William Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Period

1558-1603

English Monarchy and History

• Plantagenet Family: 1154-1399

• War of the Roses

House of Lancaster (Red Rose) 1399-1461

House of York (White Rose) 1461-1485

• Tudor FamilyHenry VII: 1485-1509

Henry VIII: 1509-1547

Wives of Henry VIII

• Catherine of Aragon: 1509-1533

• Anne Boleyn: 1533-1536

• Jane Seymour: 1536-1537

• Anne of Cleves: 1540-1540

• Catherine Howard: 1540-1542

• Catherine Parr: 1543-1547

English Monarchy & History cont.

• Edward VI: 1547-1553

• Mary (Bloody Mary): 1553-1558

• Elizabeth: 1558-1603

• James I: 1603-1625

King James VI of Scotland

• Charles I: 1625-1649

Characteristics of the Elizabethan Period

• Great Explorations

• England ruled the seas

• The middle class emerged

• Poor traveling conditions

Characteristics of Elizabethan Period cont.

• Social changes came about

• Advancement in architecture

• Englishmen were curious and enthusiastic

• Government was strong

London during the times

• 180,000

• Walled city

• London Bridge

• Lake Havasu, Arizona (1973)

The Elizabethan Theater

• Forerunner to Elizabethan Theater

• Touring Players

• The plays had in them:

• Patronage

The Theaters in England

• Theaters

The Theatre: 1576 (James Burbage)

The Curtain: 1577

The Rose: 1587

The Swan: 1595

The Globe

• The Globe: 1598

Lord Chamberlain’s Men

• Acting Companies—skills

Senior Actors

Hired Men

Boy Actors

Performance Days/ Playwrites

• On the day of a performance:

• Playwriting: – Students and recent university graduates– Actors and clerks

Shakespeare’s Writing

• Literary Techniques– Soliloquy, Aside, Pun

• Men who influenced Shakespeare– John Lyly– Thomas Kyd– Christopher Marlowe

• Literary Sources—Plutarch and Holinshed• Genius of Shakespeare

Life and Times of William Shakespeare

• Born: April 23, 1564 Stratford on Avon

• Parents: John Shakespeare & Mary Arden

• Siblings: 3 brothers, 2 sisters, all younger

• Education

• Marriage: Anne Hathaway, Nov. 28, 1582

• Theater Life

Life of Shakespeare (cont)

• Lost Years

• Plague

• Lord Chamberlain’s Men

• Queen Elizabeth’s health

• James IV becomes James I

• King’s Men

• Retirement

• Globe burns down

• Draws up will

• Death by beer--April 23, 1616 London

• Inscription:

Good friends, for Jesus’ sake, forebear

To dig the dust enclosed here

Blest be the man that spares these stones

And curst be he that moves my bones.

• The First Folio--John Heminge and Henry Condell

• Ben Johnson wrote eulegy--“He was not of an age, but for all time.”

• Shakespeare’s Birthday Celebrations

• Extra Tidbits– Stratford– Special Dispensation

Characteristics of a Shakespearean Tragedy

• Tragic Hero

• Hamartia

• Fatal Mistakes—Caesar/ Brutus

• Catharsis

• Conflict

• Humor