William ShakespeareAn Overview Of His Life And

Writings

Objectives Of This Presentation:

• Review relevant information about Shakespeare and Elizabethan England.

• Discuss information that will assist in gaining a better understanding of Shakespeare’s writings.

• Explore various controversies surrounding the playwrite.

The Politics of Elizabethan England

• During most of Shakespeare’s life, England was ruled by Queen Elizabeth.

• Her father was King Henry the VIII.

• He was married six times but never had a male heir to the throne.

• He also created the Church of England.

The Feuding Daughters

• Because of Henry VIII’s many marriages and no male heir, there become a lot of conflict over who should rule England after his death.

• Mary Queen of Scots was the first to rule after his death.

• A Catholic, She was known as Bloody Mary because of her violent persecution of Protestents.

• Later, her half sister, Elizabeth, would take the throne.

• She was imprisoned during Mary’s bloody reign.

• She was Church of England and made it the national religion and outlawed Catholosism

• Ironically, in a time when women were not supposed to work, she become one of the greatest and most successful rulers in British History.

    

                            

       

The Facts about Shakespeare

The date of his death

The date of his and his children’s baptism

The date of his wedding

Accounts from contemporaries of Shakespeare

o The Exact date of his birth

o Any personal writings

o Any information about his early career

o Diary, journal, interview, etc..

Shakespeare’s Early Life

Shakespeare’s Birth

Although children were not born in hospitals at the time, and therefore we do not have birth certificates, we do know that he was baptized at Stratford-Upon-Avon’s Holy Trinity Church on April 26th 1564.

• Since many people of the time believed that an un-baptized infant would not go to heaven and because of the high mortality rate for babies, they were usually baptized about three days after there birth.

• Therefore, we can estimate his birth to be around the 23rd of April, which is known as St. George’s Day.

Stratford-Upon-Avon

• Shakespeare grew up in the town of Stratford-Upon-Avon (Avon is the name of the river that runs through town) it is located in southern England.

Parents• Shakespeare’s Mother

was named Mary Arden Shakespeare.

• She had 8 children total.

• William Shakespeare was the third oldest and the oldest son to survive.

• Shakespeare’s father was named John Shakespeare.

• He was a successful glove maker and alderman (a government official)

• He was reported to have missed church on several occasions.

Shakespeare’s Education

• Shakespeare never attended a university.

• It is believed he attended grade school at the King’s New School in Stratford

• He would have been taught Latin, Grammar, and the Classics.

Shakespeare’s Marriage

Anne Hathaway• We know from church

records that he married a woman named Anne Hathaway on November 27th 1582

• She was the daughter of a wealthy landowner from a neighboring town.

• William was 18 years old and Anne was 26.

• During that time, a man had to get permission to marry a woman from the woman’s family.

• So why would Anne’s family give permission to a person from a poorer family to marry their daughter even though there was an 8 year difference in their age?

• The most likely answer to this question can be found in another church record.

Susanna Shakespeare

• Church records show a baptism given to William and Anne Shakespeare’s first daughter, Susanna, on February 2nd, 1585.

• That would have been just six months after their marriage!

The Twins

• About two years later, the Shakespeares baptized twins, Judith and Hamnet.

• The Shakespeares had no more children after that.

• Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, died at the age of 11.

• His name would be the inspiration for the character of Hamlet.

“The Lost Years”

• The years 1585 to 1592 are often referred to as “the lost years’ because there is almost no record of Shakespeare’s life during this time.

• The next pieces of information would appear in London after he was already a successful actor and playwrite.

What was he doing during “The Lost Years”?

• There are several theories about what happened during those years.

• Some stories claim that he fled to London to avoid being arrested for dear poaching, others claim that he was a school master, and others say that he may have worked as a horse handler for a theater.

• The important thing is that he started his career as an actor, and not a writer.

