Shakespeare: His Life and Times
Adapted from
http://www.public.asu.edu/~muckerrm/English_321_S2005/Introduction.ppt
Early Life
• Born 1564—died 1616
• Stratford-upon-Avon
• Parents: John and Mary Arden
Shakespeare
• Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner
• John—glovemaker, local politician
Great Britain, including
England, Shakespeare’s
home
3
England
4
Stratford-Upon-Avon,
where Shakespeare was
born and grew up
London, where
Shakespeare’s
reputation was born
(and where the
Globe was located)
5
Stratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s Time
As reproduced in William Rolfe, Shakespeare the Boy (1896).
Stratford-upon-Avon Today
From Stratford’s web site: http://www.stratford-upon-avon.co.uk/index.htm
Shakespeare’s Birthplace
From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/
Education
• Probably attended King’s New School in
Stratford
• His school day was long and rigorous
Educated in:
-Rhetoric
-Logic
-History
-Latin
• Shakespeare dropped out of ‘middle school’
when his father lost his fortune
By modern standards school would
have been routine and dull
Students spent 9 hours a day at
school
School was taught year-round, except
for 3 brief holidays
Studies were mainly in Latin
10
King’s New School
From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/
Married Life
• Married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, who
was pregnant at the time with their first
daughter
• Had twins in 1585- Hamnet & Judith
• Hamnet died from the plague at age 11
• Sometime between 1583-1592, he moved
to London and began working in theatre.
• The years 1583-1592 are know as ‘The
Lost Years’
• No one know where he was, or what he
was doing during those years
Anne Hathaway’s Home
13
1592 – First evidence that
Shakespeare had moved to
London and was working in the
theater
mid-1592-1594 – outbreak of plague
closed the London theaters, so…..
Shakespeare began to write poetry
Became well known for a 14 line
poem called a sonnet
14
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
15
1594 – Shakespeare was part of a
group that founded the company of
players called Lord Chamberlain's
Men (later called the King's Men)
Lord Chamberlain's Men was a very
successful company of players
(actors) – by the turn of the century,
they had the:
best actor, Richard Burbage
best theater, The Globe
best playwright, W. Shakespeare
16
Theatre Career
• Member and later part-owner of the Lord
Chamberlain’s Men, later called the King’s Men
• Globe Theater built in 1599 with Shakespeare
as primary investor
• Burned down in 1613 during one of
Shakespeare’s plays
The Rebuilt Globe Theater, London
Note the open air design. The original Globe would have had a
roof made of thatch.
19
Inside view of stage, upper stage, galleries, and the pit.
20
Elizabethan
Theatrical
Conventions
A theatrical convention is a
suspension of reality.
 No electricity
 Women forbidden
to act on stage
 Minimal, contemporary
costumes
 Minimal scenery
These
control the
dialogue.
 Soliloquy
 Aside
 Blood and gore
 Use of supernatural
Types of
speech
Audience
loves to be
scared.
 Use of disguises/
mistaken identity
 Last speaker—highest in
rank (in tragedies)
 Multiple murders
(in tragedies)
 Multiple marriages
(in comedies)
The Plays
• 38 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare
• 14 comedies
• 10 histories
• 10 tragedies
• 4 romances
• Possibly wrote three others
• Collaborated on several others
Shakespeare’s Death
• Shakespeare died on April 23rd, 1616
• Not exactly sure what he died from
– History says he drank too much wine and ate too
many pickled herrings
• In his will, Shakespeare left money, horses,
stables, etc. to his two sons-in-law
• But only left his wife one thing- the “second-best
bed”
– Was he trying to make a point?
Shakespeare’s Death
• Shakespeare is buried in
Holy Trinity Church in
his birth village of
Stratford.
• His grave is covered by
a flat stone that bears an
epitaph warning of a
curse to come upon
anyone who moves his
bones.
Shakespeare’s Language
It is not as difficult as it seems.
Language Change
Languages do not just happen – they
are the result of many of hundreds and
even thousands of years of
development. The English as we know
it is relatively new and is in a constant
state of change. Every day hundreds
of new words enter the language and
many are dropped. In addition, the
English language is spoken in many
dialects around the world.
