William Shakespeare

1. William Shakespeare The Bard of Avon

2. William Shakespeare • One of the most famous writers of all time.

3. Born • April 23, 1564 • Stratford-on Avon: a market town 100 miles northwest of London, England • The year he was born, 1/16 of population of England died of the Black Plague

4. His father • Father: John—a glove maker • Elected alderman (councilman) in 1565 • Father was elected mayor of Stratford in 1566 • Lost money and by 1577 had to borrow money against his wife’s estate

5. His mother • Mother: Mary Arden, was fairly wealthy in her own right

6. School • Went to grammar school until he was 13 • Studied • Latin grammar and Literature • Theatre and acting • the Bible • Rhetoric (uses of language) • No further formal education

7. Married November 1582 • Married at age 18 • Anne Hathaway (8 years older than him) • She was 26

8. His 3 Children • 1st child: Susanna in May of 1583 She married John Hall a physician in 1607 Their daughter Elizabeth (born 1608) married twice but had no children

9. 2 were twins (Judith and Hamnet in 1585) • Son and heir Hamnet died at age 11 in 1596

10. Judith married Thomas Quiney in 1616 • Had 3 children all who died without marrying

11. The Lost Years • For next 7 years not much is known about him • Bought a house and called it “New Place”

12. His Career • He moved to London and his family stayed in Stratford • By 1606 he was well known in London for his plays • Moved back to Stratford in 1611

13. Career • By 1592 had become an actor and playwright • 1594 was a charter member of Lord Chamberlain’s Men (later called King’s Men) • This theatre company was supported by King James

14. Globe Theatre • Shakespeare and his company built the Globe Theatre • Most of Shakespeare’s plays were performed here

15. Famous Plays • Wrote 39 plays • Wrote comedies, tragedies, and histories

16. Some Famous Plays • Romeo and Juliet (one of his early plays) • Julius Caesar • Hamlet • Macbeth • Othello • King Lear

17. Plays • None of his plays were published until after his death because the printing press had just been invented • All plays were hand-copied

18. Style of Plays • Written in iambic pentameter • Blank verse • Rhyming couplets end scenes • Lots of metaphors • Used puns

19. Also wrote poetry • 154 sonnets • Long poems Venus and Adonis Rape of Lucrece A Lover’s Complaint

20. Sonnets • Appeared, without his permission, in 1609 and advertised as "never before imprinted". • The publisher, although reputable, clearly wanted to make use of the celebrity of William Shakespeare who by 1609 was a famous member of the Globe Theatre 

21. Sonnets • Shakespeare did not title or number his sonnets. That was added by the publisher

22. Sonnet form • 14-line • Rhyme pattern is ababcdcdefefgg, with the final couplet used to summarize the previous 12 lines or present a surprise ending. • Iambic pentameter. (An iamb is a metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable and one unstressed syllable — as in dah-DUM, dah-DUM dah-DUM dah-DUM dah-DUM.) • Shakespeare uses five of these in each line, which makes it a pentameter. 

23. Died • April 23, 1616 • On his 52nd birthday • Buried under the old stone floor in the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford • Carved over his grave is a curse

24. Tombstone • Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare,To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones,And cursed be he that moves my bones.

25. Shakespeare’s will • Left his estate to Susanna with the stipulation she was to pass it to the first child of her body. • His direct line was ended

26. He left his wife “the second best bed.” • Left Judith 150 pounds and 150 in trust • Left Elizabeth all the silver