1. Will in the World
Shakespeare & Elizabethan Theatre
Professor Will Adams
Valencia College
2. Who Was Shakespeare?
Without a doubt, William
Shakespeare was the greatest poet
and dramatist the Western world
has ever seen.
However, this simple question
has a complex answer!
In asking “Who was
Shakespeare?" we discover The
Bard’s eventful life, the reasons
for his popularity, and reveal the
authorship controversy.
This all leads to one question:
Exactly who was Will?
4. William Shakespeare: 1564 - 1616
Amazingly, we know very
little about Shakespeare’s life.
Even though he is the world’s
most famous and popular
playwright, historians have
had to fill in the gaps between
the handful of surviving
records from Elizabethan
times.
5. Shakespeare’s Basic Biography
Born: April 23, 1564
Died: April 23, 1616
Married Anne Hathaway in November
1582
Born and raised in Stratford-upon-
Avon, England, but moved to London
in the late 1580s.
Shakespeare’s 37 plays and 154
sonnets are considered the most
important and enduring ever written.
Although the plays have captured the
imagination of theatergoers for
centuries, some historians claim
that Shakespeare didn’t actually write
them.
6. Shakespeare’s Early Life
Shakespeare was probably born on
April 23, 1564, but this date is an
educated guess because we only have a
record of his baptism three days later.
His parents, John Shakespeare and
Mary Arden, were successful townsfolk
who moved to a large house in Henley
Street, Stratford-upon-Avon from the
surrounding villages.
His father became a wealthy town
official and his mother was from an
important, respected family.
7. Shakespeare’s Early Life
It is widely assumed that he
attended the local grammar
school where he would have
studied Latin, Greek and
classical literature.
His early education must have
made a huge impact on him
because many of his plots draw
on the classics.
8. The Adult Shakespeare
At 18, Shakespeare
married Anne Hathaway, who
was already pregnant with their
first daughter.
The wedding would have been
arranged quickly to avoid the
shame of having a child born out
of wedlock.
Shakespeare fathered three
children in all.
Susanna was born in May 1583,
but was conceived out of
wedlock.
9. The Adult Shakespeare
Judith & Hamnet: twins born
in February 1585
Sadly, Hamnet died in 1596,
at age 11.
Reportedly, Shakespeare was
devastated by the death of his
only son, and it is argued
that his tragedy, Hamlet,
written four years later, is
evidence of this.
11. Shakespeare’s Theatre Career
At some point in the late 1580s,
Shakespeare made the four-day ride
to London, and by 1592 had
established himself as a writer.
In 1594 came the event that
changed the course of literary
history : Shakespeare joined
Richard Burbage’s acting company
and became its chief playwright for
the next two decades.
Here, Shakespeare was able to hone
his craft, writing for a regular
group of performers.
12. Shakespeare’s Theatre Career
Shakespeare also worked as an actor
in the theatre company, although
the lead roles were always reserved
for Burbage himself.
The company became very successful
and often performed in front of the
Queen of England, Elizabeth I.
In 1603, James I ascended the
throne and granted his royal
patronage to Shakespeare’s
company, which then became known
as The King’s Men.
13. Will In Renaissance London
It’s very easy to think of Shakespeare as a one-off genius with
a unique perspective on the world around him.
However, Shakespeare was very much a product of the huge
cultural shifts that were occurring in Elizabethan England
during his lifetime.
He was working in the theatre at the height of the Renaissance
movement, something that is reflected in Shakespeare’s plays.
Shakespeare was born towards the end of the Renaissance
period, and was one of the first to bring the Renaissance’s core
values to the theater.
14. Will In Renaissance London
Shakespeare Embraced the Renaissance in the Following Ways:
Shakespeare updated the simplistic, two-dimensional writing style of
pre-Renaissance drama.
He focused on creating “human” characters with psychological
complexity ( Hamlet is perhaps the most famous example of this).
The upheaval in the accepted social hierarchy allowed Shakespeare to
explore the humanity of every character regardless of their social
position (Even monarchs are given human emotions and are capable of
making mistakes!).
