Shakespeare, The Globe,
and Macbeth
William Shakespeare
 1564-1616
 Born in Stratfordupon-Avon
– Son of glove maker
 DOB: April 26 or
April 23, 1564
 Married Anne
Hathaway at age 18;
she was 26
Biography continued
Fathered 3 children
– Susanna
– Twins: Judith & Hamnet
• Hamnet dies at age 11, devastating Shakespeare
Moves to London, becomes principle
playwright for Lord Chamberlain’s Men
Built Globe Theater in 1599; part owner
Writes 154 sonnets; 38 plays
Dies 1616, possibly of a fever
The Globe Theater
 Constructed in 1599
 Built for Chamberlain’s
Men (later called King’s
Men)
 1613: thatched roof caught
fire during performance
and burned entire building
 Reconstructed and
reopened by 1614
 Lasted until 1644, when
torn down
Globe Construction
 Hexagon structure
 3-stories high with no
roof
 Open courtyard and three
semicircular galleries
could hold more than
1,500 people
 500 ‘groundling’ “seats”

Elizabethan Playhouses
Open to public eye at every turn
No scenery changes between scenes
because there was no curtain to drop
– All Shakespeare play scenes end on a
denouement, with the actors walking off or
being carried off the stage.
– If play required a change of place in the
next scene, most times the actors would
not leave the stage at all, and it would be
up to the audience to imagine the change
had occurred
Macbeth
Written around 1606 as tribute to James I’s
Scottish ancestry and theological interests
(ID of witches in his book Demonology)
Story taken from Raphael Holinshed’s
Chronicles of England, Scotland, and
Ireland
– Tells story of Scottish king who murdered his
way to the throne in 1040
– Banquo-- founder of royal Stuart line from
which King James was descended
Bibliography
 Mabillard, Amanda. Shakespeare's Globe.
Shakespeare Online. 2000. Oct 23, 2007 <
http://www.shakespeareonline.com/theatres/theglobe.html >
 Mabillard, Amanda. "William Shakespeare of
Stratford." Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. Oct 23,
2007 < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography
>.
 The Globe: An Insider's View
(All Pictures Copyright 2000 by Rosalind Tedford)
 http://www.olemiss.edu/courses/engl205/macbeth.html