Welcome Back!
• Share a highlight of your Spring Break with the class 
Part I
The Man
Think Pair Share
•Why do we study Shakespeare?
Why Study Shakespeare?
Chances are, you’ve
quoted Shakespeare
without even
knowing it!
Have you ever said
the following...
“in a pickle”
“It’s Greek to me.”
“Too much of a
good thing.”
“as luck would have it”
“good riddance”
“dead as a door-nail”
“foul play”
“a laughing stock”
“an eyesore”
“send me packing”
“without rhyme or
reason”
We study Shakespeare
because
He tells us about human nature.
This is probably one of the major reasons
why Shakespeare's plays are still watched
and studied. If the things he wrote did not
focus on the aspects of human nature, we
wouldn't be interested in watching the
plays any more.
We study Shakespeare
because
He is a brilliant dramatist.
Shakespeare might have lots of
profound things to say to us, but we
wouldn't watch the plays unless they
worked as drama. The experience of
watching the plays is entertaining and
spectacular.
We study Shakespeare
because
He is a great poet.
The plays are full of memorable
passages of poetry, which along with
all Shakespeare's other
achievements, contributes to the
enduring success of his plays.
We study Shakespeare
because
Much of the modern literary ideas
and writings allude to and can be
traced back to Shakespeare.
Familiarity with his works can only be
an advantage to the student.
People who have studied Shakespeare:
•
Have a broader view of the world.
•
Appreciate other art forms: music, drama, art, costume, writing.
•
Have an easier time grasping the concepts: character, plot, irony,
universal truth, etc.
•
Broader view of important historical events.
Have a greater understanding of human nature (greed, faithfulness,
love, power, gentleness, poor choices, honesty, integrity, popularity,
danger, patriotism, selfishness, self-sacrifice, etc.)
•
Birth
• Stratford-upon-Avon (about 2 hrs NW of London)
• Baptized April 26th 1564
• Birthdate is unknown but celebrated April 23rd 1564
• Parents- John (alderman) and Mary (daughter of a farmer)
Shakespeare
• Third child of 8; oldest surviving son
Married Life
• The first official document after his baptism was
his marriage license to Anne Hathaway on Nov.
27, 1582.
• Shakespeare was 18 and Anne was 26
• Anne Hathaway was pregnant at the time with
their first daughter.
Family Life
• Susanna was baptized on May 26, 1583
• They had twins in February 2, 1585 (Hamnet
and Judith).
• Hamnet died at age 11 of unknown causes.
• Sometime between 1585-1592, he moved to
London and began working in theatre.
Shakespeare’s Last Days
• Between 1611-1612,
Shakespeare returns
to Stratford to his
wife and family.
• Dies April 23, 1616 at
the age of 52.
His will, which he revised a month before
dying, left the bulk of his estate to his
oldest daughter, and the bed to his wife.
Part II
The Writing
Works
He wrote at least thirty-seven plays
and 154 sonnets.
•In Shakespeare’s time, you only had one copy of a play,
and after you wrote it for the acting company, you no
longer owned it!
•Scripts were thrown out when they were no longer
wanted or needed.
•NO copies of Shakespeare’s plays in his own handwriting
have survived. The only known evidence of anything in
his handwriting is his signature.
The Playwright
• The Globe Theatre is the theatre where
Shakespeare wrote most of his plays.
• He was inspired by other playwrights and their
works. He did not get ideas from his personal
life or local London material.
• He wrote easily to please his audiencewas intuitively creative and he made his
characters real.
Love of the Language
In Shakespeare’s time, everyone loved the English
language.
There were no grammar rules, punctuation keys, OR
spelling!
The language was evolving and everyday new words
were being made up.
Shakespeare’s language reflects this freedom and
experimentation.
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!
Translate what this says.
Translation
(Hey! We have heard of the glory of the SpearDanes in the old days, the kings of tribes, how
noble princes showed great courage!)
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)
Shakespeare’s Language
• Shakespeare wrote in “Early Modern English.”
Shakespeare’s Language
• A mix of old and very new
• Rural and urban words/images
• Understandable by the lowest peasant
and the highest noble
Shakespeare’s Style
Metaphors: comparing something in terms
of something else.
Stages of Life
What are the stages that man (ie. Humans) experience
throughout the course of their life?
Pair up with someone sitting next to you and come up
with a list. Be prepared to share with the class.
Read “Seven Ages of Man”
Read for content – what is the reading about?
Circle all new/unfamiliar words.
What two things are being compared?
Literary Allusions
•Allusion: a brief and indirect
reference to a person, place,
thing or idea of historical,
cultural, literary, or political
significance.
Richard Kindersley's The Seven Ages of Man in London.
Located at the west
end of the Gail Kern
Paster Reading Room,
the Seven Ages of Man
window is by the
Philadelphia stainedglass studio of Nicola
d'Ascenzo (1871–
1954).