William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet widely considered the greatest writer in the English language. He wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and several other poems. His plays were performed by the Lord Chamberlain's Men and later the King's Men theatre companies in London. Some of his most famous works include tragedies like Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear as well as comedies such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Tempest. Shakespeare died in 1616 in his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon where he was buried. He left behind a large body of work that is still performed frequently around the world.

1. Shakespeare

2. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD FAMOUS WRITER William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright. He was widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" or simply "The Bard". His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

3. English Renaissance theatre LITERARY MOVEMENT Playwright, poet, actor OCCUPATION 23 April 1616 Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England DEATH DATE Baptised 26 April 1564 (birth date unknown) Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England BIRTH DATE WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

4. BIRTH & SCHOOLING William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, a successful glover originally from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden, the daughter of an affluent landowning farmer. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptised on 26 April 1564. His actual birthdate is unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23 April, St George's Day. This date, which can be traced back to an eighteenth-century, has proved appealing because Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616. He was the third child of eight and the eldest surviving son. Shakespeare was educated at the King's New School in Stratford, a free school chartered in 1553, about a quarter of a mile from his home.

5. FAMILY LIFE At the age of 18, Shakespeare married the 26-year-old Anne Hathaway. Six months after the marriage, she gave birth to a daughter, Susanna, who was baptised on 26 May 1583. Twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed almost two years later and were baptised on 2 February 1585. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried on 11 August 1596.

6. FAMILY LIFE (contd.) After the birth of the twins, there are few historical traces of Shakespeare until he is mentioned as part of the London theatre scene in 1592. Because of this gap, scholars refer to the years between 1585 and 1592 as Shakespeare's "lost years". Nicholas Rowe, Shakespeare’s first biographer, recounted a Stratford legend that Shakespeare fled the town for London to escape prosecution for deer poaching. Another eighteenth-century story has Shakespeare starting his theatrical career minding the horses of theatre patrons in London. John Aubrey reported that Shakespeare had been a country schoolmaster!

7. LONDON AND THE START OF THEATRE It is not known exactly when Shakespeare began writing, but contemporary allusions and records of performances show that several of his plays were on the London stage by 1592. He was well enough known in London by then to be attacked in print by the playwright Robert Greene. Greene’s attack is the first recorded mention of Shakespeare’s career in the theatre.

8. As You Like It , Act II, Scene 7, 139–42. " All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts..."

9. LONDON AND THE START OF THEATRE (contd.) From 1594, Shakespeare's plays were performed only by the Lord Chamberlain's Men , a company owned by a group of players (including Shakespeare) that soon became the leading playing company in London. After the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, the company was awarded a royal patent by the new king, James I, and changed its name to the King's Men .

10. GLOBE THEATRE

11. LONDON AND THE START OF THEATRE (contd.) In 1599, a partnership of company members built their own theatre on the south bank of the Thames, which they called the Globe. In 1608, the partnership also took over the Blackfriars indoor theatre . Records of Shakespeare's property purchases and investments indicate that the company made him a wealthy man. In 1597, he bought the second-largest house in Stratford, New Place.

12. TOUCHING THE SKIES Some of Shakespeare's plays were published in quarto editions from 1594. By 1598, his name had become a selling point and began to appear on the title pages. Shakespeare continued to act in his own and other plays after his success as a playwright. The 1616 edition of Ben Jonson's Works names him on the cast lists for Every Man in His Humour (1598) and Sejanus, His Fall (1603). The absence of his name from the 1605 cast list for Jonson’s Volpone is taken by some scholars as a sign that his acting career was nearing its end.

13. LOVE FOR THEATRE AND HIS PLAYS The First Folio of 1623, however, lists Shakespeare as one of "the Principal Actors in all these Plays", some of which were first staged after Volpone , although we cannot know for certain what roles he played. In 1610, John Davies of Hereford wrote that "good Will" played "kingly" roles. In 1709, Rowe passed down a tradition that Shakespeare played the ghost of Hamlet's father. Later traditions maintain that he also played Adam in As You Like It and the Chorus in Henry V , though scholars doubt the sources of the information.

14. SHAKESPEARE’s GRAVE

15. HIS WILL In his will, Shakespeare left the bulk of his large estate to his elder daughter Susanna. The terms instructed that she pass it down intact to "the first son of her body".The Quineys had three children, all of whom died without marrying. The Halls had one child, Elizabeth, who married twice but died without children in 1670, ending Shakespeare’s direct line. Shakespeare's will scarcely mentions his wife, Anne, who was probably entitled to one third of his estate automatically. He did make a point, however, of leaving her "my second best bed", a bequest that has led to much speculation.

