is
meant
Situational Irony
• An event occurs that
directly contradicts
the expectations of
the characters, the
reader, or the
audience
Comic Relief
• Use of comedy within literature
that is NOT comedy to provide
“relief” from seriousness or
sadness.
• In Hamlet and Othello, look for
moments of comic relief that
help “relieve” the tragedy of the
situation
The Products of Shakespeare
Out of his 37 plays the top 6
most popular are:
• Hamlet
• Othello
• Macbeth
• Romeo and Juliet
• The Tempest
• Julius Caesar
Words of Wisdom from Shakespeare
•“To be or not to be; that is the question.” –
Hamlet
•“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” –All’s
Well That Ends Well
•“Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born
great, some achieve greatness, and some have
greatness thrust upon 'em.” –Twelfth Night
•“It’s not enough to speak, but to speak true.” –
Midsummer Night’s Dream
Helpful Websites
• The Shakespeare Glossary
http://shakespeare.about.com/library/blglossary.htm
• Romeo and Juliet Online Quizzes
http://www.edhelper.com/books/Romeo_and_Juliet.htm
• William Shakespeare Biography
http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/