Shakespeare, Part 2:
His Life and His
Theater
Created using images from the Folger
Library
www.folger.edu
Ms Denise Gill
SPHS Department of English
Freshman English
Beginnings
• Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-Upon
Avon.
• His family was middle class; his father was a
glove-maker and held local political positions.
Young Adulthood
• He would have received a “grammar school”
education, which would have included rhetoric
(including argumentation) as well as Greek and
Latin language and literature.
• When he was 18, he married Anne Hathaway.
• By the time he was in his mid-twenties, he was
working in London theaters.
• Little else is known about his personal life.
The Theater England's Other Empire
Throughout the Middle Ages in England, it was
illegal to perform any plays that were not direct
interpretations of biblical stories. When the
Renaissance came to England, finally plays could be
performed. While much of Europe looked down on
England as being culturally inferior during the
Renaissance, they did quickly become the masters
of theater.
Elizabethan Theater Troupes
• Approximately 10 acting troupes existed in
England in Shakespeare's day.
• Each troupe had about 10 men.
• These men were the primary actors, as well
as the stage hands, directors, and
playwrights.
• A troupe was required to have
a
patron.
Performances
• In addition to
performing in one of
the two theaters just
outside of London,
troupes would be hired
to perform for parties at
large estates.
• If an outbreak of the
plague hit London, the
theaters would be
closed as a precaution.
Shakespeare Hits the Stage
Young Will Shakespeare probably began his career
with the Earl of Pembroke's Men, but we know that
he eventually he joined Lord Chamberlain's Men.
He was both an actor and the playwright for these
troupes.
In addition to Shakespeare's writing skill, the
Chamberlain's Men also boasted one of the
greatest actors of the time, Richard Burbage.
Shakespeare's Success
By the end of the 16th Century, Lord Chamberlain's Men
became the most successful troupe in England.
The tragedies Macbeth, King Lear, Othello, and Hamlet,
written between 1600-1606, are considered
Shakespeare's greatest masterpieces.
Late in Shakespeare's career, the Chamberlain's Men
became The King's Men—King James, Elizabeth's
successor, was their patron.
Sometime around 1613, Shakespeare retired and went
back to Stratford a wealthy man.
The Globe Theater
Shakespeare and a few
partners eventually built their
own theater in London, The
Globe. (See your textbook for
details.) This helped make
him an even more successful
businessman.
Structure of the Plays
• All of the plays have five acts.
• The climax occurs in Act III.
• Write the acts in Roman numerals, the scenes in
lower case roman numerals, and the lines in
Arabic numbers (For example II, iv, 28-35 means
Act two, scene four, lines twenty-eight through
thirty-five.)
We are NOT reading
Old English
Old English (from Beowulf):
Hwæt! We Gardena
in geardagum,
þeodcyninga,
þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas
ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing
sceaþena þreatum
We aren't reading
Middle English, either
Middle English (The Canterbury Tales):
Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour . . .
Shakespeare's Language:
Early Modern English
Early Modern English (Romeo and Juliet):
See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!
O that I were a glove upon that hand,
that I might touch that cheek!
Shakespeare's Legacy
He was successful in his own time, and by the
1800s, writers, readers, and audiences recognized
that he had indeed been a genius like no other.
His plays continue to be performed throughout the
world, and he is the single most referenced author
in Western Literature.
His mastery of the language and the tangible
humanity of his characters continue to appeal to
readers and audiences today.
A Small Sampling of
Allusions, References, and Spoofs
West Side Story
The Lion King [Hamlet]
Sarah Schmelling's “Hamlet (Facebook News Feed
Edition)”
Virginia Woolf's famous essay about female
writers is called “Shakespeare's Sister.” An all-girl
band in the 1990s borrowed the title for their name.
A Simpsons Episode: “Much Apu about Nothing”
The Taylor Swift song
Kiss Me Kate [Taming of the Shrew]
Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes
In the video game Halo 3, there is an achievement
entitled "Alas, Poor Yorick" [Hamlet]