William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. He went to grammar school and became an actor and playwright in London, writing 37 plays including Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare's plays were performed in theaters like the Globe in London during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I, when English theater flourished.

1. Introduction to
Shakespeare
English I

2. William Shakespeare

3. Shakespeare
The man, the myth, the legend
William Shakespeare was born the third of eight
children on April 23, 1564, in the town of Stratford-upon-
Avon, England, to Mary Arden and John Shakespeare.
His father, John, was a shopkeeper and a man of some
importance in Stratford who served at various times as
Justice of the Peace and High Bailiff (mayor).

4. Shakespeare’s Birthplace

5. …As it is today.

6. Education
William attended grammar school
where he studied Latin grammar, Latin
literature, and rhetoric (the uses of
language). As far as we know, he had
no formal education.

7. King Edward VI Grammar School at
Stratford-upon-Avon

8. Let There Be Love…
At the age of eighteen,
Shakespeare fell in love
with Anne Hathaway
who was 26. They
married and had three
children. Susanna was
the oldest, and Hamnet
and Judith were twins.
Hamnet died as a child.

9. Where There’s A Will…
There were not many forms of entertainment
during this time. Books were not in wide circulation and
anyone with half a brain could only take so much of that
lousy recorder music and those inane puppet shows - so
Shakespeare had the brilliant idea of becoming an actor.

10. But Wait . . .There’s More!
Theatrical troupes of Elizabethan England
were kind of like the garage bands of their time.
Actors would often write their own plays,
improvise lines, and play female roles. It wasn’t
unusual for them to rave for hours or to bore their
friends into oblivion. Incontrovertible historical
evidence strongly suggests actors of Shakespeare’s
time would regularly trash inns, drink heavily,
chase locals, and generally wreak havoc.

11. And More . . .
Aside from the birth of his children, little is
known about Shakespeare between 1582 and 1592,
except that he built a career as an actor and
eventually became an established and popular
member of the London theatre circuit.

12. There’s Even More?!?
Shakespeare’s play writing success began with
historical works. Between 1590 and 1593, he wrote
Henry VI, Parts 1,2, and 3, Richard III and A Comedy of
Errors. Romeo and Juliet was among the early plays that
he wrote between 1594 and 1596. Shakespeare wrote a
total of thirty seven plays, including such masterpieces as
Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth.

13. Still More Shakespeare . . .
As an actor, he was a member of a theatrical
company known as Lord Chamberlain’s Men, which
was later to become the King’s Men. Wealthy patrons
supported these theatrical groups. The King’s Men
were supported by King James himself.
Shakespeare worked with The King’s Men all
of his writing life by providing them with plays year
after year. He had a theater that needed plays, actors
who needed parts, and his own family who needed to
be fed.

14. And Still More . . .
Theatre in Shakespeare’s time was enjoyed
by commoners as well as the privileged. Often the
audiences were completely illiterate. The public
theatres were “open air,” so the players had to
compete with livestock sales, screaming street
hawkers, and obnoxious drunks on the street.

15. Retirement
He retired from the theater to his native
Stratford in 1612. Due to his widespread fame and
success, he was able to buy the second-largest house
in Stratford with a cottage, a garden, and 107 acres
of soccer field
In early 1616, he wrote his will, leaving his
property to his daughter Susanna, 300 pounds to his
other daughter, Judith, and his second-best bed to
Anne because it was her favorite.

16. R.I.P.
Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, on his 52nd
birthday. He was buried at Trinity Church in Stratford
as an honored citizen. His tombstone bears the
following inscription:
Good Friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blest be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he who moves my bones.

17. R.I.P.
These are hardly the best of Shakespeare’s lines, but
like his other lines, they seem to have worked. His
bones lie undisturbed to this day.

18. Shakespeare Today
Shakespeare’s plays are still produced all
over the world. During a Broadway season in the
1980s, one critic estimated that if Shakespeare were
alive, he would be receiving $25,000 a week in
royalties for a production of Othello alone. The
play was attracting larger audiences than any other
nonmusical production in town.

19. Shakespeare continued
Shakespeare was in the acting company, Lord
Chamberlain's Men (later called the King’s Men)
He wrote:
37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 2 long poems
His work was not published during his lifetime
but four years later in the "First Folio" book
Shakespeare is considered a "man for all
seasons" because his plays appeal to everyone
(all ages and across time)

20. The Shakespeare Debate
There is much speculation as to whether or not
there was an actual “Shakespeare.”
Many historians claim that “Shakespeare” is
actually a collection of several poets and
playwrights works, while others claim that it
was a pseudonym for another writer.
The three men most associated with the
“Shakespeare Debate” are Edward De Vere,
Francis Bacon, and Christopher Marlow.

