william shakespeare life and legacy literacy and works powerpoint

8/22/2019 William Shakespeare Life and Legacy Literacy and Works Powerpoint

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William

Shakespeare

Life & Legacy



Early Life

• William Shakespeare wasborn to John Shakespeareof Snitterfield and MaryArden, daughter of a

wealthy man namedRobert Arden of Wikmencote, in Stratford.

• The Holy Trinity Churchidentifies his birth date as

April 23rd

, 1564, but it ismore commonlyobserved on April 26th of that same year.



Siblings

• John and Mary had other

children besides William.

• Joan and Margaret both died

within a year of their birth.

• Three others, Anne, Richard andEdmund all died a few years into

their lives.

• One of their sons lived into

adulthood, his name was Gilbert.

• They named another one of theirdaughters Joan, who ended up

outliving all of her siblings – she

lived until age 77.



Education

• He is said to have

attended Stratford

Grammar school around

age 6 or 7, but there isno official record.

• By using a horn-book to

learn his basic alphabet,

he developed a knack

for writing.



The Lost Years

• There is a period of time considered

the “lost years”. This is because there

aren’t many records or documents

that give us detail about that time.

• After he left school at 18 is when the

“lost years” began.• He studied to become a professional

actor around this time.

• He married an older woman, 26

years of age, named Anne Hathaway.



Family Life

• William and Anne had

a few children of their

own throughout their

marriage.• There was the eldest

daughter, Susanna.

• They also had twins,

a boy, Hamnet, and a

girl, Judith.

Unfortunately,

Hamnet died at age11.



The Elizabethan Era

• This was also known as England’s

“Golden Age”; Queen Elizabeth I

ruled at this time.

• Historian John Guy says of The

Elizabethan Era, “England was

economically healthier, more

expansive, more optimistic under

the Tudors”.

• Many say this is when the true

English Renaissance began due to

the increasing popularity of

poetry, music and literature.



Shakespeare During the Elizabethan

Era

• During this time, William

Shakespeare was undeniably at

his peak.

• One of the most popular genres

for theatrical productions were

histories.

• One of his most famous history

pieces, Henry V, was created and

performed during this era.

•It is said that he wrote about theformer English rulers and all of its

glory to find favor with the public.



Humor

• Popular topics of humor for the people

during this era involved things such as

medicine and psychology.

• Although Hamlet was a tragedy, people

believed he had a “screw loose” due to his

humorous bone being out of place. It was

a very flawed belief, but people stillfollowed it.



His sayiNgs….

• All of a sudden (TheTaming of the Shrew)

• All that glitters is not gold(The Merchant of Venice)

• Love is blind (TwoGentlemen of Verona,Henry V, The Merchant of Venice)

• Star-crossed lovers

(Romeo and Juliet)• Wear your heart on your

sleeve (Othello)



Romeo and Juliet

• Romeo and Juliet was one

of Shakespeare’s most

popular works.

• It is considered a tragedy,

which means it begins in

order and ends in chaos. (A

comedy is the exact

opposite.)

• It also is one of his mostfrequently performed

pieces.



Romeo and Juliet (Continued)

• The setting of this story isVerona, Italy.

• It’s characters consist of twomain feuding families, theMontagues’ and the

Capulets’.

• The cause of their feud isquite unknown, but datesback to years before any of them were born.

• Also, even the townspeopleare involved (taking sides),due to the intensity of it all.




• One of the maincharacters, Count Paris,wishes to marry theCapulet daughter, Juliet.

• Of course, she does nothave any interest in himand refuses to marry theman.

• Juliet meets Romeo, aMontague, at a party.

• They get married secretly.




• In the end, Juliet drinks apoison that will only put herinto a deep sleep for a shortwhile, so that everyoneassumes she is dead.

• Romeo hears of this beforethe plan of their elope canbe explained, and goes tosee his bride.

• He assumes that she is dead

and then kills himself.• Juliet then stabs herself

with his dagger.



Theme

• There are a few mainthemes in this theatricalstory, they are love, fateand time. All of whichplay a crucial role in thedevelopment of thecharacters and plot.

• Also, as a final note, thepremier of this was likely

at The Theater inShoreditch, which ismodern day Hackney (aborough of London).



Hamlet

• Much like Romeo and

Juliet, Hamlet is

considered a tragedy.

• This is also one of hismost popular works as

well as the longest and

most powerful.