16. DEATH AND DYING Shakespeare was buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church two days after his death. The stone slab covering his grave is inscribed with a curse against moving his bones: Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare, To digg the dvst encloased heare. Blest be ye man yt spares thes stones, And cvrst be he yt moves my bones.

17. IN HIS MEMORY Sometime before 1623, a monument was erected in his memory on the north wall, with a half-effigy of him in the act of writing. Its plaque compares him to Nestor, Socrates, and Virgil. Shakespeare has been commemorated in many statues and memorials around the world, including funeral monuments in Southwark Cathedral and Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey.

18. THE FAMOUS WORKS BY THE FAMOUS WRITER SHAKESPEAREAN HISTORY King John Richard II Henry IV, part 1 Henry IV, part 2 Henry V Henry VI, part 1 Henry VI, part 2 Henry VI, part 3 Richard III Henry VIII SHAKESPEAREAN COMEDY All's Well That Ends Well As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Love's Labour's Lost Measure for Measure The Merchant of Venice The Merry Wives of Windsor A Midsummer Night's Dream Much Ado About Nothing Pericles, Prince of Tyre The Taming of the Shrew The Tempest Twelfth Night, or What You Will The Two Gentlemen of Verona The Two Noble Kinsmen The Winter's Tale

19. THE FAMOUS WORKS BY THE FAMOUS WRITER (contd.) SHAKESPEAREAN POEMS Love's Labour's Won Cardenio APOCRYPHA Arden of Faversham The Birth of Merlin Locrine The London Prodigal The Puritan The Second Maiden's Tragedy Sir John Oldcastle Thomas Lord Cromwell A Yorkshire Tragedy Edward III Sir Thomas More

20. THE FAMOUS WORKS BY THE FAMOUS WRITER (contd.) SHAKESPEAREN TRAGEDY Romeo and Juliet Coriolanus Titus Andronicus Timon of Athens Julius Caesar Macbeth Hamlet Troilus and Cressida King Lear Othello Antony and Cleopatra Cymbeline SHAKESPEAREAN POEMS Shakespeare's Sonnets Venus and Adonis The Rape of Lucrece The Passionate Pilgrim The Phoenix and the Turtle A Lover's Complaint

21. Summaries Of Some Of His Works

22. All's Well That Ends Well (a dark comedy) This play concerns a maid, Helena, who cures the King of France of a disease, then asks for Lord Bertram's hand in marriage. Bertram obliges, then quickly flees to Italy to engage in war, hoping for death to avoid marriage. Helena is greatly hurt, and sets out on a pilgrimage, only to wind up in Florence, Italy, where she meets Bertram's new young mistress, Diana. In a perplexing "bed trick," Helena sleeps with Bertram, while Bertram believes he is sleeping with Diana. This act secures Helena's bond to Bertram, and Bertram, matured by war, consents to happily love Helena and their future child. Other characters include Lafew (Lafeu), a wise old lord; Parolles, an obsessive liar and follower of Bertram; the Countess, the mother of Bertram and stepmother of Helena; the Clown, a witty servant to the Countess; and a Widow, the mother of Diana.

23. The Comedy of Errors ( An early comedy) This play involves the separation, then reunion, of Egeon and Emelia (husband and wife); their twin sons, Antipholus of Ephesus (A.E.) and Antipholus of Syracuse (A.S.); and their twin servants, Dromio of Ephesus (D.E.) and Dromio of Syracuse (D.S.). The family is separated at sea during a storm, 33 years before the present. Egeon, A.S., and D.S. survive together and grow up in Syracuse. Seven years before the present, they decide to search, separately, for their lost family. Emelia survives with A.E. and D.E., only to have a "rude" fisherman steal the boys from her. In sorrow, she becomes a nun in the town of Ephesus. By fate, A.E. and D.E. move to Ephesus too, though they don't know of their mother Emelia. A.E. marries Adriana, and she has a sister living with them, Luciana.

24. The Comedy of Errors (An early comedy)contd . Egeon comes to the city looking for his son (A.E.) and his servant (D.E.), only to be sentenced to death for entering enemy territory. Soon after, Egeon's other son, A.S., and servant, D.S., enter the city on business. The sons and the servants (both identical twins), are easily confused by the citizens of Ephesus: Angelo the goldsmith, a female Courtesan, various merchants, and Nell, Adriana's cook and fiancée to D.E. The citizens think Antipholus and Dromio have gone mad, since they get very angry and can move from place to place like magic. Doctor Pinch, a psychiatrist, even tries to get the devil out of A.E.'s body. At the hour of Egeon's execution, Egeon recognizes his son A.E., though A.E. doesn't recognize Egeon. Simultaneously, Emelia appears from the convent with A.S. and D.S., who have taken refuge there, and the family reunites. The Duke (Solinus) pardons Egeon for entering the city, A.S. begins to court Luciana for marriage, and Emelia holds a feast to rejoice the family's reunion.

