Wanted to be remembered as a poet only. e.g. Venus and Adonis was written early in his career c. 1592-3, The poem presents contrasting ideas about love. E.g. "all love's pleasure shall not match his woe" The "Chandos" portrait is one of the most famous of the portraits that may depict William Shakespeare (1564–1616). The portrait is named after James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, who owned the portrait. The portrait was given to the National Portrait Gallery, London on its foundation in 1856 and is listed no.1 in its collection. It has not been possible to solve the question of who painted the portrait (although it is attributed to John Taylor[1]) or whether it really depicts Shakespeare. The playwright's other known contemporary image is the engraving in the posthumous First Folio (1623), made by Martin Droeshout and probably commissioned by Shakespeare's friends and family; it is considered likely that the Droeshout engraving is a reasonably accurate likeness[2], and the man in the Chandos portrait resembles the one in the engraving, which lends an indirect legitimacy to the portrait. Studies indicate that the beard and hair in the portrait were lengthened by later painters, but the earring was part of the original painting[3]. Some claim that Shakespeare's friend Richard Burbage (1567–1619) painted the Chandos portrait. It is known that before the Duke of Chandos acquired it, the portrait was owned by Shakespeare's godson, William Davenant (1606–1668), who claimed to be the playwright's illegitimate son, according to the gossip chronicler John Aubrey. The Chandos portrait inspired a grander, more embellished mid-17th century imaginary portrait, called the "Chesterfield portrait" from a former owner. In 2006, Tarnya Cooper of the National Portrait Gallery completed a three-and-a-half-year study of the purported Shakespeare portraits and concluded that the Chandos portrait was the most likely to be a representation of Shakespeare. Cooper points to the earring and the loose shirt-ties of the sitter, which were emblematic of a poet (the poet John Donne and Shakespeare's patron the Earl of Pembroke sported similar fashions). However, she acknowledges that the painting's authenticity cannot be proven.
A fifteenth-century illustration from Archaeologia (1853) showing the progression from Generatio (Birth) to Corruptio (Death) Shakespeare's Birthplace Considering that Shakespeare is generally regarded to be the greatest writer in the English language, it is surprising that relatively little is known of his life. Undoubtedly the political, social and cultural conditions in England at the time played a role in Shakespeare's career, so they help us to complete the picture. By modern standards Shakespeare did not live long – he died at the age of 52. What cultural movements were important? What discoveries did Europe make? What political events were important for England? Do you know anything about social conditions at the time.
In what way did the conditions in Shakespeare’s day provide favourable conditions for the development of drama? Page 41 in your books
A painting of 1588 (English school, 16th century) showing English ships and the Spanish Armada England emerged as a major world power
South bank of the Thames. Hollar’s painting ”View of London” 1647
Map of London With labels for theatres & landmarks in the city. (Globe, Swan, Rose, and Hope Theatres at bottom of map.) The Globe Theatre was the site of Shakespeare's fantastic plays. Its origins are as such: Shakespeare's acting troupe, Lord Chamberlain's Men, originally had their plays in a place simply called "The Theatre." Although The Theatre itself was owned by the Burbage family, (and Richard Burbage himself being the principle actor in the troupe), the land at which The Theatre sat was leased, not owned, by Burbage. When the owner of the land decided not to renew the lease, Shakespeare's acting troupe took matters into their own hands: they dismantled The Theatre piece by piece and moved the timber across the river; they constructed what was now to be known as The Globe. The Globe was built in 1599. A partnership was formed by the principles of The Lord Chamberlain's Men. The Burbage brothers kept a 50% ownership stake in The Globe, while the remaining 50% was divided evenly between Shakespeare, Heminges, Kempe, Phillips, and Pope. Shakespeare's troupe enjoyed great successes at The Globe. During a performance of Henry VIII on June 29, 1613, the thatched roof of The Globe caught fire due to a cannon shot in part of the play, and the theatre burned to the ground. By that time, the troupe had already bought a second theatre, Blackfriars Theatre, and was operating out of both. The open-air Globe had been better suited to summer performances than Blackfriars. So in 1614 The Globe was rebuilt. Shakespeare passed away only two years later, April 23 of 1616. In 1642, English Civil War takes center stage. Puritans closed down the theatres, and in 1644, The Globe was demolished; tenement housing was erected where past performances once were. The Globe could seat about 3000 people. It was an open-air structure, a perfect way to spend an afternoon. With no artificial lighting, plays took place when the sun was out. The stage was about 5 feet off of the ground, 43 feet wide, and about 28 feet deep (about 1200 square feet). There were also secondary stages above the lower main stage. These were utilized as well, as in the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet. The theatre was three stories high for patrons that paid for seats. The "cheap seats," or "penny seats" were for standing room only near the stage. The stage itself was large enough for sword fights and stunts; it even included a trap-door. The levels behind the main stage area were for storage, wardrobe, and an actor's area during the plays. The Globe no doubt also had some kind of rigging set up to demonstrate the changing of the scenes. In its day, it was a magnificent sight with wonderful banners and pageantry.
