Post on 17-Dec-2015
The Man That Would Be Shakespeare
1564-1616Stratford-on-Avon,
EnglandHe wrote 37 plays & 154 sonnetsHe started out as an
actor
Background of the Bard Born April, 1564 in Stratford on Avon Parents John & Mary Shakespeare Educated at Stratford Grammar School Learned business as an apprentice for his father Married Anne Hathaway November 28, 1582
She was 8 years his senior and 3 months pregnant when they married
Well-known Facts about Will
• Great writer of England• Plays translated into all
languages, musicals, ballets
• Born Stratford-upon-Avon
• Well-to-do, affluent while alive
• Most quoted, other than the Bible
Lesser-known Facts
• Teen father: married pregnant 26 year old Anne Hathaway when he was 18
• Deadbeat dad: Left wife and children for London stage career
• Father of twins• Elizabethan rapper:
uses rhythm and rhyme• “Plagiarism” ?
Queen Elizabeth I – ( 1558-1603 )
Ruled England for 45 years. Nicknamed “the Virgin Queen”
and produced no heir to the throne Restored Protestantism and formalized the
Church of England During her reign, the economy was weakened
by inflation, food shortages, and high rent. Outbreak of the black plague, food riots,
Catholic conspiracies, threats of invasion, etc. During the Elizabethan Period, hundreds of
people were convicted as witches and executed
King James I – ( 1603-1628 )
Renamed Shakespeare’’s acting troupe “The King’s Men”
Believed in the supernatural and interested in witchcraft
Religious and believed in the existence of supernatural evil
Commissioned a translation of the bible from Latin to English
Published a book about witchcraft called “Demonologie“ in 1597
The Renaissance
• 1500-1650• “Rebirth” of arts, culture,
science • Discovery of “New
World”• Copernicus: Sun-
centered Universe (1543)
• King Henry VIII = renaissance man (ideal)
• Reformation of Catholic Church
Witches and witchcraft were a morbid fascination Between 1560-1603, hundreds of people (nearly all
women) were convicted as witches and executed Witches could predict the future, bring on daytime and
nighttime, cause fogs and storms, and change into animals If convicted, people would be subjected to torture and
death by hanging or burning at the stake King James I was fascinated by witchcraft Signs of possession were: trance, change of appearance,
inability to pray, visions, disturbed behavior, lack of fear, indifference to life, and invitations to evil spirits to possess one’s body.
Shakespeare’s audience were religious Christians who believed in heaven and hell
Conditions in London-BAD!
• Thames River polluted with raw sewage
• Trees used up for fuel
• Poverty
Personal hygiene/health
• Bathing considered dangerous
• Body odor strong
• Childhood diseases
• Children often died before 5 years
• Small Pox
• Bubonic Plague
Living Conditions
• No running water
• Chamber Pots
• Open Sewers
• Crowded
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Clothes
• One set used all year long, rarely washed
• Underclothing slept in, infrequently changed
• Clothes handed down from rich to poor
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When in a play...
Only men were permitted to perform
Boys or effeminate men were used to play the women
Costumes were often the company’s most valuable asset
Costumes were made by the company, bought in London, or donated by courtiers
Staging AreasStage -- platform that extended
into the pitDressing & storage rooms in
galleries behind & above stageSecond-level gallery & upper stage
-- famous balcony scene in R & JTrap door -ghosts“Heavens”- angelic beings
English Theater
Plays were most often performed in outdoor theaters
Performances took place during the day so that the stage would be illuminated by natural light
THE GLOBE THEATER Built in 1599 The most magnificent theater in London Shakespeare was 1/5 owner He earned 10% of the total profit,
approximately £200-250 a year The Bard retired to Stratford and lived on the
profits he earned from the Globe June 19, 1613 the Globe burned to the
ground during a performance of Henry VIII
The Globe Theater – Many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed
here The stage was a large, rectangle that jutted out
into the yard Held 2,000-3,000 people tightly packed An open playhouse with a wooden structure
three stories high It was shaped like a 16 sided polygon General admission = 1 Penny entitled a
spectator to be a “groundling”-someone who could stand in the yard.
