Introduction to the Life of the Bard, William Shakespeare

Shakespeare and His Time

Outline The Tudor Monarchy Shakespeare’s Life and Writing Elizabethan and Jacobean Theatre

The Tudor Monarchy

Characteristics of the Tudor Reign

Dominated by Religious Turmoil– Protestant vs. Catholic

Many political and sexual scandals Rise of the Middle Class Wars with France, Spain, and

Scotland Vast growth in the Arts and Sciences

A Thing About Royalty… Monarchs believe

they are placed on the throne by God (The Divine Right of Kings)

Throne is passed to the first born male

England has no written Constitution to this day

The Elvis of Kings—Henry VIII

The Elvis of Kings—Henry VIII

King Henry VIII Crowned at age 17 after brother’s death

– Marries Katherine of Aragon

Given title of “Defender of the Faith” by Pope– Defended Catholicism against Martin Luther

Reign is littered with scandal and corruption– The Protestant Reformation and…

… His Six

Wives!

1. Catherine of Aragon Spanish

– Daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella

Very Strong Catholic

Bears four children—only one survives– Mary Tudor– There’s no male

heir

1. Catherine of Aragon Henry wants to annul marriage when

she can no longer bear children– Pope says no (divorce is an

abomination) Establishes the Church of England,

making the monarch is in charge of Religion– Catholicism with a different name– Pope charges excommunication

Henry grants himself a divorce Catherine goes into seclusion for the

rest of her life

2. Anne Boleyn English and a

Protestant Married and crowned

Queen one week after divorce

Bears a child (Elizabeth)

Tried for treason, adultery, and incest– Beheaded by French

Swordsman– Buried at Tower of

London at site of execution

3. Jane Seymour English and

Catholic Married Henry the

day after Anne’s execution

Bears a child—a male heir is established– Edward Tudor

Dies of childbed fever (bacterial infection)

4. Anne of Cleves German and

Protestant Henry agrees to

marry her without ever seeing her– “Not to my taste…”– Agrees to marry to

avoid conflict with Germany

Annuls the marriage after 6 months– Referred to as “The

King’s Beloved Sister”

5. Catherine Howard English and Catholic Princess Mary hated

her– Catherine 5 years

younger than Mary Bigamist—married to

King Henry and another man at the same time– Henry didn’t know this

Caught cheating with one of the King’s servants– Beheaded for adultery

6. Catherine Parr English and

Protestant Reconciled Princesses

Mary and Elizabeth to the line of heirs– Mary disliked her for

being Protestant Henry VIII dies during

this marriage– Buried next to Jane

Seymour at Windsor Castle

King Edward VI Crowned at age 9

– Edward Seymour (uncle) named Regent

Makes England Protestant Invasion of Scotland

– Edward betrothed to Mary, Queen of Scots

– Scots recant betrothal (Mary of Guise)

– Military victory for England Edward VI dies at age 15

– Dies of Tuberculosis

Queen Mary I First female Monarch in

England

Restores Catholicism to England

300 Protestants burnt at the stake in three years– Earns her the nickname

“Bloody Mary”

Marries the King Phillip of Spain– Needs to establish a Catholic

heir– Mistakes uterine cancer for a

pregnancy– Dies without an heir

Queen Elizabeth I Extremely intelligent

– Spoke 6 languages fluently

– Poet and artist Known as The Virgin

Queen– Pressured by council to

marry; refuses Marrying foreigner forces

other nation’s politics on England

Marrying Englishman—what religion?

Married to England

Queen Elizabeth I Instability at times

– Severe Economic Depression left by Mary I

– Papal order releasing English people from Elizabeth’s rule

– Assassination attempts (Babington Plot)

– Threats of invasion/claims to throne (Mary, Queen of Scots and Spanish Armada)

Queen Elizabeth I Reign was known as “The

Golden Age” for advancement in the Arts and Sciences– Voyages of Discovery (the

first American colony)– Sculpture and Painting– Architecture– Music– Writers, Poets, and

Playwrights William Shakespeare Christopher Marlow

Dies in 1603 after a 45-year reign; last Tudor Monarch

The Life and Writings of William Shakespeare

Early Life Born April 23, 1564 in

Stratford-upon-Avon Married Anne

Hathaway– 3 months pregnant at

time– Three children

Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith

Moves to London to begin his acting/writing career

London 1592—The plague runs ramped in London;

theatres are ordered closed 1593—Christopher Marlow found dead 1594—First play, The Comedy of Errors,

published and performed at Gray’s Inn

1597—Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, dies; writes the play Hamlet

1603—Queen Elizabeth I dies; James I inherits the throne; James I names Shakespeare’s theatre company “The King’s Men”

London 1610—Shakespeare

retires to Stratford-upon-Avon

1613—The Globe Theatre burns to the ground during a performance of Henry VIII when a prop cannon misfires and ignites the thatched roof

Shakespeare dies April 23, 1616 at age 52

Epitaph

Good friend for Jesus sake forbearTo dig the dust encloséd here!Blest be the man that spares these

stones,And curst be he that moves my

bones.

Writing Topics Wrote about what he knew, experienced,

or felt– Politics– Social Problems– Personal Struggle

3 types of plays:– Comedies– Histories– Tragedies

Iambic Pentameter Majority of works written in Iambic

Pentameter– Iambic Pentameter—a 10 syllable line

consisting of 5 sets of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable Unstressed syllables denoted (ں) Stressed syllables denoted ( / )

– Lines vary occasionally

Language Emphasis on choosing his words

carefully– Affected tone and audience

interpretation You’re stupid. You’re silly. You’re wrong. You’re mistaken.

Employed symbolism, imagery, and metaphor– Pun—play on words– Sexual Innuendo—the suggestion of something

sexual in nature

Affects on Modern Language Changed nouns to verbs

– Hint eyeball Changed verbs to adjectives

– Accuse = accused Combined two words into one

– Courtship, birthplace, outbreak, worthless Added prefixes and suffixes

– Impartial fashionable Developed his own words and phrases

– Assassination– Method in the madness– One fell swoop

Elizabethan and Jacobean Theatre

Theater’s Beginnings No theatres—traveling companies

– 5—8 actors per troupe– Prepubescent boys played female roles

Performed in taverns, town squares, halls, farms, etc.

Theatre is Immoral Laws passed to control vagrancy

– Actors became criminals– Creation of Theatres

Once theatres open, Puritans want to close them down– Prostitution– Pit-pocketing– Promote Homosexuality

Theatre is Immoral Close for a brief time because of the

plague

Elizabeth loved theatre, and opens them back open

Average Londoner saw 2-3 plays/week; theatre open 6 days/week

Theatre Design Based on bear baiting

yards Physical Makeup

– Entirely wood– Polygonal in shape– 3 levels of seating

rich to get a seat– Pit

standing room only for 1 penny

Open skies above—rained on a lot

Theatre Design Performance Space

– Thrust stage– Trap door on stage—used for

ascension/dissention to hell– Columns on both sides of stage– Ceiling under roof—the heavens– Balcony—for musicians and acting– Tiring House—back stage area