Shakespeare utilized his knowledge of Greek and Roman classics when
writing his plays. Before the Renaissance, these texts had been
suppressed by the Catholic Church.
16. Shakespeare’s Tragedies
Shakespeare wrote three different types of
plays (tragedies, comedies & histories).
Here we explore the common features of
his tragedies, which include his most
memorable plays like Romeo &
Juliet, Hamlet, & Macbeth.
Shakespeare is perhaps most famous for his
tragedies; indeed, many consider Hamlet to
be the best play ever written.
Other tragedies include Romeo &
Juliet, Macbeth & King Lear, all of which
are immediately recognizable, regularly
studied, & frequently performed.
17. Shakespeare’s Tragedies
The Shakespeare tragedies share a number of common features,
as outlined below:
The Fatal Flaw: Shakespeare’s tragic heroes are all fundamentally
flawed. It is this weakness that ultimately leads to their downfall.
The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall: Shakespearean tragedies
often focus on the fall of a nobleman. By presenting the audience
with a man with excessive wealth or power, his eventual downfall is
all the more tragic.
External Pressures: Shakespeare’s tragic heroes often fall victim to
external pressures. Fate, evil spirits, and manipulative characters all
play a hand in the heroes’ downfall.
18. Shakespeare’s Tragedies
All in all, Shakespeare wrote 10
tragedies.
However, Shakespeare's
plays often overlap in style and
there is debate over which plays
should be classified as tragedy,
comedy or history.
For example, Much Ado About
Nothing is normally classified as
a comedy, but follows many of
the tragic conventions.
19. Shakespeare’s Tragedies
The 10 plays generally classified
as tragedy are as follows:
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
21. Shakespeare’s Comedies
Next we turn our attention to
Shakespeare’s comedies, a list
that includes the classic Much
Ado About Nothing!
The Shakespeare comedies have
stood the test of time.
Today, Shakespearean comedies
like The Tempest, The Merchant
of Venice, and Much Ado About
Nothing continue to enthrall and
entertain audiences worldwide,
but these plays are not comedies
in the modern sense of the word.
22. Shakespeare’s Comedies
Indeed, the comedy
of Shakespeare’s time was very
different to our modern comedy.
The style and key characteristics
of a Shakespearean comedy are
not as distinct as the other
Shakespearian genres, and
classification of the
Shakespearean comedy plays is
therefore difficult.
23. Shakespeare’s Comedies
Shakespeare’s comedies are distinguishable from his
tragedies and histories by the following characteristics:
Comedy Through Language: Shakespeare communicated his
comedy through language and his comedy plays are peppered
with clever word play, metaphors and insults.
Love: The theme of love is prevalent in every Shakespeare
comedy. Often, we are presented with sets of lovers who, through
the course of the play, overcome the obstacles in their
relationship and unite.
24. Shakespeare’s Comedies
Complex Plots: The plotline of a Shakespeare comedy contains more
twists and turns than his tragedies and histories. Although the plots
are convoluted, they do follow similar patterns. For example, the
climax of the play always occurs in the third act and the final scene
has a celebratory feel when the lovers finally declare their love for
each other.
Mistaken Identities: The plot is often driven by mistaken identity.
Sometimes this is an intentional part of a villain’s plot, as in Much
Ado About Nothing when Don John tricks Claudio into believing
that his fiancé has been unfaithful through mistaken identity.
Characters also play scenes in disguise and it is not uncommon for
female characters to disguise themselves as male characters.
25. Shakespeare’s Comedies
The 18 plays A Midsummer
generally classified as Night's Dream
comedy are as Much Ado
follows: About Nothing
All's Well That Pericles, Prince
Ends Well of Tyre
As You Like It The Taming of
The Comedy of the Shrew
Errors The Tempest
Cymbeline Troilus and
Love's Labour’s Cressida
Lost Twelfth Night
Measure for Two Gentlemen
Measure of Verona
The Merry The Two Noble
Wives of Kinsmen
Windsor The Winter's Tale
The Merchant of
Venice
27. Shakespeare’s Histories
Before we leave Shakespeare’s plays,
we should mention the histories.