21. The Shakespeare Debate
The reasoning behind the controversy seems to
lie in the fact that many people find it difficult
to accept that a man of poor education and
upbringing could write such eloquent
masterpieces and have such a strong command
of the English language.
The important thing is not to focus on whether
he was real or not, but instead we should focus
on the great pieces of literature that we have
attributed to him.

22. The Globe Theater

23. T he G lobe
Shakespeare performed his plays here
Constructed in 1599
On the banks of the Thames River
• Near London
Shape: Octagonal
Play time: 2 hours in
the afternoon
Cost: One penny

24. T he G lobe continued
 Seating:
Pit: General crowd
Galleries: A small additional fee
would get you these seats
Box Seats: Royalty or noblemen only
 The capacity for the play performance
was 3,000
 Sound effects were made in the huts
 Ghosts could appear on stage through
trap doors

25. T he G lobe continued
 Flags, trumpets, and fliers told when there
would be a play
 The flags also told the audience what type
of play they would be seeing:
Red flag = history play
White flag = comedy play
Black Flag = tragedy play

26. Shakespearean Actors and
Accessories

27. Shakespearean Actors and
Accessories

28. Costumes Continued . . .
England had “Clothing Acts” which
forbade certain classes of people from
dressing like a higher class.
So, for an actor-a person of the lower
classes- to dress like a nobleman or a
king was something of a scandal.

29. Life of an Elizabethan Actor
Actor must have a strong voice
-must be able to yell over the voices of
hecklers, drunks and crowds
- must have singing skills
Strong body
-acrobatics/gymnastics/juggling/wrestling
& able to physically fend off rowdy
audience members who jump on stage
- EXPERT fencing skills. Real swords were
used and every now and then, an actor would
actually be killed on stage if his timing and
skills weren’t good enough.
- strength to move heavy props

30. Vibrant Personality
- skilled in speech and rhymed verse
- Use of puns and jokes
- tragedy skills
- Quick wit for hecklers
- play female roles
- be able to play many different roles in one
play. One actor could play up to six roles in one
single play! This actor had to change clothes,
characters, and personalities many times
throughout the play.

31. Trickery/ “Magic” Skills
All plays were performed during early afternoon
because there was no electricity for a night time
performance. The audience members sat VERY close to
the stage, and sometimes, they could pay a penny extra
and actually sit ON the stage with the actors. The
audience insisted on seeing blood, gore, and guts. The
actors would hide sheep bladders full of sheep blood and
entrails under their shirt or costume. When stabbed, the
actor would appear to “bleed” or be “gutted” by his
opponent. The audience would grow hateful, loud, rude,
and destructive if the battles didn’t seem real or gory
enough. In order to appear realistic at such close range
to the audience, the actor’s sleight of hand had to be
quicker than the audience’s eye.

32. Inside Shakespeare’s Globe
This is a
photograph of the
newly restored
Globe Theater in
England. This
picture shows
what the stage
looks like.

33. The Globe
The Globe was the first actor owned
theater. The theatre held up to 3000 people.
There were actually 1500 seats, but many
could not afford them, so most paid a penny
and attended as groundlings, who stood for
the entire play.

34. Parts of the Globe
The Pit- Sometimes referred to as “The Yard”
where the groundlings watched the play for
their one-penny admission.
The Stage- Major playing area jutted into the
Pit, creating a sense of intimacy with the
audience. Hangings curtained off space beneath.
Main entrance- Here the doorkeeper greeted
playgoers and collected one penny from
everyone.

35. Parts of the Globe
Lord’s Rooms- private galleries; six pennies let
a viewer sit here, or sometimes even on the
stage itself.
Middle Gallery- called “two-penny rooms”
because the seats here were higher priced.
Inner Stage- A recessed playing area often
curtained off, then opened for appropriate
scenes.

36. Parts of the Globe
Hut- a storage area that also held a wench
system for lowering enthroned gods or other
characters to the stage.
Tiring-House- The important backstage area
which provided space for storage and business
offices.

37. Parts of the Globe
Trap Door- Leading down to the Hell area
where equipment included the winch elevator
that raised and lowered actors or properties.
There was another trap door in the ceiling
referred to as “the heavens.”
Hell- The area under the stage, used for ghostly
comings and goings or for more mundane
storage of properties.

