William Shakespeare
(his life and times)
1485-1625
THE RENAISSANCE
ELIZABETHAN ERA
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A time of rebirth for the arts and literature
Named for Queen Elizabeth I
Politics and religion were intertwined
Age of Exploration
Age of Discovery
Elizabethan Era –continued
BANN
A
notice of intended marriage
 A legal, binding contract
 Therefore, 1 in 3 brides are
pregnant on their wedding day.
The Elizabethan Era – Bad Times
#1 Killer – Bubonic Plague
 Nearly half of all babies born died of
disease, infection, or poor diet. Over 20%
of those who survived died before reaching
adulthood.
 And Yet… London, 1563 – population 93,000
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London, 1605 – population 224,000
Which is Surprising because…
Toothbrushes won’t be invented for another
century.
 People rarely bathed.
 Many people have stomach pains and sores all
over their bodies.
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Children had to work as soon as they were
big enough (6)
 Ditches are public toilets
 Butchers throw dead carcasses into the
streets
 Doctors’ primary methods of care: leeches
and amputations
 10,000 homeless people wandered the
streets of London
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Working for the Weekend
Theatre
 Bear and bull baiting
 Cockfighting
 Brawling and rioting
 Witching burning
 Public executions
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William Shakespeare
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Born April 23, 1564
in Stratford-uponAvon, England.
Parents
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Shakespeare’s birthplace
in Stratford-upon-Avon
http://www.aboutbritain.com/ShakespearesBirthplace.htm
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Father: John glove
maker, wool merchant,
and “High Bailiff” mayor;
died 1601
Mother: Mary Arden,
daughter of a successful
farmer; died 1608
3rd of 8 children
First born son
Education
Began at about age 5
 Stratford grammar
school
 Long days: 6 a.m.5:30 p.m.
 Year-round school
(except major
holidays)
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Shakespeare’s School Room,
King Edward VI School
Marriage – Rock the Cradle of
Love
He married Anne
Hathaway on Nov.
1582.
 He was 18; she was
26 and pregnant
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Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
http://www.onlineshakespeare.com/hathaway.htm
Children
Susanna: born May 26, 1583; married Dr. John
Hall in 1607; had one child Elizabeth; died 1649
 Hamnet: a twin born February 2, 1585; died at
age 11 and buried on August 11, 1596
 Judith: a twin born February 2, 1585; married
Thomas Quiney and had 3 children (none lived
to be older than 21); died 1662
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The Lost Years
1585-1592
There is no documented record of Shakespeare’s
activities from the birth of the twins until 1592.
Theories
 forced to flee Stratford to escape prosecution for
poaching deer
 Soldier
 Sailor
 studied law
 studied medicine
 worked as an apprentice
actor/writer
The Theater – In 1592, we the first
documented evidence of Shakespeare’s rise
to prominence in the London theatre
He was an actor and a playwright
 Part owner of the acting company he
wrote for, Lord Chamberlain’s Men
 LC’sM renamed King’s Men after James
was king in 1603
 He became rich from acting company
rather than sale of plays
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The Globe
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First opened in 1599
Destroyed by fire in 1613
Rebuilt in 1614
Demolished by the Puritans in 1640s
Reopened in 1997
1614 reconstruction
today
More on The Globe
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It accommodated an audience of about 3000
people from all social classes.
The Globe was open to the sky.
The groundlings stood on the three sides of the
raised stage.
Richer people paid extra money for seats.
The stage is 40 feet across and 27 feet deep.
Scenery was minimal.
Women were forbidden from acting in public.
Plays, Sonnets, and More
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37 plays: comedy, history, tragedy
Over 150 sonnets
2 lengthy narrative poems
Comedy
History
Tragedy
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, pt
Henry IV, pt
Henry V
Henry VI, pt
Henry VI, pt
Henry VI, pt
Henry VIII
King John
Richard II
Richard III
1
2
1
2
3
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Our Language, Thanks to
Shakespeare
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Words that first appeared in his plays:
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attorney
bedroom
fashionable frugal
mimic
successful
Phrases:
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Admirable
Distasteful
Laughable
“at one fell swoop” or “sick at heart”
Sentences:
“all the world’s a stage”
 “to thine own self be true”
 “the course of true love never did run smooth”
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More Words and Phrases . . .
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Of the 17,677 words that Shakespeare used in all of his plays
and sonnets, he was the first to use over 1,700 of them. He
wrote many of the words and phrases that we consider
clichés today. Which of the following words and phrases do
you think Shakespeare coined?
Heartsick
Heart of gold
One fell swoop
Long-haired
Naked truth
Foregone conclusion
Break the ice
It’s Greek to me
Hot-blooded
Eat out of house and home
Leapfrog
Too much of a good thing
Fancy-free
Wear one’s hear on one’s sleeve
Live-long day
The milk of human kindness
Even More Words and Phrases
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Some of the words we write and speak today in the
English language many not have come into use without
Shakespeare. The following is a list of some of the
words he was first to write:
gnarled
countless
dwindle
laughable
amazement
hurry
frugal
lonely
radiance
misplaced
obscene
road
bump
eventful
control
impartial
generous
critic
His Gravesite
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Died April 23, 1616 of unknown causes
Shakespeare is buried at Church of the Holy Trinity in Stratford
An inscription on his tombstone reads:
Good friend, for Jesus´ sake forbeare
To digg the dust enclosed here!
Blese be y man that spares thes stones
And curst be he that moves my bones.
Stratford Today
William’s Will
Dated March 25, 1616
 10 pounds to “the poor of Stratford”
 Money to 3 actors of his company
 150 pounds to Judith (another 150 pounds 3 years later)
 Most to his daughter Susanna
 Wife, Anne, afterthought, “Item, I give
unto my wife my second best bed with the
furniture”
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Miscellaneous Notes
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Romeo and Juliet is based on a poem.
The play takes place in the 14th century in Verona, Italy.
 Most marriages during this time were arranged.
 Marriages took place at a younger age.
 Romantic love was recognized as a powerful force, but
society did not generally view it as the basis of a sound
marriage.
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Drama Terms
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Aside: A comment by a character onstage that is
intended to be heard by the audience, but not by other
characters.
Foreshadowing: Hints to the audience of what will
happen later.
Monologue: A lengthy speech addressed to other
characters on the stage, not to the audience.
Soliloquy: A relatively long speech in which the character
talks to the audience or to no one in particular,
expressing the character’s innermost thoughts or
providing background information for the audience.
Couplet: Two consecutive lines that
rhyme
Foil:A foil is a person who contrasts
with another character in order to
highlight various features of the main
character's personality
Be familiar with…
Imagery
 Simile
 Metaphor
 Dramatic Irony
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On a piece of binder paper, agree or
disagree with the following statements:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
I believe in love at first sight.
My parents know more about love and relationships
than I do.
I would be willing to die for a friend.
Sometimes it is necessary to disobey your parents.
Older people are more prejudiced than young people.
There is never a good reason to kill someone.
You shouldn’t fight your friends’ fights.
*What do you know or think you know about the play
Romeo and Juliet?
Ongoing assignment for Romeo
and Juliet
19 page Studyguide worth 60 points.
First Folio
Written by John Heminges & Henry
Condell (actors)
 Published in 1623
 36 of his plays included (18 for the first time)
 “to keep the memory of so worthy a friend
and fellow alive”
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1. Please open your books to page
769. Read “Literary Analysis” and
“Reading Strategy.
2. In your notebook, paraphrase
the Prologue on 771.
3. Preview Act I for possible
reading parts.