Mr. SweeneySouthwest High School
The Life and Work of William Shakespeare
Shakespeare has been variously called:The greatest dramatist
who ever livedThe greatest writer of any
kind in the history of the English language
The Bard of Stratford
Early LifeBorn in Stratford-on-Avon in
1564First child of John and Mary
Shakespeare to surviveJohn was a glover and
prominent Stratford citizen who would eventually fall on hard times
William received a basic education in Stratford
London
Stratford
Stratford-on-Avon
William married Anne Hathaway in 1582 – he was 18 and she was 26 and pregnant with their first child
They would have three children: Susanna, Judith, and Hamnet (who died in 1596 at age 11)
William and Anne spent most of their married life apart
Early Life
Sometime between 1585 and 1590, Shakespeare joined an acting troupe based in London
He became a writer and eventually a part-owner in the troupe
His first plays were performed around 1590
Theatrical Career
Shakespeare’s plays were very successful, and he invested his earnings wisely
He returned home to Stratford for good around 1610
He died on his birthday in 1616 and was buried in Stratford, in the same church where he was baptized
Later Life
Acting was not a respected profession during Shakespeare’s day, so acting troupes needed the patronage (support) of a powerful noble to operateShakespeare’s troupe was called the Lord
Chamberlain’s Men, then later the King’s Men
Elizabethan Theater
Women were legally barred from acting, so boys in makeup played the female roles
Most acting troupes traveled regularly, so they had to keep productions simplePlays had no sets; actors described the setting
of each sceneCostumes were minimal
By Shakespeare’s day, some troupes had started building their own theaters
Elizabethan Theater
Shakespeare’s troupe built the Globe Theater in 1599; most of his plays were first performed there
It burned down only 14 years later, but a rebuilt Globe now stands near the original’s spot
Shakespeare’s Theater
Shakespeare’s Theater
Shakespeare’s TimeWe refer to this period as the
Elizabethan Age because of the queen who ruled England from 1565-1603
It was a time of great social and religious upheavalThe Renaissance had finally
reached England, bringing radical new ideas on all topics
Protestants and Catholics competed for control of the country
The Tragedy of MacbethShakespeare wrote The Tragedy of
Macbeth in 1605 or 1606It was performed for the new king,
James IWe believe Shakespeare wrote it
with James in mind:1. James liked short plays and it is
Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy2. James was Scottish by birth, and it
takes place in Scotland3. One of James’s ancestors is a
prominent character in the play4. The play reflects James’s views on
witchcraft