• The English language contains
about 300,000 words, but your
vocabulary is about 3000 and
you get by on a daily basis with
about 150.
• By contrast, William Shakespeare
had a vocabulary of 15,000 words
and invented many of the words
and phrases that we still use
today.
• Let’s take a look at Old English how many people think
Shakespeare wrote …
Old English – the following passage is from
the time of King Alfred or about 800 A.D.
• Faeder ure thu eart on
heofonum, si thin nama
gehalgod. Tobecume thin rice.
Gewurthe thin willa on
eorthan swa swa on
heofonum.
• Do you think you know what it
means?
Middle English – the same phrase is written as it would
have appeared in the time of Geoffrey Chaucer (13201384)
• Oure fadir that art in heuenes,
halwid be thi name; thi
kyngdom cumme to; be thi
wille don as in heuen and in
erthe; gif to us this day ouer
breed oure substaunce; and
forgeue uo us oure dettis as we
forgeue to oure dettours …
• Does this one make a little
more sense?
Modern English – here is the same passage
as it appeared in 1611 or about the time of
Shakespeare.
• Our father, which art in Heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Thy
kingdom come; thy will be done on
earth as it is in Heaven. Give us
this day, our daily bread; and
forgive us our debts as we forgive
our debtors, and lead us not into
temptation …
• So is Shakespeare’s language all
that different?
Shakespeare’s Language
• Shakespeare did NOT write in “Old English.”
• Old English is the language of Beowulf:
Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum
Þeodcyninga Þrym gefrunon
Hu ða æÞelingas ellen fremedon!
(Hey! We have heard of the glory of the SpearDanes in the old days, the kings of tribes, how
noble princes showed great courage!)
Shakespeare’s Language
• Shakespeare did not write in “Middle English.”
• Middle English is the language of Chaucer, the
Gawain-poet, and Malory:
We redeth oft and findeth y-write—
And this clerkes wele it wite—
Layes that ben in harping
Ben y-founde of ferli thing… (Sir Orfeo)
Shakespeare’s Language
• Shakespeare coined many words we still use
today:
• Critical
• Majestic
• Dwindle
• And quite a few phrases as well:
• One fell swoop
• Flesh and blood
• Vanish into thin air
See http://www.wordorigins.org/histeng.htm
Shakespeare’s Language
• A mix of old and very new
• Rural and urban words/images
• Understandable by the lowest
peasant and the highest noble
• Learning to read Shakespeare
is a bit like learning a foreign
language, but it is well worth
the effort.
• Here are a few tricks to
understanding Shakespeare –
this will help you impress the
ladies as well !
1. Thou, thee and thy – These mean you, you, and
your, respectively. These words dropped out of
our language a couple centuries ago, but
Shakespeare uses them. The verb that is used
with “thou” changes as well.
• Example: “ Thou wilt fall backward when
thou hast more wit,
Wilt thou not Jule?”
• Translation: You will fall backward
when you have more wit,
Will you not, Jule?
2. Inversion – Sometimes Shakespeare will
invert the verb and the subject.
• For instance, he might write,
“Went I to Bellarmine.” instead of
“I Went to Bellarmine.”
• Example: “Then dreams he of
another’s benefice.”
• Translation: He dreams of
another’s benefice.
2. Inversion – Sometimes Shakespeare will
invert the verb and the subject.
• For instance, he might write,
“Went I to Bellarmine.” instead of
“I Went to Bellarmine.”
• Example: “Then dreams he of
another’s benefice.”
• Translation: He dreams of
another’s benefice.
3. Diction – There are three problems with Shakespeare’s
word choice.
• First - he uses words that no longer
exist in the English we speak.
• Second - he uses words that are in
our language, but now have a
different meaning to us.
• Third – he uses words that are in our
language, but we simply don’t know
what these words mean – you should
look them up.
