William Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 1616 during the Renaissance period in England. He wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and several other poems. Some of his most famous plays include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and King Lear. Shakespeare drew from Greek and Roman stories as well as English history to craft his dramatic works, known for their complex characters, themes, and use of language. The document provides background on Shakespeare's life, career, and the social context of the Renaissance period in England in which he wrote.

1. Shakespeare & The
Renaissance

2. The Life of Bill
William Shakespeare
April 23, 1564 - April 23, 161

3. The Life of
Bill:FamilyPARENTS:
Understood all walks of life and social
classes - Father was a glover and a leather
merchant, mother was a land heiress, which put
them in the working class, but with benefits and
respect.
FAMILY:
Married Anne Hathaway in 1582. (He was 18
while she was 26 and pregnant)
3 kids: Susanna, Twins – Hamnet and Judith

4. The Life of Bill:
Career
ACTING CAREER:
1594 – actor, writer, and a
managing partner for the Lord
Chamberlain’s Men’s Company
LCM Company – acting
company patronized by royalty
and popular by the public

5. The Life of Bill:
CareerWrote 154 sonnets, 2 epic narratives, and
38 plays including:
Comedies: 12th
Night,
Measure for Measure,
Taming of the Shrew
Histories: Henry’s and
Richard’s
Tragedies: Hamlet, King
Lear, Othello
Late Romances:
Tempest

6. The Life of Bill:
Career
Known for prose, witty poetry, and
blank verse (unrhymed iambic
pentameter).
No dictionaries or grammar books =
learned from other educated writers
Credited with introducing 3,000+
words/phrases into the language:
Bedroom, dawn, gossip, gloomy,
fashionable, bump, cold-blooded, Break
the ice, breathed his last, dog will have
his day, good-riddance, sent packing, seen
better days, heart of gold

7. The Life of Bill:
Language
Only one generation from what we speak
today
Reading Hints:
 Thou = you
 T’is = it is
 Don’t pronounce the apostrophe at the end of
words; apostrophes are for other vowels
(Ex. cat I’ th’ adage = cat in the adage)

8. The Life of Bill:
Language
 The only thing that is different from modern time is the
WORD ORDER in which the characters speak.
 For example:
 Thou = For Thou art nigh (For you are close)

9. The Life of Bill:
WorksElizabethan Drama – turn away from
religious subjects and began more
sophisticated plays drawing from the
ancient Romans and Greek
 Many Tragedies – hero hit with
disaster
Carefully crafted, unrhymed, rich
language, vivid imagery

10. Time Period:
Renaissance
QUEEN ELIZABETH (1558-1603)
England emerges as naval and
commercial power of Western world after
defeating the Spanish armada
England firmly established the Church
of England, which attacks Catholics and
witches.
The C.O.E. begun with her father,
Henry VIII, after a disagreement
with the pope over whether or not he
could be granted a divorce.

11. Time Period:
Renaissance
QUEEN ELIZABETH (1558-1603)
 There were Catholic plots to
kill Queen Elizabeth since she
was from her father’s second
marriage. Catholics wished to
crown Mary Scot, her cousin
instead.
 Mary Scot was eventually
imprisoned for 19 years and
then beheaded.England vs Scotland

12. Time Period:
RenaissanceJAMES VI OF SCOTLAND (Mary Scot’s
son!!!)
is crowned as JAMES I OF ENGLAND
1605 – Gun Powder Plot: Catholics
plot to blow up king and Parliament
Guy Fawkes rented a cellar
under the House of Lords, where
he stored 36 barrels of gun-
powder. This unsuccessful act
increased Catholic persecution.
Until this day in England, Nov. 5th
is
known as Guy Fawkes Day. The
English burn dummies of Guy and
set off fireworks to celebrate.

13. Time Period:
Renaissance
JAMES I OF ENGLAND
1607 – Jamestown settled
1611 – King James Bible published
Witch Trials continue

14. The Globe Theater:
History 1576 – Known as “The
Theater” (1594 – closed
briefly for the plague).
 1599 – Tore down and
drug across the Thames
river after a legal dispute.
 1613 – Burnt down from
a fire started by a canon
shot during a Henry VIII
performance.

15. The Globe Theater:
History 1642 – Officially closed by Puritan regime
 Run predominately by the Lord Chamberlain’s
Men Company

16. The Globe Theater:
ConstructionOpen octagon, 3 stories high,
100 ft in diameter
 Fits 3,000 spectators
 Microcosm of London
Pit– (1 pence)
Groundlings/Peasants;
standing room only, fruit and
nuts sold
3 tiers – (2 pence) upper class
seating
Behind stage – royalty (so
everyone could see them )

17. The Globe Theater:
Construction
No real scenery:
audience goes off of
exaggerated language
and movement
Effects:
Trap doors, balcony
entrances, rope
riggings, etc.
Fireworks (lightning),
rolled canon balls
(thunder)

18. The Globe Theater:
Plays
Plays performed during
the day for lighting (2-
5pm)
 Actors were only men.
Young boys played
the roles of women.