38. Elizabethan England
Queen Elizabeth I ruled England
during the time that Shakespeare
wrote many of his plays.

39. Queen Elizabeth I

40. Queen Elizabeth I
She ruled England for nearly
50 years, and was very popular
Ruled 1558-1603
She was such a strong ruler that the time is called
the Elizabethan Age or England’s Golden Age.
Elizabeth never married although she had many
suitors during her lifetime.
Queen Elizabeth had red hair and green eyes and
was known for her love of fashion; she had over
2,000 dresses. Some of her more elaborate gowns
weighed over 200 pounds each.

41. Queen Elizabeth I continued
During the 1600s, London was a busy,
bustling, walled city. It was having a
Renaissance (rebirth) of arts and sciences under
two monarchs who loved the theater.
Queen Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry
VIII and Anne Boleyn, was a liberal-minded
monarch who enjoyed the theater and wrote
plays for special performances. Shakespeare
gave 32 performances at her court during her
reign.

42. Elizabethan Theater
During this time, theater was not the
only form of entertainment. People also
enjoyed music and dancing.
No women were allowed to act in the plays. Young
boys acted the female parts.
Actors wore clothes from their own time period,
regardless of the play’s setting. The costumes were
often very fancy.
Audiences were very rowdy. They talked during the
plays, and if they did not like one, they would throw
garbage at the actors.

43. Elizabethan England
England was very dirty
Most people bathed only once a year
Doctors worried about the Queen
because she took a bath once a month
People dumped garbage into the city streets
School
Boys went to school from age 7 to about 15, where
they learned math, Latin, and Greek
Girls were usually educated at home

44. Men’s Clothing

45. Women’s Clothing

46. King James I
(Elizabeth’s Successor)

47. King James I
King James I, the son of Mary Queen of
Scots, reigned from 1603 to 1625. He also
supported the theatre and wrote many poems and
plays. At least half of the plays that he saw
performed had been written by Shakespeare.

48. E lizabethan T heaters
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth and later
King James, there were many famous
Elizabethan Theaters. Some of these were
“The Theatre” “The Swan”
“The Globe” “The Rose”
“The Blackfriars” “The Fortune”
“The Whitehall” “The Curtain”
These theatres were usually located outside the
London walls on the Thames.

49. The Inside “Scoop”

51. SHAKESPEARE A RIP-OFF
ARTIST ??
Bard Not Originator of R & J Story
They were right when they said there's no such thing as an
original story. Some critics complained the famous 1961
movie "West Side Story" stole its plot from "Romeo and
Juliet." But "borrowing" stories is nothing new.
Shakespeare based "Romeo and Juliet" on a long, boring
poem by Arthur Brooke called "The Tragical Historie of
Romeus and Juliet." But Brooke's poem was based on a
French story by Pierre Boaistrau, and this story was taken
from Italian writer Matteo Bandellom, whose story is
supposedly a true account from the 11th century. And this
chain continues back all the way to a Greek story from
around the year 400 A.D.
-- Elizabethan Times

52. Sex-Crossed Lovers!
Insiders Reveal Juliet Is Really A Boy! Starts
"Crying Game" Tradition
The theatre in Shakespeare's day was very different from
the theatre we know today. The greatest difference was -- it
had no actresses. All of the women's roles were played by
boys! - sometimes recruited from the choirs of London
churches. Many of these boys acted their parts very well
and all were totally accepted by Elizabethan audiences. The
first women actors did not appear on the English stage until
1660!
-- Elizabethan Times

53. JULIET DISSES ROMEO!
She Can't Decide, Ro Or No?
Few people know that Juliet originated one of the earliest
"Diss" lists. When she learns that Romeo has killed her
cousin Tybalt, she "snaps on" 16th century style by calling
her lover: "a beautiful tyrant, fiend angelical, dove-
feathered raven, wolfish lamb, damned saint, and honorable
villain." Polite by today's standard, but just as effective.
-- Elizabethan Times

54. YOU MAKE THE CALL!
First Interactive Theatre!
At one point, two versions of "Romeo & Juliet," one with a
tragic ending and one with a happy ending, played on
alternate nights and the audience would choose whichever
ending suited their mood at the time!
-- Elizabethan Times

56. Romeo & Juliet
Romeo & Juliet was written during a period when
Shakespeare had found the strength of his writing. He
would have been about 30 years old when he wrote it. It
stands as a great play in its own right.
Romeo & Juliet is believed to have been written around
1595. The Nurse in the play refers to "an earthquake
eleven years past (Act II, scene 3, line 23). London
experienced a strong tremor around 1580.

