William Shakespeare

1. William Shakespeare 1564-1616 Stratford-on-Avon - England

2. Who was he? Why is he so famous? Life Works Tragedy Comedy History Poetry Chronology Elements of drama Dramatic technique Poetic technique Elizabethan theatre Sonnet XVIII Macbeth Hamlet Julius Caesar Romeo and Juliet Much ado about nothing The Merchant of Venice Links Overview

3. Who was he? • Widely regarded as the greatest writer in English Literature • Poet and dramatist • Wrote 37 plays: comedies, histories, tragedies • Composed about 154 sonnets and a few poems • Started out as an actor

4. Life • Born around April 23, 1564; 3rd of 8 children Family lived in Stratford-on-Avon, a market town about 100 miles NW of London • Father (John) a shopkeeper. A man of considerable standing in Stratford. Served as Justice of the Peace and High Bailiff (mayor) • Attended grammar school, where he studied Latin, grammar and literature, Rhetoric (the use of language). No further formal education known • Marriage to Anne Hathaway, 8 years older than he, 3 children: Susanna (1583), Judith and Hamnet (twins, 1585)

5. Later life • 1594 - became shareholder in a company of actors called Lord Chamberlain’s Men • 1599 - Lord Chamberlain’s Co. Built Globe Theater where most of S. Play’s were performed • 1599 - Actor for Lord Chamberlain’s Men and principal playwright for them • 1603 – James I became king of England; acting company renamed King’s Men • 1610 – Shakespeare retired to Stratford-on-Avon April 2 • 1616 – died at the age of 52

6. Works Editions of works: First Quarto (1603), Second Quarto (1604), Folio (1623)

7. A Midsummer Night's Dream All's Well That Ends Well As You Like It Cymbeline Loves Labours Lost Measure for Measure Much Ado AboutNothing Pericles, Prince of Tyre The Comedy of Errors The Merchant of Venice The Merry Wives of Windsor The Taming of the Shrew The Tempest Troilus and Cressida Twelfth Night Two Gentlemen of Verona Winter's Tale Comedy

8. Antony and Cleopatra Coriolanus Hamlet Julius Caesar King Lear Macbeth Othello Romeo and Juliet Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus Tragedy

9. Henry IV, part 1 Henry IV, part 2 Henry V Henry VI, part 1 Henry VI, part 2 Henry VI, part 3 Henry VIII King John Richard II Richard III History

10. Poetry • A Lover's Complaint • Sonnets (about 154) • The Passionate Pilgrim • The Phoenix and the turtle • The Rape of Lucrece • Venus and Adonis

11. Why is he still so famous? • His plays portray recognizable people in situations we experience in our lives: love, marriage, death, mourning, guilt, the need to make difficult choices, separation, reunion and reconciliation • They do so with great humanity, tolerance, and wisdom • They are constantly fresh and can be adapted to the place and time they are performed • Their language is wonderfully expressive and powerful • They help us to understand what it is to behuman, and to cope with the problems of being so

12. Chronology The problem with any timeline of Shakespeare's works is that most dates are subject to interpretation. While it is easy to say that The Comedy of Errors is an early work and The Tempest is quite later, exact dates are not - and may not ever be -proved.

16. Language • Used over 20,000 words in his works • The average writer uses 7,500 • The English Dictionary of his time only had 500 words. • He’s credited with creating 3,000 words in the English Oxford Dictionary • He was by far the most important individual influence on the development of the modern English • He invented lots of words that we use in our daily speech

17. accommodation amazement assassination baseless bloody bump castigate changeful control (noun) countless courtship critic eventful exposure frugal generous gloomy hurry impartial indistinguishable invulnerable laughable lonely majestic Words invented by the Bard misplaced monumental obscene pious premeditated radiance reliance road sportive submerge suspicious

18. Stratford-upon-Avon

19. Elements of drama 5-part dramatic structure corresponds to a play’s 5 acts • Exposition (introduction) • Establishes tone, setting, main characters, main conflict • Fills in events previous to play • Rising action • Series of complications for the protagonist (main character) • flowing from the main conflict

20. Elements of drama • Crisis or Climax • Turning point in story • Moment of choice for protagonist • Forces of conflict come together • Falling action • Results of protagonist’s decision • Maintains suspense • Resolution or Denouement • Conclusion of play • Unraveling of plot • May include characters’ deaths

21. Dramatic technique • Pun: play on wordsinvolving • Word with more than one meaning • Words with similar sounds • Soliloquy • Speech of moderate to long length • Spoken by one actor alone on stage (or not heard by other actors) • Aside • Direct address by actor to audience • Not supposed to be overheard by other characters

22. Poetic technique • Blank verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter • Iambic pentameter • 5 units of rhythm per line • primary rhythm is iambic ( U / ) • “Shal Ì compàre Thée to a sùmmer’s dày”

23. Typical 16th century theatre • Building: • 3 stories Levels 1 & 2, • Backstage: dressing and storage areas Level 3, Upper Stage: could represent balcony, walls of a castle, bridge of a ship • Resembled courtyard of an inn The Globe Theatre

24. Elizabethan Theatre

25. The Globe Theatre

26. Proscenium stage • A large platform without a curtain or a stage setting • 2 ornate pillars supported canopy • Stage roof (underpart of canopy) • called “the heavens” • elaborately painted to depict the sun, moon, stars, planets

27. Trap doors: entrances and exits of ghosts; area under stage called Hell • 2 large doors at back: actors made entrances and exits in full view of audience • Inner stage: a recess with balcony area above • Floor: ash mixed with hazelnut shells from snacks audience ate during performance • Effect on performance: plays held in afternoon • No roof • No artificial lighting • No scenery

28. Acting companies Developed from the medieval trade guilds Were composed of • Only boys and men • Young boys performed female roles

29. Audience • 2000-3000 people from all walks of life • Well-to-do spectators sat in covered galleries around stage • Most stood in yard around platform stage – “groundlings”

30. King James I • King James unites Scotland, England, and Ireland • Believed in witches and demons • Wrote a book called “Demonolgie” • As part of as his duty as king, James allowed people to be executed as a witches.

31. History is written by the winners • The real Macbeth and Duncan lived in the 11th century. • Duncan becomes King of Scotland in 1034 • Macbeth feels he had claim to the throne being Duncan’s cousin. • Duncan was seen as an ineffective king and poor leader in battle.

32. Macbeth battles Duncan in 1040 and defeats him in battle. • Macbeth becomes the King of Scotland • Macbeth rules successfully for nearly twenty years. • Seen as a strong and fair ruler.

33. Macbeth is thrust into battle against Siward, working to return the throne to Duncan’s son, Malcolm. • In 1057, Macbeth is killed by Malcolm. • Malcolm becomes the King of Scotland