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WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

First Folio: 1623 Heminges and Condell. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. Why read Shakespeare anyway?. Comprehensive and thoughtful look at the human condition Deals with consequences of sin but also demonstrates mercy

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WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

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  1. First Folio: 1623 Heminges and Condell WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

  2. Why read Shakespeare anyway? • Comprehensive and thoughtful look at the human condition • Deals with consequences of sin but also demonstrates mercy • Inspired by historical events, mythological tales, and Biblical passages; all a vital part of our history • Entertaining and imaginative • Transmutes words to music

  3. Shakespeare Life • Born April 23?, 1564; died 1616- same day as projected birth • Married older woman names Anne Hathaway; had three children • Most popular playwright of in England; part owner of Globe Theater • 37 plays and 154 sonnets bear his name

  4. Stratford-upon-Avon • Avon-River; England names towns • Country town • Not town of culture or education • Holy Trinity Church: baptized and buried in church yard so could go to heaven Good Friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear To dig the dust enclosed here: Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And curst be he that moves my bones.

  5. Shakespeare’s Early Jobs • Holder of horses • Journeyman actor- small parts • Play-patcher • Shareholder • Playwright-director; single-handedly wrote plays for the Globe; WEALTHY

  6. Globe Theater Burned in 1613 during Henry VIII play with cannon scene; rebuilt next year 1642 closed down for business by Puritans because sinful Not just place for plays; bear-baiting; blood-thirsty Elizabethan England

  7. Shakespeare’s Credibility and Authenticity is Questioned • Missing Years: sketchy background • One man wrote 37 plays? • Uneducated from small town; 8th grade grammar school

  8. Intentions for Julius Caesar • But Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is not a history book, nor is it a piece of Roman history. • It is a play, based on the • Events of Caesar's murder • Pressures on the characters around him • Consequences for the conspirators and Rome in general

  9. Caesar Background • Shakespeare wrote three plays based on works of Greek historian Plutarch; JC is first of three Plutarchian plays • History was not just biography for English, but a comparison to their lives and government • Play parallels English's struggles with monarchy, particularly with Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth

  10. Triumvirate of 60 B.C. • Triumvir– 1 of a ruling body of 3 • Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus • At this time, Rome is a Republic ruled by senators • During times of emergency, dictator was appointed; his word becomes law • Caesar started as a 2 year dictator, then went to ten years; after Spanish triumph, he named himself dictator for life • People loved Caesar; made life better through reforms

  11. Roman Government • Romans feared kings • No say in government • Viewed as slavery

  12. Act I:1 • Play opens 44 B.C. on February 15 • “Beware the Ides of March” • “Et tu, Brute?” • Caesar is returning from Spain • Just completed quadruple triumph (Gaul, Egypt, Asia Minor, Africa) • Typically, slaves and riches were displayed during a triumph; however, Caesar is returning from a civil war– only fought Romans in Spain • People are celebrating death of Pompey

  13. Subjects explored in this play • Qualities of a good leader • Friendship • Role of fate and superstition; soothsayer • See cultural views of suicide • Japan • Modern America • Ancient Rome

  14. Elements in the Play • Soliloquy • Aside • Dramatic Irony • Foreshadow • Pun • Rhetoric

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