William Shakespeare
The Life and Times of the World’s
Most Celebrated Artist
The Face of Literature
The Biography of “The Bard”
Born April 23rd, 1564/died in 1616
Born and raised in Stratford-at-Avon,
England
Working-class son of a glover and farmer
Received a high-school equivalent
education
Married Anne Hathaway (seven years older)
Had three children
Early Career
Moved to London to pursue acting career
Achieved only modest success onstage
Switched focus to writing plays, poetry
Co-owner of The Globe Theatre, a popular
theatre house in London, England
Founder of Lord Chamberlain’s Men and
The King’s Men theatre companies
Shakespeare’s Dramas
Wrote thirty-seven full-length plays
Histories: fictional plays based upon real
historical people and events
Comedies: light-hearted plays filled with
magic, romance, and silliness
Tragedies: dark, depressing plays
featuring death, violence and moral
transgression
Shakespeare’s “Tragic”
Highlights
Macbeth: Tragic tale of a Scottish warrior
who kills his king, assumes his crown, and
descends into paranoid madness
Hamlet: Tragic tale of a Danish prince who
avenges the death of his father
Romeo and Juliet: Romantic tale of two
teenage lovers and their tragic love affair
Shakespeare’s Comic
Highlights
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A whimsical
tale of three couples cursed by a fairy in the
woods
The Tempest: A strange story of a
mysterious wizard on an enchanted island
Measure for Measure: A gender-bending
disguises and an odd love triangle
Shakespeare’s Historical Highlights
Julius Caesar: A fictional look at Rome’s
most infamous emperor
Henry IV, Part One: A fictional look at Prince
Hal, a royal heir and his wild escapades
Richard III: A fictional tale of a hunch-back
king and his mental decline
Shakespeare’s Poetry
Wrote hundred of poems
Though known most commonly for his
plays, is considered one of greatest poets of
all-time
The master of the “sonnet”, a rule-governed
, fourteen line poem
Most of his poems surround a love affair of
questionable distinction
Renaissance England
Shakespeare wrote and lived during a
period called “The English Renaissance”
Also known as the“Elizabethan Period” and
the “Shakespearean Era”
A time of cultural “rebirth”: an increased
interest in art, such as music, dance,
writing, and performing
Renaissance England (cont.)
Most Englanders lived in rural/suburban
settings (farms, villages)
Cities were crowded, unsanitary and
dangerous
Education was a privilege
Literacy was quite rare
Disease and illness limited average lifespan
Renaissance England (cont.)
Politics were simple: Monarchy
Kings/queens believed to be descendants of
royal blood
“Patriarchal” society valued males
substantially more than females
Modern advancements included sailing,
mapmaking, and internal medicine
The Globe
Theater
The House That
Shakespeare
Built...Literally
The Globe Theater
Shakespeare’s home theater house
An open-air, semi-enclosed theater
Located on the “slummy” side of the
Thames River in London, England
Capacity: 3,000 patrons
Co-owned by Shakespeare and Richard
Burbage
“Showtime at the Globe”
Theater crowd consisted of all social
groups, from royal subjects to farmhands
Poor patrons could purchase a ticket for one
cent and watch play in standing-room only
“pit” in front of the stage (called
“groundlings”)
Wealthy patrons sat in bleacher seats, or on
rare occasions, onstage in seats of honor
More from The Globe...
Plays were performed in early afternoons
A flag above The Globe signified what type
of play was to be performed
Crowds were often rowdy, drunk, and loud
Area around theater was a dangerous
carnival of street merchants, vendors,
criminals and prostitutes
Only men permitted to perform onstage!
Shakespeare’s Style
Writing is highly stylized, poetic and
complicated
Used metric pattern known as “iambic
pentameter”
Characters often speak their thoughts to the
audience directly
Shakespeare “invented” some 2,600 words
Writing is often funny, ironic and raunchy