William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor born in 1564 who wrote 37 plays and over 150 sonnets. He wrote comedies, tragedies and histories. His plays were performed at the Globe Theatre, an open-air theatre with no artificial lighting. Only men and boys performed, with boys playing women's roles. Shakespeare helped develop the English language and could freely manipulate parts of speech for stylistic purposes. One of his famous plays is Julius Caesar, written in 1599, about the Roman dictator who is assassinated by political enemies despite his military success.

1. Introduction to
Shakespeare

2. William Shakespeare
 Born 1564, died 1616
 Wrote 37 plays
 Wrote over 150 sonnets
 Actor, poet, playwright

3. Types of Plays
 Shakespeare wrote:
 Comedies - light and
amusing, usually with a
happy ending
 Tragedies –serious dramas
with disastrous endings
 Histories
– involve events or
persons from history

4. The Theatre
• The Globe
Theatre:
• Open ceiling
• Three stories high
• No artificial lighting
• Plays were shown
during daylight
hours only

5. Spectators
 Wealthy people got
to sit on benches
 The poor (called
“groundlings”) had
to stand and watch
from the courtyard
 There was much
more audience
participation than
today

6. Actors
 Only men and boys
 Young boys whose
voices had not
changed played the
women’s roles
 It would have been
indecent for a woman
to appear on stage

7. English Language
 In Shakespeare’s time English was a more
flexible language than it is today.
 Grammar and spelling were not yet
completely formalized, although scholars
were beginning to urge rules to regulate
them.
 English had begun to emerge as a
significant literary language, having
recently replaced Latin as the language of
serious intellectual and artistic activity in
England.

8. English Language
 Freed of many of the conventions and
rules of modern English, Shakespeare
could shape vocabulary and syntax to the
demands of style. For example, he could
interchange the various parts of speech,
using nouns as adjectives or verbs,
adjectives as adverbs, and pronouns as
nouns.

9. Julius Caesar
Synopsis:
He is the greatest hero the Roman world
has known, but for Julius Caesar the world
is not enough. And with political ambition
come new enemies, enemies who wield
words like knives in the shadows. Soon
friend will become foe and foe his avenger,
and only death shall be the victor.

10.  History:
Julius Caesar
 aka "The Tragedy of
"Julius Caesar""
 Written in 1599
 First performance
was probably on June
12th 1599, at the
opening of the Globe
Theatre
 First published in
1623