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Overview of the Life of William ShakespeareLived from 1564-1616Important member of
Lord Chamberlain’s Men starting in 1594
Many gaps in the knowledge of his life.
Some speculate that he was not legitimate
Others consider him the greatest writer of all time
Only 2 primary sources can identify his existence: church and court records
No birth record exists. Baptized April 26, 1564
(Estimated birthday: April 23)3rd child of John Shakespeare and Mary ArdenMost likely attended King’s New School
Shakespeare’s Early Life
Shakespeare’s Married LifeMarried Anne Hathaway in
November 1582He was 18; she was 26First child, Susanna, born in
May 1583Twins born in 1585: Hamnet
& JudithHamnet died at age 11
No record of Shakespeare’s life from 1585-1592
Called “lost years”Could have been hiding for poaching game Could have worked as assistant schoolmaster
in LancashireArrived in London in mid to late 1580s
Shakespeare’s Lost Years
1592- Earning a living as actor and playwright in London
Early 1590s: Managing partner in Lord Chamberlain’s Men
Lord Chamberlain’s Men became the King’s Men in 1603
Greatly involved in the Elizabethan and Jacobean courts
Wrote plays dedicated to and inspired by Queen Elizabeth and King James
Shakespeare Joins the Theater
Published 15 of 37 plays by 1597Purchased New House for his familyRarely visited Stratford1599: Built theater on the Thames River with
partnersThis is the well-known Globe Theater
Shakespeare As Playwright
The Globe TheaterFlag
The “Heavens”
GalleriesTrapdoor Open Yard
Inner Stage
Upper Stage
Main Stage
Tiring House
The “Wooden O”Held up to 3,000 peopleOpened in 1599 with “As
You Like It”1613: Accidental fire1614: Reconstructed1642: Puritans shut down
the Globe1644: Leveled for housing1993: New Globe opens
The Globe Theater
Early Works: ConventionalElaborate metaphorsRhetorical phrases didn’t always align
Later Works:Adapted traditional style to his purposesCreated a freer flow of words
Preferred Unrhymed Iambic PentameterUsed writing style to indicate social class
Iambic Pentameter for royaltySimple prose for lower class
Shakespeare’s Writing Style
Early 1590s: first plays were mainly historiesException: Romeo & JulietIncluded Richard II, Henry VI, and Henry V
The Early Period also includes comediesComedies often had a great deal of romanceA Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About
Nothing, Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night
Early Works: Histories & Comedies
After 1600, Shakespeare wrote tragedies:Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and MacbethStrong impressions of universal temperamentsMoral failures drove the twists/turns that
destroyed the hero and his loved onesSeveral tragicomedies
Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale, and The TempestGraver topics than earlier comedies but not as
dark as the tragediesEnd with reconciliation and/or forgiveness
Later Works: Tragedies & Tragicomedies
Church records indicate Shakespeare was buried April 5, 1616
Left bulk of possessions to eldest daughter Susanna
Only bequeathed Anne his “second-best bed”Speculation of meaning
Could show their lack of closeness/relationship“First-best bed” was used for house guests and
“second-best bed” was the marital bed
Shakespeare’s Death
Questioning AuthorshipAbout 150 years following Shakespeare’s deathSeveral theories are discussedOfficial records show the existence of a W.
Shakespeare, but he’s not listed as a playwrightLack of education is biggest issue
Many scholars have argued that a multitude of playwrights could be Shakespeare.Christopher Marlowe, Edward de Vere (an Earl),
Sir Francis Bacon, or William Stanley (an Earl)
Controversy &Legacy
Christopher MarloweBorn in 1564 and in the
same social classUniversity educatedTalented translator AtheistSimilar writing styleKilled in a bar fight in 1593
"over an unpaid bill"Assassinated?Staged?
One of Shakespeare's tragedies
First performed at the Globe Theater in 1599
Published in 1623 First FolioSource: a translation of
Plutarch's Lives (especially Brutus and Caesar)
Elizabethan England was entranced by Romans
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Based on assassination of Julius Caesar and the civil war that follows
Anachronisms: hats, doublets, clocks, other common items in Elizabethean England
Special connection to contemporary Elizabethan politics
Tragic Hero: Not Caesar, but Brutus. A sympathetic portrayal of the traitorous friend.
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Group 1: Caesar's assassination, include pre- and post events
Group 2: Roman Senate/ Roman government before and during Caesar's rule
Group 3: Julius Caesar, person and leaderGroup 4: Marcus Brutus, person and leaderGroup 5: Marc Anthony, person and leaderGroup 6: Plutarch's Life of Brutus, the source
Group Research on Rome