Some translations to help you …
still = always
soft = slowly, gently
mark = listen
an = if
fell = cruel, fierce, deadly
to-night = last night
perforce = we must, you must
kind = true to one’s nature
ay = yes
fain = gladly
marry = swear word
anon = at once
plague, pox, ague = disease
wherefore= why
THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF
THE DIFFICULT WORDS …
4. Contractions – for purposes of rhythm Shakespeare
uses contractions to cut out syllables.
• Examples:
– o’ = on
– th’ = the
– i’ = in
– ‘t – it
– ta’en = taken
– ‘em = them
– ‘a = he (often)
– o’er = over
Copy these lines down and translate them on
a separate piece of paper.
1.
For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.
2.
Tickling a parson’s nose as a’ lies asleep.
3.
O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou
Romeo?
4.
Do not swear at all/ or, if thou wilt, swear
by thy gracious self …
5.
A plague a both your houses.
6.
Tybalt, liest thou there in thy bloody sheet?
To be
or
not to be?
What’s the question
To be or not to be?
That is the question!
Wait a second!!!
To my own self be true
Then thou canst not be false to any man
Be quiet Will!
What’s going on
And it must follow as the night and the day.
Tragedy
• A serious play or drama typically
dealing with the problems of a
central character, leading to an
unhappy or disastrous ending
brought on, as in ancient drama,
by a fate and a tragic flaw in this
character, or in modern drama,
usually by moral weakness,
psychological maladjustment or
social pressures.
Tragic Hero
• A person of high rank who is
brought to eventual ruin by a
flaw in his/her character.
– Example: Macbeth’s tragic flaw is
his ambition which leads him into a
series of bloody and increasingly
indefensible acts.
Comedy
• A drama or narrative with a happy
ending or non-tragic theme.
– Comedy of manners- depicts and satirizes
the manners and customs of fashionable
society.
– High comedy- appeals to and reflects the
life and problems of the upper social
classes, characterized by a witty, sardonic
treatment.
– Low comedy- farce, slap stick,burlesque,
horse play
Journal Entry : January 20, 2015
• If you were going to write a book, what
would the main character be like?
• List ten characteristics.
Act I : Scene I
• What effect does Gregory and Sampson’s crass
joking have on the mood of the scene?
• What do Benvolio and Tybalt have in common?
How are they different?
• How does Prince characterize Capulet and
Montague?
• What does Romeo’s speaking in paradoxes
suggest about his current state of mind?
• What other Shakespearean texts reflect this idea
that beauty must be preserved or immortalized?
Journal Entry : January 21, 2015
• Copy the notes and respond to the question:
• In literature, a character foil is a character who
contrasts with another character(usually the
protagonist) in order to highlight particular
qualities of the other character.
• Based on the definition above, what is one
example of a character foil in Romeo and Juliet?
Act I Scene II
• 1. Count Paris asks Lord Capulet if he may marry
Juliet.
• a. Who is Count Paris?.
• b. How old is Juliet?
• c. What condition does Lord Capulet make on
Juliet’s behalf concerning the proposal?
• 2. Why does Romeo decide to gatecrash the
Capulets’ feast?
• 3. How are Benvolio’s words ‘And she shall scant
show well that now seems best’ prophetic?
Act I Scene III
• What do we learn of the Nurse’s character
in this scene?
• 2. Lady Capulet, the Nurse and Juliet reveal
different attitudes to love and marriage.
Write a detailed description of each’s view
of love and marriage, making close
reference to the text.
Romeo and Juliet –
the lighter side
The comedic elements in
Shakespeare’s lyrical tragedy
What was the C word?
• Romeo and Juliet is a play about contrasts.
These contrasts include
• Light and dark
• Night and day
• Young and old
• Love and hate
• And…
• Tragedy and comedy!
• Think also about the contrasts between
illusion and reality
• And the characters:
• Romeo and Mercutio
• The nurse and Lady Capulet
• The nurse and Mercutio
Why include comedy in a
tragedy?
• It heightens the contrast
• It gives the audience an emotional break
• It diminishes the tension evoked in the tragic
scenes
• It delights the audience
• It adds variety
• When integrated with the plot, it can counterpoint
& enhance the serious significance
Does it have a formal name?