25. The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra ( A later tragedy) Octavius Caesar (later renamed to Augustus Caesar, grand-nephew and adopted son of the murdered Julius Caesar), Antony, and Lepidus form the Roman triumvirate that rules the Western world. Lepidus leaves the triumvirate, and Caesar and Antony are left to rule the world. Antony, though married to Fluvia, lives in Alexandria, Egypt with his mistress Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt. Fueled by a disgust at his lifestyle in Egypt and anger over the wars caused by Antony's relatives, Caesar calls Antony home to Rome. Antony agrees, but only after Fluvia dies of an illness. Once in Rome, Caesar and Antony try to make amends through the marriage of Antony to Caesar's sister Octavia.

26. The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra ( A later tragedy)contd. Antony soon deserts Octavia, however, and returns to live with Cleopatra. Caesar, enraged, vows to attack and regain control of Egypt from Antony and Cleopatra. Caesar's army is more powerful and more skillful, and soon approaches defeat of Antony. Enobarbus, Antony's best friend, deserts him and joins Caesar's army. However, Enobarbus becomes overcome with regret and remorse for leaving Antony, and kills himself near Caesar's headquarters. Antony, facing defeat, asks Eros (another friend) to kill him. Eros cannot, and instead kills himself. Antony then kills himself by falling on his sword. Cleopatra, in grief over Antony's death and determined never to fall under Caesar's command commits suicide by allowing poisonous asps to bite her. Cleopatra's main attendant (Charmian) dies in the same manner, while her second attendant (Iras) dies from stress and grief over Cleopatra's death.

27. Flabbergasting Facts About The Globe Theatre Shakespeare and his company built TWO Globe Theatres! Fire at the Globe Theatre broke out in June 29 1613 The second Globe Theatre was built shortly after in 1614 The site of the old Globe theatre was rediscovered in the 20th century and a reconstruction of a New Globe Theatre has been built near the spot. The Globe Theater had a 1500 plus audience capacity. Up to 3000 people would flock to the theatre and its grounds. The Globe was built in a similar style to the Coliseum, but on a smaller scale - other Elizabethan Theatres followed this style of architecture - they were called amphitheatres. The Globe theatre was built by a carpenter called Peter Smith together with his workforce. They started building in 1597 and it was finished in 1598. In 1596 London's authorities banned the public presentation of plays and all theatres within the city limits of London. All theaters located in the City were forced to move to the South side of the River Thames

28. Flabbergasting Facts About The Globe Theatre Advertising - Flags were erected on the day of the performance which sometimes displayed a picture advertising the next play to be performed. Colour coding was used to advertise the type of play to be performed - a black flag meant a tragedy , white a comedy and red a history. A trumpet was sounded to announce to people that the play was about to begin at the Globe Theatre in order for people to take their final places. At the start of the play after collecting money from the audience the admission collectors put the boxes in a room backstage - the box office. Special effects at the Globe were also a spectacular addition at the theater allowing for smoke effects, the firing of a real canon, fireworks (for dramatic battle scenes) and spectacular 'flying' entrances from the rigging in the 'heavens'. In just two weeks Elizabethan theaters could often present “eleven performances of ten different plays”.

29. Flabbergasting Facts About The Globe Theatre A crest displaying Hercules bearing the globe on his shoulders together with the motto "Totus mundus agit histrionem" ( the whole world is a playhouse ) was displayed above the main entrance of the Globe Theater. This phrase was slightly re-worded in the William Shakespeare play As You Like It - "All the world’s a stage" which was performed at the Globe Theater. There were no actresses. Female characters had to be played by young boys. The acting profession was not a credible one and it was unthinkable that any woman would appear in a play. Many of the boy actors died of poisoning due to the vast quantities of lead in their make-up. During the height of the summer the groundlings were also referred to as ' stinkards ' for obvious reasons. The Globe would have particularly attracted young people and the were many complaints of apprentices avoiding work in order to go to the theater.

30. LASTWORDS Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century . But it is needless to say that this great playwright has made his mark on this world for centuries to come.

31. MADE BY: SOMYA & KRITIKA VIII Nishat