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Who was William Shakespeare?

Who was William Shakespeare?. ?. Family. John Shakespeare & Mary Arden. Joan (1558). Edmund (?). Gilbert (1566). #5 Female (?). #6 Female (?). William (1564). Richard (1574). #7 Female (?). Spelling not yet standardized, thus name spelled in different ways:

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Who was William Shakespeare?

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  1. Who was William Shakespeare? ?

  2. Family John Shakespeare & Mary Arden Joan (1558) Edmund (?) Gilbert (1566) #5 Female (?) #6 Female (?) William (1564) Richard (1574) #7 Female (?) • Spelling not yet standardized, thus name spelled in different ways: • Shakespeare, Shakspere, Shackspere, Shaxper, Shagspere, Shaxberd, etc.

  3. Location of Stratford-upon-Avon From: http://www.where-can-i-find.com/tourist-maps.html

  4. Stratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s Time As reproduced in William Rolfe, Shakespeare the Boy (1896).

  5. Stratford-upon-Avon Today From Stratford’s web site: http://www.stratford-upon-avon.co.uk/index.htm

  6. Shakespeare’s Birthplace From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/

  7. Education • Likely attended King’s New School in Stratford • Educated in: • Rhetoric • Logic • History • Latin & Greek • Probably a class of 12 boys • Left school at age 15 to begin work King’s New School From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/

  8. Married Life • Married in November, 1582, to Anne Hathaway • He was 18, she was 26 (1) • Anne was pregnant at the time • First daughter Susanna born in May, 1583 • Twins (Hamnet and Judith) christened on February 2, 1585

  9. Anne Hathaway’s Cottage From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/

  10. Lifestyle of the times… • People loved their sweets! • Some people’s teeth turned black and some artificially blackened their teeth to show they had their fill of sugar. • For women, pale skin was a sign of “supreme loveliness”, so they bleached their skin with products “mildly toxic.” Even Queen Elizabeth did this! • Beverage consumed copiously: beer • Eating method: your own (dirty) hands

  11. The “Lost Years”--1585-1592 • Speculations: • Money lender • Gardener • Sailor • Scrivener • Tutor • Coachman • Soldier • Schoolmaster • Lawyer • Clerk

  12. London Years • Shows up in records from 1592 • Another playwright talks about “an upstart young crow” • 1589-1594 include his first plays, first hits: • Henry IV • Titus Adronicus • Comedy of Errors

  13. His Poetry • Plague outbreaks close theaters, giving WS time to write poetry • 154 Sonnets in his lifetime • Addressed to a young man and a dark lady • Written in iambic pentameter • Poetry usually dedicated to a patron who acted as a “sponsor” of a writer or artist

  14. Theatre Career • 1594 acting company is Lord Chamberlain’s Men • WS is a full member, writing and acting • Having achieved commercial success, WS applies for a coat of arms in 1596 • A status symbol, mark of a gentleman, something his own father was denied • This is the same year (August) his son and male heir Hamnet dies (causes unknown) @ 11 yoa • 1597 WS buys a new home in Stratford, “New Place,” and visits his family

  15. Theater companies • 10-20 members; 3-5 boys for female roles • Actors specialized in roles (e.g., dramatic leads, clowns, comic leads, etc.) • Needed a patron or sponsor • Repertory—plays change daily (lead actor could have 800 lines/week) • Plays belonged to company not playwright • Shakespeare did not publish plays for this reason

  16. The Rebuilt Globe Theater, London

  17. Audiences—rich to poor • Tickets cost from 1 penny to 6 pence • Behavior was “rowdy” with audience shouting at actors, throwing things, even spilling onto stage • Vendors selling food, drink • No restrooms and no intermissions

  18. Staging plays • Performed every day but Sunday between 2 and 5 for natural light • Theaters could not advertise, but did have a trumpet fanfare and raised a flag on the theater • Actors had elaborate costumes • Not much for scenery or background, so writers had to describe and audience had to imagine • Musicians provided sounds for special effects • Stage structure

  19. Post-London Years • 1610-1611—retires to Stratford • 1613 Collaborates with John Fletcher • Dies in April 1616 (unknown causes) • Will leaves “second best bed” to his wife (??) (1) • 1623 fellow actors publish the First Folio of his plays • Shakespeare Conspiracy---because he never published his plays, some believe he is not the true author---however most believe in his authorship.

  20. Did Shakespeare exist?

  21. The Plays • 38 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare (1) • 14 comedies • 10 histories • 10 tragedies • 4 romances Speculated Plays • Possibly wrote three others: • Edward III • Love’s Labour’s Won • Cardenio (lost) • Collaborated on several others • Sir Thomas More

  22. Shakespeare’s Language • Shakespeare did NOT write in “Old English” • Old English is the language of Beowulf: • Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum • Þeodcyninga Þrym gefrunon • Hu ða æÞelingas ellen fremedon! • Hey! We have heard of the glory of the Spear-Danes in the old days, the kings of tribes, how noble princes showed great courage!

  23. Shakespeare’s Language • Shakespeare did not write in “Middle English” • Middle English is the language of Chaucer, the Gawain-poet, and Malory: • We redeth oft and findeth y-write— • And this clerkes wele it wite— • Layes that ben in harping • Ben y-founde of ferli thing… (Sir Orfeo)

  24. Shakespeare’s Language • Shakespeare wrote in “Early Modern English” • EME was not very different from “Modern English,” except that it had some old holdovers, and the “Inkhorn Controversy” was still an issue. • Beginning about 200 years before Shakespeare, and largely complete by his day, long vowel pronunciation shifted: ex: good, name, life

  25. Shakespeare’s Language • We kept: addiction, compulsive, pious, tranquil, crew, landscape, nautical, etc. • But lost: kexy (dry, brittle), pigritude (laziness), and the longest word ever used in English literature, honorificabilitudinitatibus (being able to receive honors)

  26. Shakespeare’s Language • Shakespeare coined many words we still use today: • Critical • Majestic • Dwindle • And quite a few phrases as well: • One fell swoop • Flesh and blood • Vanish into thin air See http://www.wordorigins.org/histeng.htm

  27. Some Modern Adaptations

  28. So why study Shakespeare? • Shakespeare’s sonnets and plays addressed things to which everyone could relate: • Ambition, intrigue, love, suffering, anger, greed, passion, self-destruction, compassion… • Shakespeare had the ability to show the workings of the soul.

  29. How to Read the Plays • Do not pause at the end of a line unless the punctuation calls for it • Read it like prose • Many of these plays have numerous references to people, places, events, myths, etc., that you might not be familiar with. That’s what the notes are for—use them. • Keep a dictionary handy—preferably a good college edition • You might need a mythology reference

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