Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

It’s gonna change your life.

Okay, maybe not, but. . .

• . . . we are going to have fun with it.

• . . .you will learn a lot of new things.

• . . . .you will be completing a rite of passage of sorts.

So, let’s get started today

with, the man,

the myth,

the legend. . .

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare: His Life

• Born April 23, 1564 baptized Apr. 26• Died April 23, 1616

Born to John and Mary Arden Shakespeare in Stratford-on-Avon

Shakespeare’s birthplace

in Stratford

A picture of me in Stratford

Shakespeare’s Early Life Cont’d.

His father was a glover by trade

Shakespeare was educated at the local grammar school in Stratford until age 14

At that point he was likely apprenticed; maybe to a butcher, maybe to his father

Shakespeare’s Grammar School

Looking down a Stratford street, July 2006

Shakespeare in Love

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway.

He was 18.

She was 26.

Their daughter Suzanna was born 6 months later.

Hmmmm. . . .

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage

A picture of moi at the Cottage

A Cool Twig Vine Hut in the Hathaway Garden

• Shakespeare and Hathaway would have had to have a special licensure and admitted their sins before the church leaders

• Twins Judith and Hamnet were born in 1584

• HamNET, not HamLET

“The Lost Years”

“The Lost Years” refers to the years following the children’s baptisms and prior to his emergence in theater. What was he doing? Where did he live? Some theories include: schoolteacher, training for a law career, sailor, unhappy marriage, working in London. Who knows?

Shakespeare in London

Emerged in London as an actor first, then playwright, then theater owner

1592-1594 Outbreak of the plague• Theaters were closed• London was filthy, rat infested, dangerous• Shakespeare wrote poetry, traveled in

country• Plagues subsided, he returned to London

Ring Around the Rosy

• Some of you know this story. . .

Originally, inspired by the Black Death:

Ring a ring of rosy

Pockets full of posy

Achoo

Achoo

We all fall down!

Shakespeare enjoyed a rich and rewarding career. He was a major stakeholder in the Globe Theater; he had many friends and colleagues, and he enjoyed renown and success before his retirement.

What’s a stakeholder?

The Lord Chamberlain’s Men

1594-1595 Part of prestigious acting company, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men who were frequently called to perform before the Queen

Later, they were renamed, The King’s Men ----King James was Queen Eliz. successor

The End of Shakespeare’s Life

• 1596 Hamnet died at age 11 from the plague.

Shakespeare’s writing was thereafter different.

• 1610 Shakespeare moved home to Stratford and retired at New Place

• He died in 1616

A plaque marking Shakespeare’s final home

Interior of Holy Trinity Church

• A lovely church in Stratford.

• Shakespeare is buried inside.

• His epitaph is up above the board, can you read it?

• What does it mean?

jhhghghghg

The River Avon as in Stratford-on-Avon

This is a swan.

This is me with swans.

Shakespeare: His Works• Great time to be an artist! (Thanks to the

Queen)

* Comedies* Histories

* Tragedies

*poetry--lyric and

sonnets

Shakespeare’s Themes

• Universal subjects and themes: love, revenge, jealousy, ambition, betrayal, courage, justice

• He blended supernatural with the natural

• Action packed plays and often bloody (ie Titus Andronicus)

Shakespeare: The Globe

Structure

octagonal, huts, heaven, hell, flag, balcony, galleries, the pit, inner stage, no curtain, sound effects scenery

The New Globe under Construction

The New Globe

. . . on the bankside of the Thames River

. . . Waiting to get inside.

Shakespeare: The Globe

The Crowd:

Groundlings were raucous, drinking, heckling, eating, up against or on edge of stage

People with more $ sat in the galleries, away from the groundlings

The Globe: The Company

• Leading men

• Hirelings

• Boys

• Necessary qualities or skills: swordplay, stunts, singing, dancing, memory skills, expressive voices

Me in the pit; an actor on stage doing odd warm up exercises.

Ah, the balcony. . .

He was not for an age, but for all time.

Ben Jonson

Some common phrases from Shakespeare:

• “To eat one out of house and home.”• “Pomp and circumstance.”• “All the world’s a stage”• “It’s Greek to me!”• “Food fit for the gods”• “Parting is such sweet sorrow”• “If music be the food of love, play on”

• “To be or not to be”

• “What’s in a name?”

• “Good night, Sweet Prince”

• “Something’s rotten in the State of Denmark.”

• “Beware the Ides of March!”

• “et tu, Brute?”

• “Out, out, damned spot”