More expensive seats were in the roofed galleries and most expensive seats were chairs set right on the stage along its two sides
Rebuilt in 1900’s
Actors
Only men and boys allowed onstageYoung boys whose voices had not
changed play women’s roles It would have been considered
indecent for a woman to appear on stage
DifferencesNo scenerySettings > references in dialogueElaborate costumesPlenty of propsFast-paced, colorful>2 hours!
SpectatorsWealthy got benches“Groundlings”>poorer people
stood and watched from the courtyard (“pit”)
All but wealthy were uneducated/illiterateMuch more interaction than today
The Cost of a Show1 shilling to stand2 shillings to sit in
the balcony1 shilling was 10% of
their weekly incomeBroadway Today:
$85 Orchestra$60 Balcony10% of a teacher’s
weekly salary
The Plays Early plays, 1590’s, were mainly comedy
Comedy (and this could be extended to most of Shakespeare's history plays as well) is social--leading to a happy resolution (usually a marriage or marriages) and social unification.
Shakespeare began to focus on tragedy/dramatic themes in the early 1600’s Tragedy is individual, concentrating on the
suffering of a single, remarkable hero--leading to individual torment, waste and death
1608 marks a change in tone from tragedy to romance, light, magic, and reconciliation
Comedy of Errors 1592The Taming of the Shrew 1592-94
Love's Labor's Lost 1594-95Two Gentlemen of Verona 1594-95A Midsummer Night's Dream 1595-
96The Merchant of Venice 1596-97Much Ado About Nothing 1598-99
As You Like It 1599-1600Twelfth Night 1599-1600
Merry Wives of Windsor 1601-02Troilus and Cressida 1601-02
All's Well That Ends Well 1602-03Measure for Measure 1604-05
Titus Andronicus 1593-94Romeo and Juliet 1594-95Hamlet 1600-01Othello 1604-05The Tragedy of King Lear 1605-06Macbeth 1605-06
Timon of Athens 1607-(?)Cymbeline 1609-10The Winter's Tale 1610-11Tempest 1611-12
Henry VI parts I, II, III 1590-92Richard III 1590-92King John 1594-96Richard II 1597-(?)
King Henry IV part I, part II 1597-98Henry V (1599) 1598-99Julius Caesar 1599-1600
Henry VIII 1613-(?)Antony and Cleopatra 1606-07
Coriolanus 1607-08
Aristotle’s Definition of Tragedy
A man of high standard who falls from that high because of a tragic flaw that has affected many”
***Macbeth is one of the most famous examples of the tragic hero.
Prose
Ordinary writing that is not poetry, drama, or song
Only characters in the lower social classes speak this way in Shakespeare’s plays
Why do you suppose that is?
Did people really talk this way?
Prose- language without metrical structure
Verse- poetic language and style
Blank Verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter.
Iambic Pentameter: five beats of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables; ten syllables per line.
'So fair / and foul / a day / I have / not seen'
Shakespeare will be some of the most difficult reading you will ever attempt. BE PATIENT!
Middle English vs. Modern English
Reading Tips
1. Read the Introduction
2. Read everything twice
3. First time- try reading without looking at footnotes, mark any interesting or difficult items
4. Try reading aloud5. Look up words you don’t know6. Keep a list of characters
Set in Scotland
Written for King James I (formerly of Scotland, now England)
Queen of Denmark (James’s sister) was visiting
Shakespeare researched The Chronicles –
Banquo is an ancestor of King James I
“The Scottish Play”
It is believed to be bad luck to even squeak the word ‘Macbeth’ in a theatre
Legend has it you will lose all your friends involved in the production—horribly.
Since 1606, hundreds of actors, stage crew, etc. have been hurt or have died during the production of this play.
It is believed that Shakespeare included black magic spells in the incantations of the weird sisters.
People refer to this play as “the Scottish Play” The only remedy to get rid of this curse is that
the offender must step outside, turn around three times, spit, and whisper a foul word, and wait for permission to re-enter the theater.