William Shakespeare 1564-1616

William Shakespeare1564-1616 “All the world 's a stage, / And all the men and women merely players.”——

Born in Stratford • The 3rd of 8 kids • Married at age 18 • (his wife was 26) • Worked as an actor • By 1594 at least 6 plays had been published

Shakespeare’s Life • Perhaps the most brilliant author in the English language. • Incredibly well-developed characters. He was tremendously perceptive in creating complex character with a full range of emotions and internal conflicts, intensely, deeply rich in psychological reality. • Exquisite use of poetic language.

Shakespeare’s Life • Plays are phenomenally well-crafted, and structurally, nearly flawless. • Thematically, Shakespeare is unmatched in his ability to touch the human soul, and to speak lucidly and profoundly to human lives. • Most quoted, most translated of any author on earth.

Shakespeare’s Life • He left London when he was about 50 years old, and went back to Stratford-upon-Avon, after investing in real estate, and buying the best house in town. He died in 1616, near his birthday, April 23rd, at age 52. He is buried in Stratford, in Holy Trinity Church. • He did not want to be buried in Westminster’s Abbey, in London, where many of England’s famous artists are buried. On his tombstone is the following verse:* Good friend for Jesus’ sake forebear To dig the dust enclosed here Blest be the man who spares these stones And curst be he that moves my bones

Queen Elizabeth What do you think she was like?

Elizabethan Fashion "She must be stifling in that thing"

Elizabethan England • Shakespeare’s life straddles the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I of England. This was England’s Renaissance. • The word renaissance means “rebirth.” During this time in Europe, there was a rebirth of humanism, or the classical ideal that humans were heroic, although certainly below the gods.

Elizabethan England • During this time, England became the most powerful country in the Western world, and would remain so until the end of the 19th century. • England was beginning to colonize the new world. The discovery of America and the presence of inhabitants very different from themselves in other parts of the world was a wonder to Europeans.

Elizabethan England • The discoveries were not only of new continents and new wealth. • The Protestant Reformation had come about in 1517, and the authority of the Roman Catholic church was eroded. Kings and nations were making decisions on their own. • Henry VIII, Elizabeth’s father, was instrumental in dismantling the control of the Church over everyday affairs in England. He established the Church of England, and placed himself at the head of it, destroying all relics of Catholicism in churches, and ending ecclesiastic courts. • He seized all lands and property of the clergy, greatly increasing his own personal wealth, but also adding to the overall economy of England. • The door was now open to question Church teachings in areas of science as well as theology.*

Elizabethan England • The world was opening up to new ideas, and in Shakespeare’s plays you see some of the old concepts questioned: • More and more, the individual human being was seen as taking a more active role in his or her own life. • In theater, especially notable in Shakespeare’s plays, was a new depth of characterization, requiring a new type of acting style. Now, actors had to embody the character, rather than simply orate lines. • This was reflected in Renaissance art as well as literature, where the human figure is more prominent, more realistically portrayed, and more powerfully depicted than ever before.*

Elizabethan England • Henry VIII had six wives. He divorced two, executed two, one died, and one outlived him. Elizabeth I was the daughter of Anne Boleyn, whom Henry had executed. No wonder Elizabeth never married! • Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558 after her half-brother Edward VI and half-sister Mary I (Bloody Mary) died, and a usurper to the throne, Lady Jane Grey (granddaughter to Henry’s sister) is executed.

Elizabethan England • The Elizabethan Age is the time that she ruled,1558-1603. Elizabeth was known as “The Virgin Queen,” although she did have many admirers. The state of Virginia is named for her. • Before she reached menopause, she was pressed to marry. She refused, although there were efforts to wed her to princes of France and Spain. When these and other suitors failed to win her, and she passed the age of childbearing, the spin doctors of the time hailed her virginity. She never publicly discussed her choice.*

Elizabethan England • James I, who succeeded her in 1603, was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, a distant cousin of Elizabeth, whom Elizabeth also had executed for treason. James had been King of Scotland, and his coronation united the two countries, ending centuries of strive between them. • During his reign, he commissioned the King James Bible, which is why this translation of the Bible sounds so much like Shakespearean English. Prior to Henry VIII and the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church had forbidden translation of the Bible into the vernacular. This was why, although no longer spoken, Latin was taught at the elementary school level—in order to read the Holy Scriptures.

