Everything You Wanted to Know (or not) About Shakespeare

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Early Life

• Born April 23,1564 (we think) —died 1616 (also on April 23)

• Stratford-upon-Avon• Parents: John and Mary Arden

Shakespeare• Mary—daughter of wealthy

landowner• John—glovemaker, local

politician (alderman)

From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/

Shakespeare’s Birthplace

• Probably attended King’s New School in Stratford

• His school day was long and rigorousEducated in:

-Rhetoric-Logic-History-Latin

• Shakespeare dropped out of ‘middle school’ when his father lost his fortune

Education

From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/

King’s New School

• Married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, who was pregnant at the time with their first daughter

• Had twins in 1585- Hamnet & Judith• Hamnet died from the plague at age

11• Sometime between 1583-1592, he

moved to London and began working in theatre.

• The years 1583-1592 are know as ‘The Lost Years’

Married Life

1585-1592The Lost Years

• We have no records of his life during this time period• The Lost Years are very controversial and hotly debated

among scholars because they might hold important keys to Shakespeare’s identity.

• It is speculated that he might have been a teacher, a butcher, or an actor to support his family.

– Some believe he was traveling around with the Jesuits on missionary trips (specifically Edmund Campion)

• In 1592, he resurfaces in London, while Ann and the kids are still in Stratford-upon-Avon

Elizabethan England • “Elizabethan” refers to the cultural

and political atmosphere during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

• Life (1533 - 1603)• Reign (1558 – 1603)• Ardently supported the arts and

artists in a time of political instability.

• Pushed for religious solidarity in the form of Protestantism.

– Followed the bloody reign of her sister Mary, Queen of Scots.

• Faced staunch opposition from Puritan and Roman Catholic factions.

Elizabethan Culture

• Great Chain of Being- a theoretical concept that God created everything to have a place and hierarchy.

• Structured class system with royalty and nobles situated at the top, tradesman in the middle class, and peasants at the bottom.

• Extremely recognizable fashion.• Age of Exploration; explorers seeking

out the New World• Xenophobia- dislike or fear of

foreigners. • And travelers coming to England

LOVED watching plays...

The Big Theatres in Town

• The Theatre, built in 1576

• The Rose, built in 1587 (London’s first “Bankside” theatre)

• The Swan, 1595

• The Globe (Shakespeare helped construct in 1598-1599)

About the theatres

•Protestants condemned the plays

•Theatres were on the outskirts of London--away from the authorities

•People who attended the theatres included:

-merchants

-lawyers

-laborers

-prostitutes

-visitors from other countries

-nobility & royalty

•No lighting•No scenery--Just a curtain•Could hold around 2,000 people

The most expensive seats were directly behind the stage, called the gallery.

Though the people sitting there could only see the actors from behind, they themselves could be seen by everyone in the audience.

• Shakespeare was a member and later part-owner of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later called the King’s Men

• Globe Theater built in 1599 with Shakespeare as primary investor

• Burned down in 1613 during one of Shakespeare’s plays (Henry the 8th) due to a misfired prop cannon○ The story goes that only one guy was injured

because his pants caught on fire and someone tried to put them out with ale.

Theatre Career

The Rebuilt Globe Theater, London

Acting• The actors were all men; young boys (age

12-14) played the female parts• They were considered “shareholders” and

owned stock or shares in the play texts, costumes, and props

• Their pay depended on admission sales• Actors only had about 3 weeks to practice a

new play• In one week, the troupes may perform 6

different plays (as many as 4,000 lines!)

Elizabethan Theatrical

Conventions

A theatrical convention is a

suspension of reality.

❖ No electricity

❖ Women forbidden

to act on stage

❖ Minimal, contemporary

costumes

❖ Minimal scenery

These control the dialogue.

Audience loves to be

scared.

❖ Soliloquy

❖ AsideTypes of speech

❖ Blood and gore

❖ Use of supernatural

❖ Use of disguises/

mistaken identity

❖ Multiple marriages

(in comedies)

❖ Multiple murders

(in tragedies)

❖ Last speaker—highest in

rank (in tragedies)

The Plays

• 38 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare• 14 comedies• 10 histories• 10 tragedies

– The Big 4: Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, and King Lear

• 4 romances• Possibly wrote three others• Collaborated on several others

1603• Queen Elizabeth dies• Shakespeare’s troupe

changes their name to The King’s Men, becoming the first OFFICIAL theatre company of England’s new king, James I

Shakespeare’s Death• Between 1611-1612, Shakespeare returns to

Stratford to his wife and family.• Shakespeare died on April 23rd, 1616• Not exactly sure what he died from

– History says he drank too much wine and ate too many pickled herrings

• In his will, Shakespeare left money, horses, stables, etc. to his two sons-in-law

• But only left his wife one thing- the “second-best bed” … what was he trying to say?

