Shakespeare and His Times

His Birth

• Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon, 103 miles west of London.

• We know this from the earliest record: his baptism which happened on Wednesday, April 26th, 1564.

His Parents and Siblings

• He was the third (of 8) children of John and Mary Shakespeare

• Seven siblings, but he was the oldest surviving child.

• He attended grammar school, where he studied Latin.

His Family

• On November 28, 1582, when he was 18, he married Anne Hathaway (who was 26!)… – Only 6 months later, they had his first

daughter Susanna. – In 1585, twins Hamnet and Judith were born– From 1585-1592, little is known about him.

These are known as THE LOST YEARS!

Rise to Fame

• By 1592, he had become well-known in London Theatrical circles, foremost as an actor, but also a playwright.

The Globe Theater

• He joined Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a Repertory Company, in 1594.

• From time to time plagues closed the theater, so he used that time to write plays and poetry.

• In 1599, they built the Globe Theater.

The King’s Men – for James I

• In 1603, Queen Elizabeth died. She had been the monarch of his childhood!

• The Company became “The King’s Men” to honor the new monarch, King James I.

The Globe Theater

• Constructed in 1599, it was three-stories high and had no roof.

• It could hold about 3,000 people.

• In 1613, during a performance of Henry VIII, a misfired cannon ball set the Globe's thatched roof on fire and the whole theater burned down!

The Globe Theater Today

1 Penny: roughly 10 % of a worker’s daily wage (2 Penny and 3 Penny seats were also available.)

The PIT was the cheapest.

It was here the GROUNDLINGS sat (stood).

It had no roof and no artificial lighting, so plays typically occurred in the early afternoon, lasting from 2 p.m. until roughly 4 or 5 p.m.

The Globe Theater

• The stage projected toward the audience and the audience could see all sides! Dead bodies had to be carried off!

• All roles had to be played by men and boys!

• The first play we know of that was performed at Shakespeare's famous playhouse was Julius Caesar in 1599.

Shakespeare’s Nickname?

THE BARD• Shakespeare’s

nickname was “The Bard” and he is most well-known for writing plays and sonnets.

His Works

• It is estimated that roughly 15 of his 37 plays would have been written and performed by 1597.

• He wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets.

His Death• William Shakespeare died on 23rd April 1616, at his

home in Stratford-on-Avon.

It is often said that he died on his birthday, but there is no official record of his birth and the exact date of his birth is not known.

There is a record of his baptism on 26th April 1564 and it was customary for a baptism to take place a few days after birth.

Born: 1564• Died: 1616• Age? 52

Shakespeare’s Sonnet

• Wrote 154 Sonnets.– 14 lines– Iambic pentameter– Set rhyme scheme

• Abab, cdcd, efef, gg

Sonnet 73That time of year thou may’st in me beholdWhen yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.

In me thou seest the twilight of such day As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away, Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.

In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, As the death-bed whereon it must expire Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.

This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

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 untrimmed;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

TRAGEDY and the TRAGIC HERO

• Possesses importance or high rank

• Exhibits extraordinary talents

• Displays a tragic flaw – an error in judgment or defect in character – that leads to downfall

• Faces downfall with courage and dignity

Julius Caesar is Written inBlank Verse of Iambic

Pentameter• Blank verse is unrhymed lines of iambic

pentameter.

• Iambic pentameter is a fixed pattern of rhythm in which most lines contain 5 unstressed syllables each followed by a stressed syllable.

And after this let Caesar seat him sure,

For we will shake him, or worse days endure.

Terminology

Soliloquy Aside

Rhetorical DevicesLanguage and sound used to appeal to the

audience’s emotions and make the speech more convincing and memorable.

• Repetition: And do you now put on your best attire?

And do you now cull out a holiday?

• Parallelism:Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more

• Rhetorical Questions:Why friends, you go to do you know not what.

Wherein hath Caesar thus deserved your loves?Alas, you know not!

Dramatic IronyA contrast between appearance and reality

• In dramatic irony, the audience knows something that one or more characters do not know.

Caesar, Good friends, go in and taste some wine with me,

And we (like friends) will straightway go together.

JULIUS CAESAR: THE MAN, THE MYTH, AND THE

TRUTH

What was his childhood like?Caesar had many advantages as a child. His family was of the old patrician class of Rome and they claimed to be descendants of both Aeneas and Romulus, the early heroes and founders of Rome. Gaius Julius Caesar was born in 100 BCE.

AENEAS ROMULUS

Gaius (Caesar’s real name) was given a first-class education in both Greek and Latin and his family had prestige (but not wealth) in Roman society. Julius Caesar told people that he spoke better Greek than Latin and he probably did. This would come in handy as he moved throughout the Roman world.