19. Macbeth: Writing
Patronage
THE PLAY MACBETH WAS
WRITTEN
SPECIFICIALLY FOR KING JAMES I:
(1) He was obsessed with
demonology, the idea of magic
and witches.
(2) Experienced the Gun Powder
Plot, an assassination attempt.

20. Macbeth: Writing
Patronage
3) Scottish History: It is loosely based
on the career of King Macbeth of
Scotland. Macbeth, a commander under
King Duncan I, murdered Duncan in 1040
and claimed the kingdom for himself.
After a rule of 17 years, Macbeth was
killed by Duncan’s son Malcolm, who
later became King Malcolm III. Banquo
was written as a good guy since King
James I was one of his descendents.
(4) Short because the King liked short
plays
(The real Macbeth, King Duncan, Malcolm, Banquo and Lady
Macbeth all lived in the 1000s Beowulf’s times!)

21. Macbeth: The Curse
THE CURSE:
Supposedly, saying the name
"Macbeth" inside a theater will
bring bad luck to the play and
anyone acting in it.
The only exception is when the
word is spoken as a line in the
play. People actually refer to the
play as “The Scottish Play” or
“MacB” when at the theater.

22. Macbeth: The Curse
The ritual's practitioners were not
amused by this detailed public exposure
of their witchcraft. Iit is said that as
punishment they cast an everlasting
spell
on the play, turning it into the most
ill
starred of all theatrical productions.
WHY IT STARTED: In order to please King James I,
Shakespeare casted his imagination aside and used a real 17th
century black-magic ritual for the opening scene of Macbeth's Act
IV (a sort of “how-to” for budding witches.) Without changing an
ingredient, he provided his audience with step-by-step instructions
of how to create a real spell!

23. HOW TO AVOID THE CURSE:
In order to reverse the bad luck, the person who
uttered the word must:
1) Exit the theater,
2) Spin around three times saying a profanity
3) And then ask for permission to return inside
*OR
4) Some believe that you can repeat the words "Thrice
around the circle bound, Evil sink into the ground,"
Macbeth: The
Curse

24.  First Macbeth Performance Ever: Beginning with its first performance,
in 1606, Dear Will himself was forced to play Lady Macbeth when Hal
Berridge, the boy designated to play the lady, became inexplicably feverish
and died. Moreover, the bloody play so displeased King James I that he
banned it for five years.
 Amsterdam, 1672: The actor playing Macbeth substituted a real dagger for
the blunted stage one and with it killed Duncan in full view of the entranced
audience.
 Lady Macbeth incidents: Sarah Siddons was nearly ravaged by a
disapproving audience in 1775; Sybil Thorndike was almost strangled by a
burly actor in 1926; Diana Wynyard sleepwalked off the rostrum in 1948,
falling down 15 feet.
 New York, 1849: During its performance at New York's Astor Place, a riot
broke out in which 31 people were trampled to death. Macduff, was mugged
soon after the play's opening.
Macbeth: Proof of
the Curse

25.  USA, 1937: When Laurence Olivier took on the role of Macbeth, a 25 pound
stage weight crashed within an inch of him, and his sword which broke onstage
flew into the audience and hit a man who later suffered a heart attack.
 1934: British actor Malcolm Keen turned mute onstage, and his replacement,
Alister Sim, like Hal Berridge before him, developed a high fever and had to be
hospitalized.
 1942: The Macbeth production headed by John Gielgud, three actors -- Duncan
and two witches -- died, and the costume and set designer committed suicide
amidst his devilish Macbeth creations.
 Bermuda, 1952: Charlton Heston, in an outdoor production, suffered severe
burns in his groin and leg area from tights that were accidentally soaked in
kerosene.
 Recent Years: An actor's strike felled Rip Torn's 1970 production in New York
City. Two fires and seven robberies plagued the 1971 version starring David
Leary.
Macbeth: Proof of
The Curse

26. ACT I: i-iii
TERMS
 Elizabethan Drama: Plays that turn away from religious
subjects and begins to model ancient Greek and Roman plays
with sophisticated plots
 Tragedy: serious play in which the chief figures, through
peculiarity of character, pass through a serious of misfortunes,
eventually leading to a catastrophe and downfall
– Act I (happiness)
– Act II (conflict begins)
– Shakespearean Climax
– Act III (conflict could’ve been avoided but isn’t)
– Act IV (downfall/catastrophe)
– Act V (consequences/aftermath)

27. ACT I: i-iii
TERMS
 Aside – a convention in drama whereby a character onstage
addresses the audience to reveal some inner thought or feeling,
inaudible to other characters onstage
– MACBETH: The greatest is behind us. Thanks for
your pains [Aside to Banquo] Do you not hope your
children will be kings…?
 Soliloquy – monologue delivered by a character while alone
onstage revealing inner thoughts, emotions, or some other
information the audience needs to know
 Prophesy – predicted occurrence, Fate
 Paradox – a statement which reveals a kind of truth which at
first seems contradictory
– “Foul is fair and fair is foul”

