William
Shakespeare
The World's Most
Famous Writer
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Shakespeare is considered the
world's greatest dramatist.
Born – April 23, 1564
Died – April 23, 1616
Stratford-upon-Avon, England
Middle-Class parents
Shakespeare was 3rd of 8 children
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Great Britain, including
England,
Shakespeare’s home
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England
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Stratford-Upon-Avon,
where Shakespeare
was born and raised
London, where
Shakespeare’s
reputation was
born (and where
his was located)
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1571 – Shakespeare probably (records
lost) began attending the King's New
School, a grammar school of good
quality in Stratford
Teachers at the school were graduates
of Oxford University and were very
strict with students
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1582 – Shakespeare married Anne
Hathaway – he was 18, she was 26.
She gave birth to a daughter the
next year.
Little is known about the next 8-10
years of Shakespeare's life – few
records exist (Scholars call this
period The Lost Years)
Most likely he was in London trying to
succeed in the theatre
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Anne Hathaway’s Home
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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 and
Became well known for a 14 line poem
called a sonnet
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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.
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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
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Only men were allowed to work as
actors at the time, so women’s roles
in plays were usually played by boys
& young men.
Because of this, playwrights often limited
female characters’ lines and stage
time as much as possible.
We often overlook this fact when considering
Shakespeare’s plays, but it’s something to keep
in mind when you imagine the portrayal of his
female characters.
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1594-1608 – Shakespeare worked in
London as a playwright and
actor. (Age 30-45)
This is the period when he solidified
himself as the most popular playwright
in London.
He did not gain recognition as an unrivaled
genius until later generations studied his
works more closely.
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1599 – Shakespeare and his partners
built a new theater in a suburb of
London. It was called The Globe his 10-12% ownership in this theater
helped Shakespeare make his
fortune
The Globe was one of the largest in
the London area – held 3,000
spectators (for reference, there
are about 1,300 students at North)
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The Globe
(This is a modern recreation of the theater.)
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The first play ever performed at The
Globe was Shakespeare’s own “Julius
Caesar”.
The Globe later burned down during a
performance of “Henry VIII”.
A cannon was fired for special effect
in one of the scenes. Some of the
sparks landed on the thatch of the
roof and created a monstrous fire.
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1599-1608 – Period in which
Shakespeare wrote the plays which
made him famous: comedies Much
Ado About Nothing and Twelfth
Night; the history Henry V, and great
tragedies Antony and Cleopatra,
Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear,
Macbeth, and Othello
1608-1616 – Shakespeare most likely
split his time between Stratford and
London
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Shakespeare wrote only 4 plays
during the last 8 years of his life
April 23, 1616 – Shakespeare died
and was buried inside the
Stratford parish church
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, which
have been divided into comedies,
histories, and tragedies
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Trinity Church, burial site of Shakespeare
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Burial site, inside the church
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Shakespeare’s grave reads:
“Good friend for Jesus sake forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man who spares these
stones,
And cursed be he who moves my
bones.”
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Reason for his appeal?
1) understanding of human nature
2) knew people's motivations, desires,
fears – still valid 400 years later
3) had to make great use of language
because of the conditions of the
theater at that time: no lights, no
scenery
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4) produced characters that have
meaning beyond the time and place of
his plays (timeless)
5) created remarkably individual
characters for his plays. Kings,
pickpockets, drunks, generals, hired
killers, shepherds, and philosophers all
mingle in Shakespeare's plays
6) was a master of language and
symbolism
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Significance today
Shakespeare's plays are still
extremely popular today
Many have been made into
movies – some several times
– Plays are still read, debated and
discussed: 400 years after he
wrote them
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Have you seen these Shakespeare movies?
“West Side Story” – (Romeo and Juliet)
“10 Things I Hate About You” – (Taming of
the Shrew)
“She’s The Man” – (Twelfth Night)
“Much Ado About Nothing”
“The Lion King” – (Hamlet and Richard III)
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Significance today
Most serious actors
still consider
performing
Shakespearean
plays to be the
toughest test of an
actor’s skills
•
•
•
•
•
Ralph Fiennes
Alan Rickman
Maggie Smith
Michael Gambon
Emma Thompson
• Glenn Close
• Judi Dench
• Mel Gibson
• Ethan Hawke
• Ian McKellen
• Keanu Reeves
• James Earl Jones
• John Lithgow
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Significance today
Shakespeare "invented" many words &
phrases that are still used today:
lonely
academe
leapfrog
All that glitters is not gold
All's well that ends well
Brave new world
Break the ice
Come what may
For goodness' sake
assassin
swagger
Good riddance
Heart of gold
It was Greek to me
Kill with kindness
Love is blind
Naked truth
Full circle
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Significance today
Neither rhyme nor
reason
A sorry sight
Not slept one wink
There's no such thing
Laughing stock
Spotless reputation
Lie low
Wear my heart upon
my sleeve
Melted into thin air
What's done is done
Own flesh and blood
Wild-goose chase
Seen better days
The world's my oyster
Send packing
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