These were hugely popular at the
time and plays like Henry V are
among the Bard’s best written.
Many of Shakespeare’s plays are
historical, but only certain plays are
categorized as such.
Plays like Macbeth and Hamlet are
historical in setting but are more
correctly classified as Shakespearean
tragedies.
28. Shakespeare’s Histories
The same is true for the Roman
plays (Julius Caesar, Antony &
Cleopatra, and Coriolanus), which
are all based on historical sources.
So which plays are classified as
Shakespearean histories and what
are their common features?
All in all, Shakespeare wrote 10
histories.
These plays are distinct in subject
matter only, not in style.
The histories provide an equal
measure of tragedy and comedy.
29. Shakespeare’s Histories
Shakespearean histories share a number of common features, as
outlined below:
Set Against Medieval English History: The Shakespeare histories
dramatize the Hundred Years War with France and therefore
comprise the Henry Tetralogy, Richard II, Richard III and King
John, many of which feature the same characters at different ages.
Not Historically Accurate: In writing the history plays, Shakespeare
was not attempting to render a historically accurate picture of the
past. Rather, he was writing for the entertainment of his theater
audience and therefore molded historical events to suit their
prejudices.
30. Shakespeare’s Histories
Provides Social Commentary: Following on from the previous point,
the history plays say more about Shakespeare’s time than the
Medieval society in which they are set. For example, Shakespeare cast
King Henry V as an everyman hero to exploit the growing sense of
patriotism in England. His depiction of this character is not
necessarily historically accurate.
Explores The Social Structure of the Time: Shakespeare's history plays
offer a view of society that cuts right across the class system. These
plays present us with all kinds of characters from lowly-beggars to the
monarchy. In fact, it is not uncommon for characters from both ends
of the social strata to play scenes together. Most memorable is Henry
V and Falstaff who turn up in a number of the history plays.
31. Shakespeare’s Histories
The 10 plays classified as history
are as follows:
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Richard II
Richard III
33. Shakespeare’s Iambic Pentameter
Iambic pentameter is the meter
that Shakespeare nearly
always used when writing he
was writing in verse.
Most of his plays were written
in iambic pentameter, except
for lower-class characters who
speak in prose ( everyday
the
English spoken by people of the
time).
34. Shakespeare’s Iambic Pentameter
Iambic Pentameter has:
Ten syllables in each line
Five pairs of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables
Each pair of syllables is called an iambus. You’ll notice that each
iambus is made up of one unstressed and one stressed beat (ba-
BUM).
The rhythm in each line sounds like:
ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM
Most of Shakespeare’s famous quotations fit into this rhythm. For
example:
If mu- / -sic be / the food / of love, / play on
Is this / a dag- / -ger I / see be- / fore me?
35. Shakespeare’s Iambic Pentameter
Shakespeare will always feature prominently in any discussion of
iambic pentameter because he used the form with great dexterity, but
you must not be tricked into thinking that he invented it.
Rather, it is a standard literary convention that has been used by
many writers before and after Shakespeare.
Historians are not sure how the speeches were read aloud - whether
delivered naturally or with an emphasis on the stressed words.
In my opinion, this is unimportant.
What really matters is that the study of iambic pentameter gives us a
rare glimpse into the inner workings of Shakespeare’s writing process.
36. Shakespeare & The English Language
During Shakespeare’s lifetime, the Words coined by William Shakespeare:
Assassination
English language was rapidly Courtship
growing, with new words and Critic
phrases being added to the Critical
Disgraceful
vernacular every day. Dishearten
No dictionaries or grammar books Distrustful
Dwindle
existed in Renaissance England, so Eventful
language was extremely fluid and Exposure
malleable. Fretful
Gloomy
Shakespeare used to flexibility of Lonely
the era to contribute many words to Misplaced
Recall
the English language that we Monumental
frequently use today. Suspicious
38. The Globe Theatre
In 1599, Shakespeare’s company
opened the Globe Theatre
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.
Its nickname was the “Wooden O”
Fire broke out at the original Globe
Theatre on June 29, 1613
The Second Globe Theatre was built
shortly after in 1614
39. The Globe’s Audiences
Audiences were enthralled by language, and
were therefore an auditory, not visual,
audience.
