William Shakespeare
Info:
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Born in April of 1564; maybe April
23rd.
Born in the village Stratford-UponAvon.
Father was John and mother was Mary
Arden.
His family was well-off and
Shakespeare was educated.
Info:
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He married Anne
Hathaway when he
was 18 and she
was 26.
He had 3 children:
Susanna, and two
twins Judith and
Hamnet.
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Shakespeare joined
Lord Chamberlain's
Men, an acting
company.
He also was part
owner in the
famous Globe
Theatre.
The Globe Theatre
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Globe Facts
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The theatre could seat 1500 but usually
3000 came to the shows
There was no heat or light. Plays were
performed in the summer and during
daylight.
Elizabethan theatres were often used for
immoral purposes like gambling.
Many Londoners were strict with their
morals and did not like the kind of people
that plays attracted.
What would it be like to attend a play at the
globe?
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You may have a seat, however, you
may also stand and squeeze into the
packed theatre.
Flags would be raised for advertising
purposes (what kind of play would you
see?)
A trumpet would sound meaning the
play was going to start.
What would it be like to attend a play at the
globe?
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Many young people would be in
attendance.
There would be no female actresses.
If you’re lucky, musicians will be a part
of the play.
Groudlings or “stinkards” (like roadies
or a stage crew) would be running
around.
What do we know?
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We know the things
we know about
Shakespeare based
on documents.
For example, in his
30’s, Shakespeare
bought a beautiful
house. We know
this because of the
deed.
Why the mysteries?
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There are many mysteries surrounding
Shakespeare, mainly because the only
information we have about him comes from
documents.
They didn’t even give birth certificates at
the time, only baptism. We can guess he
was born on April 23rd because we KNOW
he was baptized on April 26th.
Why the mysteries?
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Based on the records, we can tell
when Shakespeare came into money.
There are speculations that maybe he
didn’t write his plays.
Other possibilities include Christopher
Marlowe, a writer, or Sir Francis Bacon.
What would make someone
doubt Shakespeare???
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Who is this?
What does he do?
Is he talented? Why do
you say that?
Do you like him?
How does he have any
kind of a connection to
the Shakespeare
mystery?
Shakespeare Wrote:
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Plays:
– Histories
– Comedies
– Tragedies
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Macbeth is
considered a tragedy
like Romeo and
Juliet and Hamlet.
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Why would they be
tragedies?
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Sonnets:
– He wrote over 150.
– There are 3
sections: (possibly
about these people)
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His friend “The
Young Man”
A rival poet
His mistress “The
Dark Lady”
Sonnets
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Comes from the Italian word “sonetto”
which means “little sound.”
Uses iambic pentameter.
– Uses 5 sections or feet of the
weakSTRONG pattern. Like this:
/weakSTRONG/weakSTRONG/weakSTRONG/weakSTRONG/weakSTRONG/
Sonnets
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Sonnets have 4 parts:
– The first three sections are 4 lines each
and called a quatrain. (Rhymed ABAB)
– The fourth section has two lines and is
called a couplet. (Rhymed CC)
– Sonnets are always 14 line poems.