The Greatest English Writer ever existed - The Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare

2. The Man That Would Be Shakespeare
1563-1616
Stratford-on-Avon,
England
He wrote 37 plays &
154 sonnets
He started out as an
actor

3. Background of the Bard
Born April, 1564 in Stratford on Avon
Parents John & Mary Shakespeare
Educated at Stratford Grammar School
Learned business as an apprentice for his
father
Married Anne Hathaway November 28, 1582
She was 8 years his senior and 3 months pregnant
when they married

4. The Plays
 Early plays, 1590’s, were mainly comedy
Comedy (and this could be extended to
most of Shakespeare's history plays as
well) is social--leading to a happy
resolution (usually a marriage or
marriages) and social unification.
 Shakespeare began to focus on tragedy/dramatic
themes in the early 1600’s
Tragedy is individual, concentrating on
the suffering of a single, remarkable hero-
-leading to individual torment, waste and
death
1608 marks a change in tone from
tragedy to romance, light, magic, and
reconciliation

5. Comedy of Errors 1592
The Taming of the Shrew 1592-94
Love's Labor's Lost 1594-95
Two Gentlemen of Verona 1594-95
A Midsummer Night's Dream 1595-96
The Merchant of Venice 1596-97
Much Ado About Nothing 1598-99
As You Like It 1599-1600
Twelfth Night 1599-1600
Merry Wives of Windsor 1601-02
Troilus and Cressida 1601-02
All's Well That Ends Well 1602-03
Measure for Measure 1604-05

6. Titus Andronicus 1593-94
Romeo and Juliet 1594-95
Hamlet 1600-01
Othello 1604-05
The Tragedy of King Lear 1605-06
Macbeth 1605-06
Timon of Athens 1607-(?)
Cymbeline 1609-10
The Winter's Tale 1610-11
Tempest 1611-12

7. Henry VI parts I, II, III 1590-92
Richard III 1590-92
King John 1594-96
Richard II 1597-(?)
King Henry IV part I, part II 1597-98
Henry V (1599) 1598-99
Julius Caesar 1599-1600
Henry VIII 1613-(?)
Antony and Cleopatra 1606-07
Coriolanus 1607-08

8. When in a play...
Only men were permitted
to perform
Boys or effeminate men
were used to play the
women
Costumes were often the
company’s most valuable
asset
Costumes were made by
the company, bought in
London, or donated by
courtiers

9. English Theater
Plays were most often performed in outdoor
theaters
Performances took place during the day so
that the stage would be illuminated by
natural light

10. The Globe Theater

11. THE GLOBE THEATER
 Built in 1599
 The most magnificent theater in London
 Shakespeare was 1/5 owner
 He earned 10% of the total profit,
approximately £200-250 a year
 The Bard retired to Stratford and lived on the
profits he earned from the Globe
June 19, 1613 the Globe burned to the ground
during a performance of Henry VIII

12. The Globe Theater –
 Many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed
here
 The stage was a large, rectangle that jutted out
into the yard
 Held 2,000-3,000 people tightly packed
 An open playhouse with a wooden structure
three stories high
 It was shaped like a 16 sided polygon
 General admission = 1 Penny entitled a
spectator to be a “groundling”-someone who
could stand in the yard.
 More expensive seats were in the roofed
galleries and most expensive seats were chairs
set right on the stage along its two sides
 Rebuilt in 1900’s

13.  Aristocrats
 The Queen/King
 The Groundlings!

14. Actors
Only men and boys allowed onstage
Young boys whose voices had not
changed play women’s roles
It would have been considered
indecent for a woman to appear on
stage

15. Differences
No scenery
Settings > references in dialogue
Elaborate costumes
Plenty of props
Fast-paced, colorful>2 hours!

16. Spectators
Wealthy got benches
“Groundlings”>poorer people
stood and watched from the
courtyard (“pit”)
All but wealthy were
uneducated/illiterate
Much more interaction than
today

17. The Cost of a Show
1 shilling to stand
2 shillings to sit in
the balcony
1 shilling was 10%
of their weekly
income
Broadway Today:
$85 Orchestra
$60 Balcony
10% of a teacher’s
weekly salary