Elizabethan England • Life in London during Elizabethan times was pretty dirty. The city contained around 400 thousand people by Shakespeare’s time, who crowded into a very small part of the present day city. People rarely bathed, and there was no indoor plumbing. • When the water supply became tainted, typhus and cholera spread mercilessly through the town. • London was also hit by recurrences of the Black Plague, and when there were outbreaks, the theaters would close down. Smallpox, sexually transmitted disease, and malaria were also popular killers. • People used chamber pots for toilets, and would toss the contents out the window into the streets, occasionally on top of people below! • Beer was the drink of choice, for the water was far too polluted to consider drinking! Beer was very popular in Southwark, and was sold in the theaters, along with nuts and other snacks.

Elizabethan England • Aside from attending executions, many, many people amused themselves by attending the theater. • London’s famous theaters, the Globe, the Rose, and the Swan, were located in the seedy side of town, along the south bank of the Thames River. • This section of town, known as Bankside or Southwark, could be reached by crossing the London Bridge, the only bridge across the Thames, or by taking a boat across the river.

Elizabethan England • The neighborhood was also the place to place bets on animal sports such as cockfighting, bear baiting and bull baiting. Other gambling, on cards and dice, was also common. There were many pubs and taverns, where people could drink strong beers, and there were many thieves and prostitutes as well. This was the wrong side of the river!* • Since there was no electricity, the Globe and Rose theaters were open air theaters. Plays were performed only during the day, and if the weather was bad, the show was cancelled. A flag at the top of the theater would indicate if a play was performing that day.

Elizabethan England • Women wore long dresses, and covered their arms and legs. Men, on the other hand, wore leggings and short pants. Women were not allowed to perform on stage, and all of Shakespeare’s female characters were acted by young men or boys. • Often, the audience who went to the theater, and stood in the “yard” in front of the stage were pretty rowdy, and would throw offal and other foul things at actors they didn’t care for. These folks were called, “groundlings” or “stinkards.”* • Shakespeare didn’t shy away from pleasing this crowd. In sword fights, the combatants would carry sacks of animal blood and guts that would add realism when a character was wounded or killed.

The Globe Theater 1599 Burned in 1613

The New Globe Theater 1999

Performances • The players were all men; the women's parts were played by boys. • --Shakespeare in Love • Specific parts were written for specific actors.

Conventions of Shakespearean Drama • In the late 1800’s a literary critic named Gustav Freytag noted that Shakespeare’s plays were tightly structured by act into five separate plot segments. • This is now called, “Freytag’s pyramid” whereby in Act One there is Exposition; in Act Two, there is Rising Action; Act Three is Turning Point; Act Four is Falling Action; and Act Five is Resolution.

The Plays • Comedy • Tragedy • History Which plays have you heard of?

Comedies • The Taming of the Shrew • Much Ado About Nothing • As You Like It • Twelfth Night • Midsummer Night’s Dream

Tragedies • Hamlet • Romeo and Juliet • Othello • King Lear • Macbeth

Why is Shakespeare’s English so weird? • Don’t be fooled by the excellence of the language! This is Modern English! It is, however, about 400 years old, and things do change over time. • The most obvious of changes is the use of distinct second person familiar pronouns. Today, we call this “you, singular.” But once this was not the same as “you, plural.” These singular pronouns are: Thou, Thee, Thy and Thine. See your grammar notes on usage! • Another change is obvious in the conjugation of certain verbs: hadst; wouldst; and the like. • Verbs occasionally took inflected endings in the past participle: closèd, blessèd, loathèd

Why is Shakespeare’s English so weird? • Shakespeare often inverts the syntax of his sentences for poetic reasons, and this sometimes confuses students: Make sure you can tell where the subject and verb of the sentence are. Think about what the pronouns refer to. This will help a bit in understanding the sentence. • Shakespeare also uses many, many words, and is credited with creating many that are now in common usage. He is also good at making one word serve two purposes by using more than one meaning of a word at a clip! (Double entendres, or puns.) You will need a good dictionary when reading Shakespeare!

William Shakespeare 1564-1616