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Shakespeare

Shakespeare. William Shakespeare Facts: 1

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Shakespeare

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  1. Shakespeare William Shakespeare Facts: 1 Shakespeare lived to 52. It is known that he was born in April 1564 and that he died on 23rd April 1616. We know that he was baptized on 26th April 1564 and scholars now believe that he was born on April 23rd. He therefore died on his fifty-second birthday. William Shakespeare Facts: 2 According to the Oxford English Dictionary, he coined 3,000 new words, and he has contributed more phrases and sayings to the English language than any other individual. Shakespeare gave us such commonly used phrases as "a fool's paradise," "dead as a doornail," "Greek to me," "come what may," "eaten out of house and home," "forever and a day," "heart's content," "love is blind," "night owl," "wild goose chase," and "into thin air."

  2. Shakespeare William Shakespeare Facts: 3 Shakespeare married his wife Anne Hathaway when he was 18. She was 26 and she was pregnant when they married. Their first child was born six months after the wedding. William Shakespeare Facts: 4 Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway had three children together – a son, Hamnet, who died in 1596, and two daughters, Susanna and Judith. His only granddaughter Elizabeth – daughter of Susanna – died childless in 1670. Shakespeare therefore has no descendants.

  3. Shakespeare William Shakespeare Facts: 5 Shakespeare was buried in the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. He put a curse on anyone daring to move his body from that final resting place. His epitaph was: Good friend for Jesus’ sake forbear,To dig the dust enclosed here:Blest be the man that spares these stones,And curst be he that moves my bones. Though it was customary to dig up the bones from previous graves to make room for others, the remains in Shakespeare’s grave are still undisturbed.

  4. Shakespeare William Shakespeare Facts: 6 One of Shakespeare’s relatives on his mother’s side, William Arden, was arrested for plotting against Queen Elizabeth I, imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed. William Shakespeare Facts: 7 Shakespeare’s father held a lot of different jobs, and at one point got paid to drink beer.  In 1556 he was appointed the borough’s official “ale taster,” meaning he was responsible for inspecting bread and malt liquors. 

  5. Shakespeare William Shakespeare Facts: 8 Almost four hundred years after Shakespeare’s death there are 157 million pages referring to him on Google. There are 132 million for God, 2.7 million for Elvis Presley, and coming up on Shakespeare’s heels, George W Bush with 14.7 million. William Shakespeare Facts: 9 Suicide occurs an unlucky thirteen times in Shakespeare’s plays. It occurs in Romeo and Juliet where both Romeo and Juliet commit suicide, in Julius Caesar where both Cassius and Brutus die by consensual stabbing, as well as Brutus’ wife Portia.

  6. Background Information about England in 1606 relevant to the play:  People believed that God had created the Church and Monarchy  During Shakespeare’s life, the reigning monarch of England was Queen Elizabeth 1 and after she died she was succeeded by King James I, who was also the King of Scotland.  Poverty was widespread  Most men and all woman had no voting rights  It was a time of political instability  The Church of England was the dominant religion and had much power.  Education was generally only for boys and wealthy boys at that. First they attended ‘petty school’ to learn the basics of reading, writing and prayers – then by age seven they attended a grammar school where they studied Latin and the classics. Only a small number of students went on to University.  Girls were kept at home and taught ‘feminine’ duties and very few learnt to read and write.

  7. When in a play... • Only men were permitted to perform • Boys or effeminate men were used to play the women • Costumes were often the company’s most valuable asset as they had little props • Costumes were made by the company, bought in London, or donated by courtiers

  8. The tragedy of Macbeth • Set in Scotland • Written for King James I (formerly of Scotland, now England) • in the late 1500's, Scotland had a witch craze, with many people convicted of wicked secret practices without physical evidence

  9. The Characters • King Duncan of Scotland • Murdered by cousin Macbeth • Honest and good • Malcolm & Donalbain • Sons of the King • Malcolm is the eldest son • Macbeth • Duncan’s most courageous general • Ambition to become king corrupts him causing him to murder Duncan

  10. Banquo • General and Macbeth’s best friend • Suspects Macbeth in Duncan’s murder • An actual ancestor of King James I • Lady Macbeth • As ambitious as her husband • A dark force behind his evil deeds • Macduff • Scottish general, suspects Macbeth of murdering the king • Macbeth has his family murdered • Swears vengeance

  11. Tragedy (Shakespearean) • Drama where the central character/s suffer disaster/great misfortune • In many tragedies, downfall results from> • Fate • Character flaw/Fatal flaw (phobia, imperfection, etc) • Combination of the two

  12. Def. “Man of high standard who falls from on high because of a flaw that has affected many” - Aristotle • Macbeth is one of the most famous examples of the tragic hero.  John Proctor is another example of a tragic hero.

  13. Macbeth in a nutshell • Good guy goes bad • Guy wants power • Married to a pushy control freak • She wants power • Kills people- LOTS of people!! • Gets power • Gets paranoid (a.k.a. goes crazy) • Ticks off a lot of people • Want more power! Kill! Kill! • Gets what’s coming to him in the end… The End

  14. Literary Elements Paradox- Contradiction in terms that has a ring of truth to it. * So it seems false but may have some truth to it. Paradox Examples: You have to be cruel to be kind sometimes. The winner is sometimes the biggest loser. I Love you But I hate You. Damned if you do, Damned if you don’t

  15. Literary Elements Euphemism An indirect way of expressing something. It is usually less harsh or more polite than the reality. SAY -> A FEW EXTRA POUNDS Rather than -> SAY -> BE EXCUSED Rather than -> SAY -> BITE THE DUST Rather than -> SAY -> Bun in the Oven Rather than -> SAY -> BREAK WIND Rather than ->

  16. Aside • Words spoken, usually in an undertone not intended to be heard by all characters

  17. Soliloquy • Long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage.

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