28. Macbeth: SettingScotland
Inverness (Macbeth’s Castle near Dunsinane
and Birnahm Woods)
Fife (MacDuff’s Castle)
Cawdor & Glamis (territories in Scotland)
England
Ireland
Norway
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29. Macbeth:
Setting

30. ACT I: i-iii
CHARACTERS
 Weird Sisters (1st
, 2nd
,and 3rd
witch)
supernatural entities
wyrd (Old English) = weird (Scottish) = FATE
 Duncan – King of Scotland
 Malcom – Duncan’s oldest son
 Macbeth – Thane of Glamis
Thane - feudal lord
 Banquo – commander with Macbeth
 Captain – Captain of Scotland’s army
 Angus, Lennox, & Ross – Scottish nobles

31. ACT II TERMS
Hamaratia: tragic flaw that leads to a characters
downfall
Hubris: having excessive pride
– Example of a tragic flaw
Divine Right of Rule: God appoints/chooses a
person to reign as king
Internal Conflict: Inside/Personal forces
– Macbeth: ? ? ?
– Lady Macbeth: ? ? ?
External Conflict: External or outside forces
– Macbeth: ? ? ?

32. ACT II TERMS
Comic Relief: humorous scene or passage inserted
into an otherwise serious work (emotional outlet
for audience to contrast seriousness of work)
Anadiplosis (Greek for “doubling”): Repeating
the last word of a clause at the beginning of the
next clause
– Ex. Yoda - "Fear leads to anger; anger leads
to hatred; hatred leads to conflict; conflict
leads to suffering."

33. DANTE’S
LEVELS
OF
HELL
(pg. 9)

34. • Our levels of hell would
be looked at differently
today because of how
our priorities have
changed.
• However, it is important
to understand how
people of the time
ranked “evils.” Put in
modern day people
where they would fit for
each level of hell.
DANTE’S HELLDANTE’S HELL

35. DANTE’S HELLDANTE’S HELL
•1st
Ring: In Limbo
– Un-baptized –
•2nd
Ring: Lustful –
•3rd
Ring: Gluttonous –
•4th
Ring: Hoarders & Wasters
•5th
Ring: Wrathful –
•6th
Ring: Heretics –
•7th
Ring: Violent
– Violent against People/Property –
– Violent against themselves –

36. DANTE’S HELLDANTE’S HELL
•8th
Ring: Fraudulent or Deliberately Evil
– Pardoners and Seducers –
– Flatterers –
– Simony (accepting money for sins) –
– Sorcerers and False Prophets –
– Corrupt Politicians –
– Hypocrites –
– Thieves –
– Fraudulent Advisors –
– Sowers of Discord –
– Falsifiers –

37. DANTE’S HELLDANTE’S HELL
•9th
Ring: Traitors
– To kin (family) –
– To politics (party/king/country) –
– To guests –
– To lords or benefactors –

38. MACBETH THEMES
• WEATHER/SUPERNATURAL
– Witches & Deaths
• APPEARANCE vs. REALITY
– People look and pretend to be different than their inner
emotions/motives
• ___________: “There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face”
• ___________: “Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under ‘t”
• ___________: “Be innocent of the knowledge dearest chuck”
• ___________: “I put myself to thy direction, and unspeak my own
detraction… this was my first false speaking.”
• MANHOOD/MASCULINITY
– Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, Macduff

39. MACBETH THEMES
• FATE vs. FREE WILL
– Predestination or choice… Did Macbeth speed up
process in kiling Duncan or will it happen anyway?
Was it in the cards for Macbeth to kill him?
• Fate: Macbeth was fated to kill Duncan regardless of what
the witches said. It was all part of the plan/predestination.
• Free Will: Macbeth made the decision to kill Duncan and
take things into his own hands. He would’ve gotten the throne
sometime anyway.
• AMBITION
– Macbeth’s Hamaratia - leads to his downfall

40. MACBETH REVIEW
• SCOTLAND
 King Duncan
• Malcolm &
Donalbain
 Macbeth
 Banquo
 Nobles:
• Lennox, Ross,
Angus, Menteith
•ENGLAND
King Edward
Siward
Young Siward
*Malcolm
*Macduff
SUPERNATURAL
Witches
CHARACTER LIST

41. MACBETH REVIEW
• THEMES:
 Appearances can be deceiving
• Witches Paradox: “Foul is fair and fair is foul”
 Fate vs. Free Will
 Ambition
• Macbeth’s Hamaratia (ambition) drives him to his downfall
• TERMS TO KNOW (not already mentioned):
 Elizabethan Drama
 Shakespearean Tragedy
 Comic Relief
 Soliloquy
 Internal/External Conflict
 Background Information on Shakespeare & his time