William Shakespeare

23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616(from Elizabeth era into

Jacobean era)

Born at Stratford on Avon on 23 April 1564 His family was wealthy His father was a yeoman He attended the local grammar school He married Anne Hathaway and had a

daughter, Susanna. Then he had two twins, Judith and Hamnet He died on 23 April 1616 at Stratford

LIFE

In 1584 he went to London He entered into one of companies and became an

excellent writer In 1593 the London

theatres were closedfor plague

He got a support froma young nobleman

When the theatres reopened, he was successful and his company built the Globe Theatre

Shakespeare - Theatre

Globe Theatre

It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare’s playingcompany,the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, on land owned by

his son,Nicholas Brend and grandson Sir Matthew Brend, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613. Asecond Globe Theatrewas built on the same site by June 1614 and closed in 1642.

History of Globe Theatre

Plays

1590-1596Historical dramas

1593-1600Ten commedies

1595- 1605Great tragedies

• Seven years after his death some of his friends and fellow actors published an edition of 36 of the plays in one volume: the famous “Frist Folio”• His most important works included: Romeo and Juliet, Amlet, Macbeth, the Merchant of Venice exc.

He wrote 154 sonnets. These can be divided in two sections:

1. Is address to a “Fair youth”, probably for Earl of Southampton

2. Is address to a“dark lady” who is irresistibly desirable.

He wrote sonnets in decasyllables, he employed three quartains and a final couplet.

Sonnets

Rich and vivid descriptive language Metaphors and the language is often

rhetorical Blank verse composed in iambic

pentameter Included run-on-lines, irregular pauses and

stops Antonyms, homonyms and "couplet tie"

The Style