57. Romeo & Juliet
1968

58. Romeo & Juliet
1996

59. The Tragedy
The story is, of course, about a pair of
star-crossed lovers. Two teenagers pursue
their love for each other despite the fact that
their families have been at odds with each
other for decades. The story combines
swordfighting, disguise, misunderstanding,
tragedy, humor, and some of the most
romantic language found in literature all in
the name of true love.

60. The Feud
(Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!!!)
Capulets
vs.
Montagues

62. In The Red Corner…The Capulets
Lord Capulet
Lady Capulet
Juliet, daughter of Capulet
Tybalt, nephew of Lady Capulet
Nurse to Juliet
Peter, servant to the Nurse
Sampson, servant of Capulet
Gregory, servant of Capulet
An Old Man of the Capulet family

64. And In The Blue Corner…The Montagues
Lord Montague
Lady Montague
Romeo, son of Montague
Benvolio, nephew of Montague and friend of Romeo
Balthasar, servant of Romeo
Abram, servant of Montague

65. Those of Neither Red Nor Blue
Prince Escalus, ruler of Verona
Mercutio, a relative of the Prince and friend of Romeo
Friar Laurence, a Franciscan priest
Friar John, another Franciscan priest
Count Paris, a young nobleman, a relative of the Prince
An Apothecary ( a druggist )
Page to Paris
Chief Watchman
Three Musicians
An Officer
Citizens of Verona, Relatives of both families
Maskers, Guards, Watchmen and Attendants

66. How Do I Love Thee
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

67. I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints -- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! -- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

68. Any
Questions?

69. Fun Facts

70. Life in 1500
Next time you’re washing your hands and
the water temperature isn’t just how you like
it, think about how things used to be. Here
are some facts about the 1500s.
Most people got married in June because
they took their yearly bath in May and still
smelled pretty good by June. However, they
were starting to smell, so brides carried a
bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.

71. More Life in 1500
Back then, baths consisted of a big tub filled
with hot water. The man of the house had the
privilege of the nice, clean water, then all the other
sons and men, then the women and finally the
children -- last of all the babies. By then the water
was so dirty, you could actually lose someone in it.
Hence the saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with
the bath water.”

72. Shake, Shake, Shake . . .
Houses had thatched roofs -- thick straw --
piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the
only place for animals to get warm, so all the
dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs)
lived in the roof. When it rained it became
slippery and sometimes the animals would slip
and fall off the roof -- hence the saying, “It’s
raining cats and dogs.”

73. Shake your . . .
There was nothing to stop things from falling
into the house. This posed a real problem in the
bedroom where bugs and other droppings could
really mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed
with big posts and a sheet hung over the top
afforded some protection. That’s how canopy beds
came into existence.

74. Are we having fun yet?
As one might think, the floor was dirt. Only
the wealthy had something other than dirt, hence
the saying “dirt poor.” The wealthy had slate
floors that would get slippery in the winter when
wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to
help keep their footing. As the winter wore on,
they kept adding more thresh until when you
opened the door it would all start slipping outside.
A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway,
hence, a “thresh hold.”

75. Let’s Party!
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big
kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire
and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did
not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving
leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the
next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been there
for quite awhile. Hence the rhyme, “peas porridge hot, peas
porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.”
Sometimes they could get pork, which made them feel quite
special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their
bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man “could
bring home the bacon.’ They would cut off a little to share with
guests and would all sit around and “chew the fat.”

76. More Fun . . .
Those with money had plates made of
pewter. Food with a high acid content caused
some of the lead to leak onto the food, causing
lead poisoning and death. This happened most
often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or
so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

77. Are you still awake?
Lead cups were used to drink ale or
whiskey. The combination would sometimes
knock them out for a couple of days. Someone
walking along the road would take them for
dead and prepare them for burial. They were
laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of
days and the family would gather around and
eat and drink and wait and see if they would
wake up. Hence the custom of holding a
“wake.”

78. England is old and small and the local folks
started running out of places to bury people, so they
would dig up coffins and take them to a “bone-house”
and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1
out of every 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks
on the inside, and they realized that they had been
burying people alive. They decided they would tie a
string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the
coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.
Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night
(the “graveyard shift”) to listen for the bell; thus,
someone could be “saved by the bell” or was considered
a “dead ringer.”