Shakespeare 1o1

A brief survey of the life and career of William Shakespeare, widely regarded

as the greatest writer in the English Language

Open Note Quiz – Friday, May 9th In order to start preparing you for what to expect in your high

school Language Arts’ courses, I am going to let YOU be in charge of taking your own notes.

On Friday, you will be able to use YOUR COPY OF THE NOTES. They must be hand-written and turned in with

your quiz- the PowerPoint will be online, but you may NOT print it out and use it.

The goal is for you to learn how to:1. Decide which information is important and relevant2. Paraphrase ideas 3. NOT rely solely on fill-in-the-blank guides4. Acknowledge that sometimes the teacher will “say”

important information that doesn’t necessarily end up on a slide

His Birth and Early LifeThough no birth records exist, church records indicate that William Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564.

From this, it is believed that he was born on or near April 23rd.

His Childhood

He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon (103 miles west of London) to John Shakespeare, a leather merchant, and Mary Arden, a local heiress.

He had two older sisters and three younger brothers.

His Education

His father was very successful in business and held officer positions as alderman and bailiff (similar to the mayor). However, in the late 1570s he lost most of his fortunes.

There are very little records of Shakespeare’s childhood, but most assume he likely attended The New King’s School in Stratford, which taught reading, writing, and the classics.

Being a public official’s child, he would have definitely qualified for free tuition.

Marriage & Children

William married Anne Hathaway (not the movie star!) on November 28, 1582 in Worcester.

- He was 18; she was 26.- Before they actually were married, it was discovered

that she was 3 months pregnant with their first daughter

Susanna.Two years later, twins Hamnet and Judith were born. Unfortunately, Hamnet later died of unknown causes at age 11.

“The Lost Years”

After the twin’s birth, there are 7 years of Shakespeare’s life where no records exist.

Scholars refer to this period as “The Lost Years”, and there are several speculations as to what he

was doing during this time:1. He might have gone into hiding for poaching

game from the local landlord, Sir Thomas Lucy.2. He might have been working as an assistant

schoolmaster in Lancashire.3. The most popular belief is that he arrived in

London in the mid to late 1580s and may have found work as a horse attendant at some of London’s finer theaters, a scenario updated centuries later by countless aspiring actors and playwrights in Hollywood and on Broadway

His Early Career in Theater By 1592, there is evidence that he was earning a living as an actor and playwright in London, and he possibly already had several plays of his own produced because a famous play critic, Robert Greene,

There are even documents that show he was a managing partner at the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, an acting company in London. Eventually, the company changed its’ name to the King’s Men after the crowning of King James I in 1603. It was a very popular company and records show that Shakespeare had works published and sold here.

offers some negative criticism about Shakespeare in one of his columns.

The Globe Theater

By 1599, William Shakespeare and his business partners had built their own theater on the south bank of the Thames River. It burned down on June 29, 1613 and was rebuilt a year later. It officially closed in 1642.

You can now visit a modern reconstruction of the theater called “Shakespeare’s Globe” that was built in 1997 approximately 750 feet away from the original site.

“New Place” in Stratford-upon-Avon

This is the site of New Place, and an archaeological dig was conducted here in 2010-2012 to try to discover more about Shakespeare’s life!

By 1597, 15 of the 37 plays written by Shakespeare had already been published. Civil records show that at this time he purchased the 2nd largest house in Stratford, called New Place, for his family.

It was a 4 day horse ride from Stratford to London, so it is believed that he spent most of his time in the city writing and acting and came home once a year during the 40-day Lenten period, when the theaters were closed.

Shakespeare’s Works

It was not until the 19th century that William Shakespeare was recognized as a dramatic genius.

Genre Total Number Written

Popular Works

Comedies

17A Midsummer Night’s DreamMuch Ado About NothingTaming of the ShrewThe Comedy of Errors

Histories

10 Henry IV (Part I and II)Henry VI (Parts I, II, and III)

Tragedies

10HamletRomeo and JulietJulius Caesar

Poetry 154 sonnets and other poems

The Sonnets“Venus and Adronus”“The Rape of Lucrece”

His DeathTradition has it that William Shakespeare died on his birthday, April 23, 1616 at age ____, but many scholars believe this to by a myth.

In his will, he left the bulk of his possessions to his eldest daughter, Susanna. Though entitled to a 1/3 of his estate, little seems to have gone to his wife.

He is buried at the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford, and a memorial statue was erected in his honor at Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Is Shakespeare a Phony??150 years after his death, questions arose about whether or not Shakespeare really wrote his plays. Scholars and literary critics began to consider famous playwrights such as Christopher Marlowe, Edward de Vere, and Francis Bacon- men with more known backgrounds and literary accreditation- to be the true brains behind his works.

Must of this stemmed from sketchy details of his life. Official records from the Holy Trinity Church and the Stratford government record his existence, but none of these attest to him being an actor/playwright.

…the majority of Shakespearian scholars contend that William Shakespeare did in fact write all of his own

plays based on the following evidence:

- Other playwrights of the time also had sketchy histories and came from modest backgrounds- Stratford’s New Grammar School curriculum of Latin and the classics could have provided a good foundation for literary writers- His name is displayed on title pages of published poems and plays, as well as critics of the time acknowledging William Shakespeare as authors of plays such as The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Comedy of Errors, and King John- Royal records from 1601 show that he was a recognized member of the King’s Men theater company and a Groom of the Chamber by the court of King James I, where the company performed 7 of Shakespeare’s plays

However…

Fun Facts about Shakespeare1. His epitaph on his grave reads “curst be the

man that moves my bones” with the intention to scare off potential grave robbers. It was discussed moving his remains to Westminster Abbey, but nobody has disturbed his bones.

2. Shakespeare is the 2nd most quoted writer in the English language- after various writers of the Bible.

3. There are 157 million pages referring to him on Google. There are 132 million for God, 2.7 million for Elvis, and 14.7 million for George W. Bush.

4. Some of Shakespeare’s signatures have survived on original documents. In none of them, does he spell his name in what has become the standard way. He spells it Shakespe, Shakspe, Shakspere, and Shakespear.

5. Abraham Lincoln was a great lover of Shakespeare’s plays and often recited them to his friend. John Wilkes Booth, his assassin, was a famous Shakespearian actor. Ironic?

6. All of Uranus’ satellites are named after Shakespearian characters.

7. Shakespeare wore a gold earring- or so we think- as depicted in one of the most famous portraits of him called the Chandos portrait.

Did You Know These Movies Were Based on Shakespeare’s Plays?

Based on Twelfth Night

Based on Hamlet

Based on the Taming

of the Shrew

Based on Romeo and Juliet