Thou must throweth down!!!

1. Thou must throweth down!!! Come, come, you talk greasily; your lips grow foul. Thou roguish spur-galled hedge-pig!

2. William Shakespeare To thine own self be true --Hamlet

3. Youngin’ life…(Holla Back—Wooo Woo) • Baptized on April 26th, 1564 (birthday is unknown, however, speculated to be April 23rd…the same day he died in 1616.) • Born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. • He was the 3rd child of 8, and the eldest son to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. • It is said he was educated at the King’s New School in Stratford—although, again, this fact is disputed. • Scholars argue that he was an educated man because, although no attendance records exist of Shakespeare attending school, the references he makes to what a school boy during this time would have been instructed to learn about is evidence enough. Fabolous is similar to Shakespeare in the fact that, like his album cover states, he went from “Nothin’ to somethin’.”

4. Growing up(That’s the sound of growing up.) • When Shakespeare was 18 he married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway. • Married 27th of November, 1582 in some haste (it’s rumored that Anne was pregnant). • 6 months after their marriage, Susannah was baptized on 26th of May, 1583. • Twin sons Hamnet and Judith were born 2 years later and baptized on the 2nd of February, 1585. • Hamnet died of unknown causes at age 11 and was buried on the 11th of August, 1596. Yeah, Shakespeare probably wishes he married this one….

5. KABOOM! • Between 1585 and 1592, what were known as Shakespeare’s “Lost Years,” not a whole lot is known of the author. Some said that he was a schoolmaster, other’s said he had fled and laid low for a while for trying to poach a deer from a local Lord’s land. • What is known, though, is that by 1592 he had basically blasted onto the London theatre scene. So much so, that the 28-year-old had already started receiving criticism by some of the other playwrights for stealing their business. • Robert Crowe: “...[T]here is an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tiger's heart wrapped in a Player's hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes factotum is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country.”

6. It’s all about the Benjamins • From 1594 on, Shakespeare’s plays were performed only by Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a theatre group of which Shakespeare was part owner. This group quickly became the #1 theatre group in the whole country, and when Queen Elizabeth died in 1603, the company was awarded a royal patent by the new king, James I, and became the King’s Men. • After making a killing in London, Shakespeare returned home to Stratford and was a wealthy landowner.

7. Why don’t you play that sad theme song from The Incredible Hulk? That would work nicely here. The End… • Shakespeare died April 23rd, 1616. He was survived by his wife and two daughters. Susannah had married a doctor, John Hall, in 1607, and Judith had married Thomas Quiney, a vintner, 2 months before Shakespeare’s death. • He was buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church two days after his death. 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. A stone slab covering his grave is inscribed with a curse against moving his bones.

9. Will the real William Shakespeare please stand up….please stand up • Critics argue that the amount of work—38 plays, 154 sonnets, various other works--at such a high quality as Shakespeare was able to produce it, could not have been accomplished by any one man. • Furthermore, there is controversy surrounding his signatures, and the pronunciation, and spelling, of his name. • Question: So if it wasn’t him, then who dunnit? • Answer: Either Eminem, or Lil Wayne.

10. (a) From 1612 deposition: William Shackper(b) 1612 Blackfriars deed: William Shakspear(c) 1612 Blackfriars mortgage: Wm Shakspea(d) His 1615 will, page 1: William Shackspere(e) Will, page 2: Willm. Shakspere(f) Will, page 3: By me William Shakspeare [often questioned as by a different hand]

11. So who could it have been? • Christopher Marlowe • Well-educated (Cambridge), famous playwright • Doctor Faustus, Tamburlaine the Great • Murdered? Investigated. • Sir Francis Bacon • Well-educated (Cambridge law), “Endowed with the facility of expressing…words, of metaphors, of allusion, as perhaps the world has not seen…” – Sir Tobie Mathew • Lord Chancellor of England, philosopher, translator, scholar, essayist. • Mmmm….bacon….

12. Some additional candidates • Edward de Vere • 17th Earl of Oxford • Was well versed in writing comedies • William Stanley • 6th Earl of Derby • University education, extensive travel, knew many languages • Was said to have written comedies for the common player. • Brother founded acting troupe “The King’s Men”—renowned for their Shakespearean productions.

13. Last, but not least… • Queen Elizabeth • Plays were always performed in her presence. • Usually they were 1st performances. • Often times the performances were smaller shows put on at her own home.

14. For real, or not for real? That’s the question y’all! • So, now that we have gone through a fairly extensive summation of Shakespeare’s life, and the controversy surrounding him, what is your own personal opinion? Do you think it was just one man? Please describe your reasoning. • HW: Pick one of the people whom could have been Shakespeare and do some more research on them tonight. Come in tomorrow with a paragraph written about whether you believe it is likely, or unlikely, that this person could have been Billy Shakes.