WILLIAM SHAKESPEAREAND THE GLOBE THEATER

Shakespeare’s Early Life Born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon, northwest of London, England

He belonged to a well-respected family and probably attended Stratford Grammar School, learning Latin, logic, history, natural history, and some Greek; therefore, his knowledge of classical literature would have come from here.

Shakespeare in Adulthood In late November or early December 1582, at the age

of eighteen, he married twenty-six year old poet Anne Hathaway

Anne gave birth to daughter Susanna in 1583 and twins, Judith and Hamnet, in 1585 (Hamnet died in 1596)

Scholars believe he served as a country schoolmaster for a short time after he married Anne

Shakespeare's Career It is believed he was acting by age eighteen or

nineteen in plays in London By 1594, he was part owner and principal playwright

of the most successful theatrical company known as The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, in London

In 1599, the company built the famous Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare’s plays would be performed

In 1603, King James I took control of and renamed the theatre company The King’s Men, but Shakespeare continued to write for and act with them

Shakespeare’s Later Life Shakespeare retired to Stratford around 1610

having made a good living from his share in the theatre company

He died on April 23 (his birthday), 1616 Shakespeare has no living descendants since none

of his daughters Susanna’s and Judith’s children had any of their own

Elements of Shakespeare’s Plays Iambic Pentameter: Shakespeare’s style of writing

features stressed/unstressed repeated five times which equals 10 syllables per line

Main characters spoke in iambic pentameter, so the groundlings knew who the main characters were

Blank Verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter Soliloquy: long speech to audience to reveal

thoughts of a character Monologue: long speech to another character Aside: brief statement to either another character

or the audience

The Globe Theatre Polygonal shape made of wood and thatch 3 levels to represent the 3 classes of society Has a roofless courtyard for natural light The poor spectators, called groundlings, stood on

the dirt, and hazelnut shells, to watch the plays from in front of the stage

The Globe Theatre During the time of the plague, the “pit” was

feared as a breeding ground for the disease; therefore, the Master of Revels would continually close the theatre to “control” the disease

It held between 2,500 and 3,000 people, 800 of which would be groundlings

The theatre raised a white flag to indicate a play was being performed

The Globe Theatre, continued Original foundation was discovered in 1990s and excavation

gave clues to its history The first Globe burned down in 1613 during the staging of

Henry VIII, the thatch roof catching fire after cannon fire was used during the performance

The second Globe stood until the English Civil War in 1642, when Parliament closed the theatres, and it was torn down

The other famous polygonal (or roughly circular) theatre was the Rose, thought to have a 72 foot diameter. The Globe’s was thought to be 100 feet, and to have 20 sides.

The current Globe Theatre was opened in 1997, after extensive research to recreate it in as historically accurate a way as possible.

Theatrical Productions The stage extended into the “pit” and the actors

were essentially standing in the crowd All actors entered the stage from the doors at the

back of the stage The small rooms above and behind the stage

were used as dressing and storage rooms The second level gallery was used as a second

stage when needed

Theatrical Productions The plays had no scenery and limited props The setting and acts were referenced in the

dialogue between the actors or narration There were no scene breaks They lasted about two hours There were five acts No women were allowed on stage,

so men played the female roles. Although there was no scenery,

the actors wore elaborate costumes. Even today, at the Globe, the costumes represent period dress.

Shakespeare’s Plays Not including poetry and sonnets, Shakespeare

wrote thirty-seven different plays divided into four categories:

12 Comedies 11 Tragedies 10 Histories 4 Romances

His 150 sonnets are titled numerically Shakespearean sonnets have a specific rhyme/meter