• While most well known playwrites of the day had college educations but no acting experience, Shakespeare had an intimate knowledge of acting before he began writing plays.

• Most likely, his writing career began by “touching up” other writers plays.

London in the 16th century

• In Shakespeare’s day, the British empire was the most powerful in the world.

• England controlled land throughout the world and had a thriving economy.

• The center of it all was England’s capital, London.

London

• During the time Shakespeare lived in London, it was a filthy, crowded, and violent city.

• Beheadings were common and popular attractions.

• Several times, the city would be ravaged by the plague.

The London Bridge and the Thames River

Entertainment in London

• Besides beheadings, there were many forms of entertainment found south of the River Thames, outside of the actual city.

• There were playhouses, brothels, and bearbaiting arenas.

• Bearbaiting involved tying up a bear, sicking dogs on it, and then betting on which would win.

Elizabethan Theaters• Most of the playhouses were

located on the south bank of the Thames.

• Because actors were thought of as low class drunkards, fighters, and womanizers, women were not allowed to act.

• The Female roles were played by young males whose voices had not changed yet.

• Shakespeare would perform many of his plays at the Queen’s palace.

The Globe

The History of the Globe

• Shakespeare and his acting troupe, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, would build The Globe theater in 1599.

• Many of his greatest plays would be performed here.

• It was built from an earlier theater known simply as “The Theatre”.

The Interior

The Fire• The Globe Theater burned

down in 1613.• It was during a production

of Henry the Eighth.• No one was hurt, except

for a man whose pants caught of fire. He was put out with a bottle of ale.

• It was rebuilt shortly afterwards, the only major change to the design was a tile roof instead of thatch.

His Writings

• None of his plays were published until after his death.

• He wrote three different types of plays.

• Comedies, Tragedies, and Histories.

His Sonnets

• He also wrote a series of 154 sonnets.

• They were published without his permission in 1609

• Most deal with a love triangle between the poet, his younger friend, and “the dark lady”.

His Death• After a long and successful

life, Shakespeare died on April 23rd, 1616.

• This is either on or near his 52nd Birthday.

• He was buried in the same church he was baptized in, Stratford-upon-Avon’s Holy Trinity Church.

• In his will, the only thing he left to his wife was “The second best bed”.

On his tomb is the following inscription:

Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare,

To digg the dvst encloased heare.

Blest be ye man yt spares thes stones,

And cvrst be he yt moves my bones.

Controversies about Shakespeare

Did he actually write the plays?

Christopher Marlowe• Christopher Marlowe was

a contemporary of Shakespeare.

• He wrote many famous plays, including Dr. Faust

• Was an open homosexual, spy for the queen, and self-proclaimed atheist.

• Died at the age of 29 in a bar fight.

• He was stabbed in the eye with his own knife.

The Evidence

• We do not have any hand written copies.

• The plays show an extensive knowledge of courtly life, history, and a staggering vocabulary.

• William Shakespeare never received a higher education.

• Shakespeare was schooled in history and classics.

• A contemporary of his, Robert Greene, wrote that Shakespeare was “an upstart Crowe beautified with our feathers”.

• Many of the plays show a knowledge of country life and glovemaking.

• His experience as an actor could explain why his plays were superrior to contemporaries.

What was Shakespeare’s religion?

• Although people were not allowed to practice Catholicism in Elizabethan England, there is some evidence that he may have secretly been Catholic.

• It would explain why John Shakespeare was recorded to skip church and why his daughter skipped Easter mass.

• There is a document believed to be a testimony by John Shakespeare.

• Many of his plays poke fun at important historical figures in the Protestant faith.

What was Shakespeare’s sexual orientation?

• Some have speculated that Shakespeare was a homosexual.

• This is mostly due to fact that some of his poems were written to a man.

• Shakespeare was married and had 3 children.

• His sonnets never say that the poet had a physical relationship with a man.

• They do say that he was having an affair with a married woman.

Questions and Answers