By William Shakespeare

1564 – 1616

Born in Stratford, England

Shakespeare went to grammar school but never attended a university

It is said that he may have been a school teacher for a short amount of time.

In 1582 he married Anne Hatheway [next slide] (he was 18, she was 26)

Little is known about his private life because he kept no journals or diaries

William Shakespeare

In the late 1580s, he moved to London and joined

The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, the most popular group of actors in London.

While acting, he also wrote plays and earned recognition as one of greatest playwrights in England – his writing appealing to people in all walks of life.

Other tragedies that he wrote include King Lear and Macbeth

William Shakespeare

Lived and wrote during the English Renaissance, a

time during which many parts of society changed, including the theater

Wrote a total of 37 plays

William Shakespeare

Shakespeare died at the age of 52

He used his epitaph as a warning:

“Blest be the man that spares these stones, and curst be he that moves my bones.”

William Shakespeare

Plays were mostly performed during the twelve days

of Christmas

Acting groups often performed in the open (gathering places, village green, etc.) tp avoid persecution

The Theater

Because of religious issues, very few plays were

published

When plays grew in popularity, there was growing tension between rich nobles who supported plays and Puritan who believed plays were sinful.

The Theater

Shakespeare often wrote one of two copies and the

actors memorized them.

The actors sometimes performed up to 12 different plays within a month – all memorized!!

The Theater

The Globe Theater [next slide]: most famous of

Shakespeare’s performance venues.

Seated 3000 people

No scenery, a trapdoor, a balcony, and ceiling rigging for “flying” scenes

Open-air, octagonal amphitheater rose 3 stories high

The Theater

In 1613, theater burned to the ground

Reconstructed in 1996

The Theater

The audience on the ground paid a penny to stand

there the entire play. They often brought peanuts to eat and would throw them at the villains (hence “peanut gallery). They were uncovered and would stand in mud and rain to watch a play.

Higher paying members of the audience would share a bench in the balcony – and one could pay extra for a cushion.

The Theater

“Hamlet has onstage action in . . . plenty. A ghost

walks the stage; people are killed by stabbing and poisoning; a young woman runs mad, is drowned offstage, and is buried on stage; two skeletons are dug up and scattered over the stage; armies march, and there is a fencing match that ends up in a general slaughter.”

–Edward Hubler. “Introduction to Hamlet”

Hamlet

One of Shakespeare’s most popular and frequently

performed dramas

At its heart, questions the nature of good and evil

Characters driven to dramatic action by anger, grief, love, and despair

Classified as a tragedy: type of drama that presents a heroic or noble character with conflicts that are difficult or impossible to resolve

Hamlet

Play corresponds to a legendary figure in Denmark’s

history called Amleth

More than 25 movies have been made based on this story

Play is set in northern Europe, several hundred years before Shakespeare was born

Most action takes place in and around Denmark’s royal castle

Hamlet

Apparition: ghost; spirit

Calumnious: slanderous

Canon: church law

Countenance: face; expression

Vocabulary

Discourse: conversation

Imminent: ready to happen; inevitable

Perilous: dangerous

Portentous: threatening

Vocabulary

Prodigal: wasteful; extravagant

Sullied: tarnished

Vocabulary