Shakespeare’s Death• Shakespeare is buried in

Holy Trinity Church in his birth village of Stratford.

• His grave is covered by a flat stone that bears an epitaph warning of a curse to come upon anyone who moves his bones.

Shakespeare’s Language In Shakespeare’s time, everyone loved the

English language.

There were no grammar rules, punctuation keys, OR spelling!

The language was evolving and everyday new words were being made up.

Shakespeare’s language reflects this freedom and experimentation.

WHY should I CARE about IAMBIC PENTAMETER???

• Using iambic pentameter kept things moving in the play (like a drum beat)

• It made the words & play more interesting

• It helped the actors remember their lines (like a song)

Where Did it Come From?• The Greeks and Romans started combining

drama & poetry.• The English experimented with it, using

verse and prose in their plays.• In the 1590’s “Blank Verse” (poetry that

doesn’t rhyme) was the new Craze!• The English Language is harder to rhyme

than French or Italian, and English is more heavily accented.

When Shakespeare set his words to iambic

pentameter it is compared to the birth of

rock-n-roll: a mixing of old styles

and new sounds.

Shakespeare’s English• Shakespeare coined many words we still use today:

• Critical• Majestic• Dwindle

• And quite a few phrases as well:• One fell swoop• Flesh and blood• Vanish into thin air

See http://www.wordorigins.org/histeng.htm

Plagiarism back then?• Acting troupes didn’t want

other acting troupes stealing and performing their plays.

• It was common that people would go watch the play and write down the lines they remembered, then sell the “quartos” (copies) to other acting troupes.

• Many think that much of Shakespeare’s own work was stolen from other playwrights.

• Remember, back then there were no copyright laws!

It says, in short:…because the author is dead, we are writing

this for him...

• The first full collection of Shakespeare’s work was published in 1623, seven years after his death.

• It was called “First Folio”• It contained 36 plays (compiled

by John Heminge and Henry Condell--friends and fellow actors of Shakespeare’s)

Authorship Controversy

• One important thing to keep in mind is the fact that “authorship” was very loosely termed during Shakespeare’s day.– Many of the plots Shakespeare employed had existed for quite sometime before he produced

them.

• Many scholars argue that due to Shakespeare’s class and where he lived, he would not be capable of writing the plays he did.

• Also argue that he would never had had the political influence necessary to travel within such important circles.

• Many argue that he was not the individual and transcendent genius that romance and hindsight has presented us.

• Have adopted a much broader, cultural view of authorship.– Forced to be responsive to the history, politics, and literature of the time.– In a sense, Queen Elizabeth I can be view as the author because of her cultural presence in the

plays.

• However, many theories exist that attribute authorship to other individuals, including Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, and Edward de Vere.

Why study Shakespeare?

Chances are, you’ve quoted Shakespeare without even knowing it!

Have you ever said the following...

“in a pickle”“It’s all Greek to me.”

“Too much of a good thing.”

“good riddance” “dead as a door-nail”

“foul play”

“a laughing stock”

“an eyesore”

“send him packing”

“without rhyme or reason”

Shakespeare:The Ultimate Roastmaster

Shakespeare loved thinking of new and clever ways to insult people, so much so that he has become famous for the numerous “roasts” he made up just for his plays:● “I am sick when I do look on thee “● “I’ll beat thee, but I would infect my hands.”● “More of your conversation would infect my brain.”● “Poisonous bunch-backed toad! “● “The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes.”● “Thine face is not worth sunburning.”● “Thou art as fat as butter.”● “You are as a candle, the better burnt out.”● “Villain, I have done thy mother” (yes, he invented

Yo Mama jokes)

Even today, Shakespeare lives on.

We can relate to his tales of love, hatred, revenge, courage, trust and deception.

So much of our world today has been influenced by Shakespeare.

Shakespeare in Pop Culture