• YES! Comic relief!
• “the introduction of comic characters,
speeches, or scenes in a serious or tragic
work, especially in dramas. Comic relief
was universal in Elizabethan tragedies.”
M.H. Abrams
Where’s the comedy?
• Two renowned comic characters in Romeo
and Juliet are
• Mercutio
• The nurse
What makes us laugh?
• Aside
• Contrasts
• exaggeration
• Poking fun
• Puns
• Word play
Bawdy jokes to settle the folks…
• Gregory: The quarrel is between our masters and
us their men.
• Sampson: ‘Tis all one. I will show myself a
tyrant. When I have fought with men, I will be
civil with the maids—I will cut off their heads.
• Gregory: The heads of the maids?
• Sampson: Ay, the heads of the maids or their
maidenheads. Take it in what sense thou wilt.
1.1.19 - 26
Think about it!!!
William Shakespeare’s plays feature sexual
situations and references, violence, gore, and
profanity. His plays are widely taught in schools
throughout the country. Many books and movies
made today have the same features.
Why do you think you are restricted from
reading books and watching movies with these
features but you can read Shakespeare’s plays in
school?
And soon after…
• Sampson: I do bite my thumb, sir.
• Abram: Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
• Sampson: (aside to Gregory) Is the law of
our side if I say ay?
• Gregory: (aside to Sampson) No.
• Sampson: No, sir, I do not bite my thumb
at you, sir; but I bite my thumb, sir.
1.1.44 – 51
Romeo’s wit
“Give me a torch. I am not for this
ambling. Being but heavy, I will bear the
light.” 1.4.11-12
“come, instance, instance”
• Friar: Our Romeo hath not been in bed
tonight.
• Romeo: The last was true. The sweeter
rest was mine.
• Friar: God pardon sin! Wast thou with
Rosaline?
2.3. 41 - 43
How does Tybalt trigger
comedy?
• Benvolio: Nay, he will answer the letter’s master
[Tybalt], how he dares, being dared.
• Mercutio: Alas poor Romeo, he is already dead:
stabbed with a white wench’s black eye; run
through the ear with a love song; the very pin
[center] of his heart cleft with the blind bowboy’s butt-shaft…
2.4.11 - 15
And then..
Mercutio: …follow me this jest now till
thou hast worn out thy pump, that, when
the single soul of it is worn, the jest may
remain, after the wearing, solely singular.
Romeo: O single-soled jest, solely singular
for the singleness*! 2.4.63 - 69
*pun on silliness
What about getting the goose?
• Mercutio: I will bite thee by the ear for
that jest.
• Romeo: Nay, good goose, bite not!
• Mercutio: Thy wit is a very bitter
sweeting; it is a most sharp sauce.
2.4.79 – 82
Upon the nurse’s arrival…
• Nurse: My fan, Peter
• Mercutio: Good Peter, to hide her face; for her
fan’s the fairer face.
• Nurse: God ye good morrow, gentlemen.
• Mercutio: God ye good-den, fair gentlewoman.
• Nurse: Is it good-den?
• Meructio: ‘Tis no less…for the bawdy hand of
the dial is now upon the prick of noon. 2.4. 107 115
Thematically?
“Laugh as we may, Romeo clearly lives in a
world where folly can have serious
consequences; and we are no longer
confident that the conventions of comedy
will save him from those consequences or
spare us the pain of seeing him destroyed.”
Sylvan Barnet
Catharsis
• The purging or purifying of the
emotions or relieving of emotional
tension, especially by art. (This
concept was applied originally by
Aristotle to the effects of tragic
drama on the audience.)
Conflict
• The struggle or interplay of forces, that
takes place within the story.
• The main character may be in conflict with
another person, value system, fate or with
nature.
Plot
• The sequence of events that
create and then resolve a conflict.
Plot movement:
Climax (peak tension) or
Crisis (dramatic turning point)
Falling action
Rising action
(fall of tragic hero)
Resolution or Denouncement
Beginning of story
(Point at which conflict ends and
outcome is made clear)