This document provides biographical information about William Shakespeare and summaries of some of his most famous plays. It discusses that Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon and had a career as an actor and playwright in London between 1585 and 1592. It summarizes some of Shakespeare's most popular plays, including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, and Richard III. The document also includes images related to Shakespeare's life and works.

1. Deanna Hinman
Secondary English Education
Grades 9-12
Ages 14-18

2. William Shakespeare was born on
April 26, 1564. Between the dates
of 1585 and 1592 William began his
career as an actor, writer, and part
owner of a play company called,
“Lord Chamberlain’s Men.”
Williams plays consist of histories,
tragedies, and comedies; some of
which have become some of the
most beloved stories of all time.
Today we will look at some of
William Shakespeare’s most
popular plays.

3. This is William Shakespeare’s wife, Anne
Hathaway. She outlived William by 7 years
and they had three children together;
Susanna, Hamnet, Judith. Anne was from a
wealthy family and in their times she
would have been seen as a “catch.”
Shakespeare, however, could not give her
the life that she was used to on a writers
salary. It is said that Anne was pregnant
with Williams child before they were
married which was unheard of and this
was the reason that the two married. On
the other hand, William’s Sonnet 145 was
written for Anne.

4. Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is William
Shakespeare’s most well known play
overall. It is a tragedy that depicts and
young man and young woman of two
families who are mortal enemies. The
two must hide their love from each of
their families; however with a lack of
communication, Juliet kills herself and
as Romeo finds her dead he too
commits suicide.

5. Hamlet is an example
of a tragedy created by
William Shakespeare.
It depicts a young man
named Hamlet whose
father, King Hamlet of
Denmark was
murdered. As the
ghost of King Hamlet
appears to Hamlet, the
story unfolds as to
who was the cold
blooded killer.
Hamlet

6. Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is one of
Shakespeare’s comedies which tells of a
man named Leonato and his daughter
Hero who are welcoming home soldiers
of war with a party. As Hero falls in love
with one of the soldiers, a jealous friend
of the soldier creates a lie of Hero’s
infidelity. With the help of her father and
her witty cousin Beatrice, the family
learns lessons of love and happiness.

7. Richard III
• Richard III was one of Shakespeare’s most well
known history plays. In this play, after the
beloved King of Lancaster dies, his younger
brother Richard begins to aspire to take the
throne. Using is trickery and even murder,
Richard begins his devious plan.

8. Twelfth
Night
The Twelfth Night is my personal favorite
out of all of Shakespeare’s plays. It is a
comedy about a brother and sister named
Viola and Sebastian who get separated ina
shipwreck. Thinking her brother is dead
Viola needed a job so she dressed as a man
whose name is Sebastian in memeory of her
father and headed to find a job as one of the
nobleman, Orsino’s soldiers. Viola falls in
love with Orsino, meanwhile Orsino is in
love with Lady Olivia. Orsino sends
Sebastian who is really Viola to tell Lady
Olivia of his love. When Viola arrives, Lady
Olivia falls in love with Viola who is dressed
as Sebastian. In the end the characters work
it all out and Sebastian and Viola are
reunited.
Viola
OrsinoOlivia
Love Triangle

9. These are some outfits that the characters in
Shakespeare’s play may have worn. These costumes
are also outfits that people wore everyday in his time.
These outfits in particular would have been worn by
upper-class folk who could afford this type of cloth.

10. Christopher Marlowe was assumed to
be a coworker of Shakespeare. He is
considered to be the only man in the
universe that saw Shakespearean work
and understood its complexity. The
conspiracy, however, is that Marlowe
was the original creator of many of
Shakespeare’s plays and Shakespeare
just gained all of the fame from them.
The few original works that Marlowe
created such as, “The Tragedy of Dido,
Queen of Carthage” and “Tamburlaine
the Great” have such impossible
similarities to the works of Shakespeare
that many scholar believe that he is the
true artist.
Christopher Marlowe

11. This is a photo of The New Globe Theatre where Shakespeare would put on his
many plays. In Shakespeare’s time, The Old Globe Theatre was demolished by the
Puritans who believed that Shakespeare’s plays were sacrilegious. Finally, in the
20th
century the site for The Old Globe Theatre was found and The New Globe
theatre was built where today they still have reenactments of Shakespeare’s
original plays.

13. Modern Movies Based on Shakespeare Plays
10 Things I hate about you
This film is based on the play
“The Taming of the Shrew” about
a stubborn woman who falls in love.
O
This film is based on
Shakespeare’s play “Othello”
about a tragic death caused by
mis-communication.

14. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Not only was Shakespeare a playwright, but he also wrote sonnets. One of his most
famous sonnets is called Sonnet 18 which is a love poem about his true love as he
compares her to a summers day. He takes every one of the attributes of a summers
day and discusses how she is more wonderful than every aspect. Sonnets such as this
really help the reader to understand how Shakespeare was a true Romantic.
Sonnet 18

15. They that have power to hurt and will do none,
That do not do the thing they most do show,
Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow,
They rightly do inherit heaven’s graces
And husband nature’s riches from expense;
They are the lords and owners of their faces,
Others but stewards of their excellence.
The summer’s flower is to the summer sweet,
Though to itself it only live and die,
But if that flower with base infection meet,
The basest weed outbraves his dignity:
For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.
Sonnet 94
This sonnet is about powerful individuals who do not
know how to use their power. They are given power by
God and choose not to use it which is an ignorant task.
This sonnet is known as the most difficult sonnet to
understand.

17. This is Shakespeare’s family tree. As you can see it begins
with Shakespeare’s grandparents.

18. Shakespeare uses a
specific type of language
that can be very difficult
for the lay reader. Here are
some examples of the
tricky diction that he uses.
Anon- soon, shortly, presently
Apace- quickly, speedily, fast
Arrant- downright, absolute, unmitigated
Crave- beg, entreat, request
Cuckold- man with an unfaithful wife
Fain- gladly, willingly
Forsooth- in truth, certainly, indeed
Quoth- said
Rail- rant, rave, be abusive
Visage- face, countenance
Warrant- assure, promise, guaranteed

19. Frequently used Shakespeare
quotes
“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none”
“Expectation is the root of all heartache”
“If music be the food of love, play on”
“God has given you one face and you make
yourself another”
“Absence from those we love is self from self- a
deadly banishment”
“Better three hours too soon than one minute
too late”
“The course of true love never did run smooth”
“Better a witty fool than a foolish wit”
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”
“Neither a borrower nor a lender be”