The Globe - 1616 What The Globe may have looked like in 1616 after being rebuilt in 1614
The Globe, A Reproduction A drawing of what The Globe could have looked like
The Stage of The Globe Drawn from the model made by Dr. J. C. Adams
Cutaway of The Globe With descriptions of its areas and parts
Rose Cutaway A cutaway sketch with descriptions of The Rose Theatre
Cross-section of the NEW GLOBE as it is been constructed on the south bank of the Thames from the Sunday Times, The Culture, 30th July 1995
The Swan Theatre Historically important sketch by Dewitt. Only remaining look at the inside of a an actual theatre from Shakespeare's days
ADVICE ON STUDYING A PLAY Remember: a play was written to be performed on a stage. Imagine the characters on the stage as you read the play. This will help you: see how the play is constructed how dramatic crises are reached how tension is created how themes are linked through characters. Think how the lines would sound if spoken by actors and actresses. Read the play as a whole in as few sittings as possible. (It will take you approximately 2 - 3 hours). Read quickly and don't be put off by passages which don't make sense' because you will get the general sense and understand the shape of the whole play. You now have an overview of the play. Read it through more slowly, making notes as you go. This reading of the play will help you understand the ways in which the author has created his characters. Remember: Notes are made to remind you of different points when you are revising. Making notes helps you concentrate on what you are reading. Notes help you to work systematically. Notes help you to support points in an essay with quotations from the text. You should know what all the words of a play mean; i.e. you should be able to explain or paraphrase in modern English any given passage. This is hard work, probably boring but you do need to be familiar with the test if you are going to be able to criticise with authority. Work at the play in small units - a scene or two at a time. (If you concentrate hard for more than 40 minutes you will get fed up, so plan your study in 30-40 minutes time slots). The more you do the easier it gets!! Once you have-made these detailed notes of each scene read the play through again from start to finish in one go. It is at this stage that you should try and see a performance of the play. Try and get hold of a recording of the play and listen to it as you follow through the test. Again use your imagination and try to visualise the action on stage.
Example of Theatregoers What it may have looked like during a play near the stage.
Shakespeare’s Plays Take out a sheet of paper and note down all you know about individual plays of Shakespeare: Titles, characters, plays that have been filmed, basic plots and a we—known line. Then combine this information with the titles above.
Amongst the most important changes in English from Shakespeare’s time to ours are those involving personal pronouns, and those involving verb endings. The pronoun you was used for the second person, both singular and plural, as we do today. However, an alternative singular form was thou in the nominative ( subjective), thy or thine in the possessive, and thee in the objective. Today we use these only in prayer, addressing God, and even this custom is dying out. Today we have the familiar –s inflection which indicates a third person singular verb in the present tense; all other inflections in the present tense have died away. Shakespeare’s English also had an optional inflection in the present tense have died out. Shakespeare’s English also had an optional inflection for the second person, usually –st or –est . It had the –s inflection in the third person singular which we retain, but in addition there was another, alternative inflection for the third person singular, usually –th or –eth.
This is the Balcony scene: 9minutes 14seconds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PluoGHP0UU&mode=related&search= When they first meet: 2M 38Sec (plus the theme in the background) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EApntgYUVb4 Olivia Hussey (Juliet) was 15 when this was filmed, and Leonard Whiting (Romeo) was 16 or 17 when it was filmed. Franco Zeffirelli got special permission to have this scene, and Olivia Hussey, since she was 15, wasn't allowed to go to the premiere in the UK because of this scene, even though she was the one that was involved (only her chest was showing, and Leonard's backside showed).