Those who could pay more sat in the seats
surrounding the stage.
The poorer crowd stood as “groundings” and
paid a penny for admittance.
All social classes attended the plays, so
playwrights had the challenge of keeping
everyone entertained.
Shakespeare’s audiences were active
throughout the performances
The actors addressed the audience, and
members of the audience often spoke back
40. The Globe’s Audiences
History suggests that play going
was most likely a smelly
experience
There were no bathrooms
People relieved themselves inside
People rarely bathed
Additionally, vendors sold beer,
water, oranges, nuts,
gingerbread, and apples, much of
which was simply discarded
afterward.
41. The Globe Theatre
Doors on
either
side of
the stage
led
The “Pit”, backstage
where to the
“groundlings” ‘tiring
watched for a rooms’
penny (dressing
rooms)
The trapdoor or “hell”, where actors The “discovery space,” which This is called an ‘apron
could make surprise entrances could be curtained off stage’ or ‘proscenium’
42. The Globe Theatre
With the three
levels of
covered
galleries and
the
groundlings in
the pit, the
seating
capacity at the
original Globe
is estimated at
around 2500 -
3000 people.
43. The Globe Theatre
Spectators could
also be seated in
the galleries above
the stage; these
were considered
very choice seats.
By the way, all
the columns are
wood painted to
look like marble.
44. The Globe Theatre
As the pit begins
to fill up before
the performance,
the actors and
audience could
interact.
This is a
performance of
Julius Caesar.
45. The Globe Theatre
The ceiling
under the stage
cover is called
the “heavens”
and could
accommodate
pulleys and
other stage
effects.
46. The Globe Theatre
From the “hut”
above the stage,
other special effects
could be used
A cannon shot off
from here during a
performance of
Henry VIII in 1613
burned down the
original Globe.
Oops!
48. The Authorship Controversy
Shakespeare’s true identity has been in dispute since the 18th
century because only fragments of evidence have survived the
400 years since his death.
Although we know a great deal about his legacy through
his plays and sonnets, we know little about the man himself.
Unsurprisingly then, a number of conspiracy theories have
built up around Shakespeare’s true identity.
These theories have sprung up because the evidence
surrounding Shakespeare’s life is insufficient, not necessarily
contradictory.
49. The Authorship Controversy’s Culprits
Christopher Marlowe: He was born in the same year as Shakespeare, but died around the
same time that Shakespeare started to write his plays. Marlowe was England’s best
playwright until Shakespeare came along, perhaps he didn’t die and continued writing
under a different name? He was apparently stabbed in a tavern, but there is evidence that
Marlowe was working as a government spy, so his death might have been choreographed.
Edward de Vere: Many of Shakespeare’s plots and characters parallel events in the life of de
Vere. Although this art-loving Earl of Oxford would have been educated enough to write
the plays, their political content could have ruined his social standing, perhaps he needed
to write under a pseudonym?
Sir Francis Bacon: The theory that Bacon was the only man intelligent enough to write
these plays has become known as Baconianism. Although it is unclear why he would have
needed to write under a pseudonym, followers of this theory believe that he left behind
cryptic ciphers in the texts to reveal his true identity.
51. Shakespeare’s Legacy
By 1597, he had bought the largest
house in Stratford-upon-Avon, he
owned shares in the Globe Theater,
and profited from some real estate
deals near Stratford-upon-Avon in
1605.
Before long, Shakespeare officially
became a gentleman, partly due to
his own wealth and partly due to
inheriting a coat of arms from his
father who died in 1601.
Shakespeare retired to Stratford in
1611 and lived comfortably off his
wealth for the rest of his life.
52. Shakespeare’s Legacy
In his will, he bequeathed most of his
properties to Susanna, his eldest
daughter, and some actors from The
King’s Men.
Famously, he left his wife his “second
best bed” before he died on April 23,
1616.
If you visit Holy Trinity Church in
Stratford-upon-Avon, you can still view
his grave and read his epitaph engraved
into the stone:
Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.
