Shakespeare: His Life and TimesShakespeare: His Life and Times

Adapted from http://www.public.asu.edu/~muckerrm/English_321_S2005/Introduction.ppt

Early LifeEarly Life

Born 1564—died 1616 Stratford-upon-Avon Parents: John and Mary Arden

Shakespeare• Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner• John—glovemaker, local politician

From: http://www.where-can-i-find.com/tourist-maps.html

Location of Stratford-upon-AvonLocation of Stratford-upon-Avon

As reproduced in William Rolfe, Shakespeare the Boy (1896).

Stratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s TimeStratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s Time

From Stratford’s web site: http://www.stratford-upon-avon.co.uk/index.htm

Stratford-upon-Avon Today

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

Shakespeare’s BirthplaceShakespeare’s Birthplace

• Probably attended King’s New School in Stratford

• Educated in:• Rhetoric• Logic• History• Latin

EducationEducation

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

King’s New SchoolKing’s New School

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

• Had twins in 1585• Sometime between 1585-1592, he moved

to London and began working in theatre.

Married LifeMarried Life

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

Anne Hathaway’s CottageAnne Hathaway’s Cottage

• Member and later part-owner of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later called the King’s Men

• Globe Theater built in 1599 by L.C.M. with Shakespeare as primary investor

• Burned down in 1613 during one of Shakespeare’s plays

Theatre CareerTheatre Career

The Rebuilt Globe Theater, LondonThe Rebuilt Globe Theater, London

The Globe TheaterThe Globe Theater

The PlaysThe Plays

38 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare14 comedies10 histories10 tragedies4 romances

Possibly wrote three others Collaborated on several others

• 154 Sonnets• Numerous other poems

The PoetryThe Poetry

Shakespeare’s Language

• Shakespeare did NOT write in “Old English.”

• Old English is the language of Beowulf:Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum Þeodcyninga Þrym gefrunonHu ða æÞelingas ellen fremedon!

(Hey! We have heard of the glory of the Spear-Danes in the old days, the kings of tribes, how noble princes showed great courage!)

Shakespeare’s Language

• Shakespeare did not write in “Middle English.”

• Middle English is the language of Chaucer, the Gawain-poet, and Malory:

We redeth oft and findeth y-write—And this clerkes wele it wite—Layes that ben in harpingBen y-founde of ferli thing… (Sir Orfeo)

Shakespeare’s Language

• Shakespeare wrote in “Early Modern English.”• EME was not very different from “Modern English,”

Shakespeare’s Language

• A mix of old and very new• Rural and urban words/images• Understandable by the lowest peasant and the highest noble

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.These control the dialogue.

Audience loves to be scared.

Audience loves to be scared.

Soliloquy

Aside Types of speechTypes of speech

Blood

Use of supernatural

Let`s play Shakespeare

Antony and Cleopatra Coriolanus Hamlet Julius Caesar King Lear Macbeth Othello Romeo and Juliet Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus

Use of disguises/

mistaken identity

Multiple marriages

(in comedies)

Multiple murders

(in tragedies)

Last speaker—highest in

rank (in tragedies)

Shakespeare’s 450th Anniversary

Happy Birthday

WILL!!

“All the world 's a stage, And all the men and women merely players.”

So…..

Let’s dramatize Shakespeare!!!

Words Shakespeare Invented

The English language owes a great debt to Shakespeare. He invented over 1700 of our common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together, adding prefixes and suffixes, and devising words wholly original.

The Most Popular Shakespeare Phrases in Common Use TODAY:

A laughing stock (The Merry Wives of Windsor)A sorry sight (Macbeth)As dead as a doornail (Henry VI)Eaten out of house and home (Henry V, Part 2)Fair play (The Tempest)I will wear my heart upon my sleeve (Othello)In a pickle (The Tempest)In stitches (Twelfth Night)In the twinkling of an eye (The Merchant Of Venice)Mum's the word (Henry VI, Part 2)Neither here nor there (Othello)Send him packing (Henry IV)Set your teeth on edge (Henry IV)There's method in my madness (Hamlet)Too much of a good thing (As You Like It)Vanish into thin air (Othello)

Sose Berberyan Olivia

Gevorg Khandamiryan Sebastian

Tatevik Shahnazaryan Viola

Albert Varosyan Antonio

Sero Mirzakhayan Duke Orsino

Vahe Ghazaryan Video- storySusan Mkrtchyan

10 E’s Interpretation of the 12th Night

Make Shakespeare’s Theme Accessory – JOIN THE PARTY!!!

When: THIS FridayWhere: Hayastan HallWhat time: After Classes