As a young man Julius was too often unsuccessful and unhappy: he married a woman he did not love for her money and family influence, he was given positions of power which he did not deserve or earn, and he lost a lot of money in failed business ventures. It would have been hard to predict glory for him based on his early life.

There were two defining moments in Caesar’s adult life (ages 25-32) that

changed him….

On his way to Greece in 75 BCE, Caesar was kidnapped by the famous and feared Cilician pirates. He told the pirates that they should either kill him or ask for a higher ransom, because when he was free he would return and kill them all. The pirates laughed.

After the ransom was paid and Caesar was freed, he raised a fleet, returned to the pirates lair, and captured them all. He had them crucified just as he had promised to do when he was their prisoner!

The second defining moment…..

While serving as governor in Spain at age 32, Caesar visited a statue of Alexander the Great:

Upon viewing this statue, Caesar fell to his knees, weeping. When asked what was wrong, Caesar sighed, and said that by the time Alexander was his (Caesar's) age, Alexander had conquered the whole world. All Caesar had done was marry a rich woman, squandered her and his family’s immense wealth, and been appointed in a position because Roman corruption and family connections.

Caesar decided to change…..

Gaius Julius Caesar returned to Rome. He married again, borrowed money from new wealthy supporters, and began to pursue a career in politics. One way he did that was by giving speeches to the poorer Romans and sponsoring expensive games and spectacles for the masses.

Things started to go Caesar’s way and he became a political power….

All Julius Caesar needed now was....

..AN ARMY

Caesar was given command of a Roman legion in south Gaul (France) when he was 41.

From 58-51 BC Julius Caesar led his army all over France, Belgium and even into England. He conquered the entire land of Gaul and all its warrior tribes.

EUROPE TODAY CAESAR’S CONQUESTS IN EUROPE

How did Caesar explain his success as a military leader and conqueror? With these simple words:

“I came, I saw, I conquered”

But it certainly was more than that..

• Julius Caesar was a tactical genius and a brilliant general. He knew how to use his Roman army to defeat every opponent.

• He was unmerciful in his punishment of the enemies of Rome. It is estimated that he killed over TWO MILLION people in Gaul (France) during his conquests there.

That makes him a mass murderer as well as a military genius.

No better than Adolf Hitler.

Julius Caesar was also an author and spread his fame using the pen. He even wrote down his exploits in a book that you can still read today. As reports of his victories and his book reached Rome, all of Rome sang praises to Caesar!

But there was a problem…Caesar was not the favorite of all the rich and powerful in Rome. They preferred Pompey, Caesar’s former friend and now rival:

In 49 BC, the Roman Senate ordered Caesar to disband his army and enter Rome as a private citizen or they would declare him an “enemy of the state.” Caesar responded by leading 5,000 of his troops across the Rubicon and into Rome, starting a civil war.

Caesar destroyed his rival Pompey and had himself appointed dictator for life.

Pompey fled to Egypt and Caesar followed him. The Egyptians presented Caesar with Pompey’s severed head when he arrived. The fight was over!

During his stay in Egypt Julius Caesar met and fell in love with Cleopatra, the beautiful co-ruler of the country. They had a child together and Caesar took them both back to Rome.

Caesar became famous for a quote he made which was finally about to come true.

He was asked his understanding of the best way to die.

He answered: “Which death is preferable to every other? The

unexpected.”

Many of the Senators of Rome thought Caesar was a dangerous man who was living and ruling like a god. They thought he wanted to be a king, and they did not believe in kings.

Even though Caesar refused the crown, a band of rich men led by Brutus and Cassius stabbed Caesar to death during a senate meeting on the Ides of March (March 15), 44 BC.

It isn’t an impressive site today, but you can still visit the spot of Caesar’s murder in Rome today.

He was 55 years old.

What conclusions can we make about Julius Caesar?

First the good things he did:

• He increased the territory and power of Rome.• He made necessary reforms in the corrupt

Roman government.• He created the solar calendar that we still use

today in place of the lunar.• He had a magnetic personality and many

talents: great politician, military commander, writer, astronomer, and fantastic speaking skills.

• He was intelligent, brave, and loved adventure.

But he did some terrible things as well:• He not only killed two million Gauls, but he ruthlessly eliminated

his political rivals through murder.

• He led his army in civil war against the Roman state and defeated it.

• He pretended to like the common people when in fact he only wanted to use them.

• He kept many mistresses and was not faithful to his wife.

• He had himself chosen dictator for life against all Roman principles.

What Do Most Historians Think?

• They believe that Julius Caesar was a arrogant opportunist who lived by the sword and rightfully died by the sword. He got what he deserved and what he had given others: death.

VENI. VIDI. VICI.Essential Question:

Can a man retain his honor while seeking vengeance?

• Are contemporary political figures different from those of the ancient past?

• Are there universal personality traits for politicians?

• How do personality attributes influence politicians decisions?