Hamlet (continued)

• The setting is in thekingdom of Denmark.Hamlet is the son of theformer king.

•Hamlet figures out thathis uncle, Claudius (thecurrent king of Denmark),had murdered his fatherto gain the throne for

himself.• As follows, Hamlet goes

on a journey of revengeagainst his uncle Claudius.



Hamlet (continued)

• Shakespeare had an actorin mind specifically forthis role, RichardBurbage. He was the

leader of the theatertroop known as LordChamberlain’s Men.

• The premier of Hamlet

was likely at the GlobeTheater, which was apopular theater inLondon.



Hamlet (continued)

• During the Interregnum,better known as theCommonwealth of England, the Puritans

banned all theaterproductions.

• Actors would perform inillegal plays called‘drolls’, and scenes fromHamlet were popular touse.



MidsuMMer NigHt’s dreaM

• This play is considered acomedy, due to itbeginning in chaos andending in order.

• This story incorporateselements of romance,humor, fate and evenfantasy.

• It is one of the mostwidely performed of Shakespeare’s works.



MidsuMMer NigHt’s dreaM

(con.)• This story is about one big

circle of love.

• Hermia is a beautifulyoung lady who has been

ordered to marryDemitrius per her father.

• The trouble is, she lovesLysander, but Demitrius

loves Hermia.• Her cousin, Helena loves

Demitrius.



Much Ado About Nothing

• This is comedy (like AMidsummer Night’sDream), beginning inchaos and ending in

order.

• This is also another oneof Shakespeare’s most

popular works.

• It was also made into astar-studdedblockbuster film.



Much Ado About Nothing (con.)

• The story focuses on a fewdifferent main characters.

• Hero is the daughter of Leonato, who allows her tomarrry her true love, Claudio.

• There is also Benedict andBeatrice, who act like theyhate each other, even thoughthey are truly in love.

• Don Perdro, a family friend,has a vengeful half-brother,

Don Jon, who messes aroundwith everyone to stir uptrouble.



MacBeth

• MacBeth is considered

one of his most powerful

and darkest stories.

•It is for sure considered atragedy.

• It deals with many topics,

including witchcraft,

supernatural, jealousy,greed and death

(murder).



MacBeth (con.)

• General MacBethreturns home from avictorious battle and isconfronted by a group

of 3 witches who tellhim the he will be king.

• In order to get there, hekills his friend to get to

the top, framing theguards to make themlook guilty.



Macbeth (con.)

• The story, which takesplace in Scotland,continues on with LadyMacbeth and Macbeth

himself feeling guiltover their wrong-doing.

• Lady Macbeth ends upcommitting suicide andMacbeth gets murdered

by a nobleman,Macduff .



Macbeth (Theme)

• The big themes of this

theatrical story are as

follows, fate, deception

and treachery.• Shakespeare tends to

use fate in a number of

his play-writes because

it always seemed to fitin so well.



His Legacy…

Shakespeare left behind

many things in his legacy,

including his plays, ideas,

puns and even some new

words. The thing about

Shakespeare is, everyone

knows of at least one

amazing thing he created

during his lifetime. Here

are a few examples…



His Words

• Shakespeare created

many words that some of

us may not know about.

•Nouns such as ‘accused’and ‘mimic’…

• adjectives like

‘fashionable’ and

‘majestic’, were all his.• Also, verbs such as

dwindle and secure

Were all his creation; these

were words used in his

many plays.



MOvies…

• Many of his plays have turned

into Hollywood movies

throughout the years, some just

made to be similar and some

follow his script exactly.

• One of the ones that did not,

however, follow his exact script

was “10 Things I Hate About You”,

which starred the late Heath

Ledger.

• This was very loosely based off of,

“The Taming of the Shrew”.



MOvies …(cON.)

• Also, “A Midsummer

Night’s Dream” was

made into a famous

film, with actors thatincluded Stanley Tucci

and Michelle Pfeiffer.

• It very closely followed

the script, making itmore like Shakespeare

had intended.



The End

Finally, something that peoplehave found interesting wasthat he used Biblicalreferences in a few of hisshows to properly getacross his message. This andthe many other things thathe accomplished prove thathe is a living legend and his

works will live on for therest of eternity.Shakespeare may just beimmortal.



William

Shakespeare

Life & Legacy

william shakespeare life and legacy literacy and works powerpoint

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