Life, theatre, works1564-1616

William Shakespeare was the most famous playwright and writer in the English language. He is generally regarded as the most famous English writer and often called the “Bard of Avon”.

the Bard

His father John was a glove-maker and Married Mary Arden, the daughter of a farmer. John Shakespeare was a very important citizen who became Mayor in 1568. Besides his activity as a glover, he traded as a wool dealer and was also involved in money-lending.

As he was the son of the Mayor, Shakespeare went to the Stratford Grammar School. Here he learnt basic reading, writing and the ancient myths of Greek and Rome.

Shakespeare didn’t receive any University education.

In November 1582 William married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a local farmer. William was eighteen and Anne was already pregnant with their first child Susanna, who was born 7 months later. Two years later twins followed, Hamnet and Judith.

London’s Renaissance Theatre

Shakespeare got familiarwith theatres when he was young. As a child his father probably took him to see plays when travelling troupes of actors came to town. Front of Theatre

The point where the audience entered

At the end of the 16° century London was a prosperous city. It was the biggest city in Europe and the largest urban area in England. This population wanted to be entertained. Playhouses began in the countryards of inns before special ‘Theatres’ were built to show plays.

Visscher 1625

Elizabethan Theatres

They used flags to advertise the plays performed. Different colored flags told the themes of the plays: a black flag indicated a tragedy, a white flag indicated a comedy and a red flag indicated a History.

The Missing Years

William left his wife and children. For seven years, he disappeared. Eventually, he turned up in London in 1592. By the end of 1592, Shakespeare had become a famous actor in London.That same year, many of Shakespeare’s plays were already popular and he was recognized as an actor, poet and playwright. It wasn’t all easy-going; Shakespeare had to fight off stiff competition.

In 1593, all of the theatres of London closed due to

the plague and it is likely that Shakespeare took time

off to work on poetry.

Shakespeare wrote 154 Sonnets (14 line lyric poem ).14 lines: 3 quatrains – groups of 4 lines 1 couplet – group of 2 lines

In 1594, Shakespeare returned to the

theatre and became a leading

member of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men.

Shakespeare became famous

quickly in the theatre as both

an actor and an author. He joined

the Lord Chamberlain's Men,

an acting company which was

protected by the Queen.

Because of his success in

London, he was able to purchase

New Place, the largest and most

elegant house in his home town

of Stratford, when he was in his

early thirties (1597).

Moving to The Globe Theatre

When, in 1599, the The Lord Chamberlain's Mentroupe lost the rent of the theatre where theyperformed, (called The Theatre) they werewealthy enough to build their own theatre acrossthe Thames, south of London, which they called"The Globe.“It was built on the south side of The Thames, whereall the poor people lived, as it wasn't considered'proper' to have it built where the rich people lived. The Globe was built using timber and had a thatchroof.

Large circular structure, three stories highThatched roof Fit around 3,000 peopleDid not have a curtainPlays performed only during daytime General admissions cost: one penny – “groundings” (standing) more expensive seats were in the roofed galleries and most

expensive seats were chairs set right on the stage along its two sidesAbove the main entrance "Totus mundus agit

histrionem" (The whole world is a playhouse).

Above the stage the ceiling was painted

with pictures of a storm, a sunshiny

day and angels - it was called:

'the heavens'

The audience The poorer people when watching a play would stand in the pit

The audienceThe richer people wouldhave seats but important people would have a seat with a back on it. The King or Queen at the time would probably have their own private box.

A Show lasted about 2 ½ hoursAlways in the afternoonNo “acts” but frequent interruptionsNo Scenery – A narrator was needed to give everyone a small introduction, so that the audience knew the setting of the play.Lots of effects (trap doors, witches, ghosts etc.)No Actresses - Acting was not considered a respectable profession by the English Puritans. All women’s parts were played by boys.

On June 13,1613, a canon fired from the roof of the theatre for a gala performance of Henry VIII set fire to the thatch roof and burned the theatre to the ground.

The next spring the company had the theatre "new built in a fairer manner than before."

The Globe on fire

In 1610 he retired from theatre and spent his last years in Stratford, where he continued to write until his death in 1616 on his 52nd birthday.

The Globe Theatre was destroyed by the Puritans in 1644. The strict religious views of the Puritans disapproved of various social activities within England which developed into adopting strict codes of conduct. They deplored the Globe Theatre and all that it stood for.

A modern reconstruction of the Globe opened in 1997 close to the site of the original theatre.

Queen Elizabeth reigned Queen Elizabeth reigned from 1558 to1603from 1558 to1603She tried to unite her people, by insisting that they were allEnglish: the people developed a sense of national pride. Nearly half of the population had some kind of literacy (they could read and write).The spirit of the Renaissance began to show in

England. The rising middle class had access to education, could read and write in their mother tongue instead of Latin, and knew that they could improve their wealth trading with the New World. They were growing richer and more powerful.

He was Queen Elizabeth’s Godson and inherited her throne.He was the patron of theatre—Shakespeare’s King’s Men were his favorite acting troupe.Macbeth was written expressing gratitude to King James for his support.

Events in Macbeth directly relate to those events in King James I’ s life:treachery & deceitfulness relate to the unsuccessful attempts to kill King James I.

A collection of 154 sonnets, dealing with themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality.