Shakespeare

Born , 1564
, England
Father began as a maker. Later, he became a prominent local
Mother was one of girls.
Much of Shakespeares younger years remain a , but there are rumors about what
jobs he may have worked.
Married in 1582 (when he was , she was ) after only set of
banns there were supposed to be . Banns gave others time to to the
marriage.
First child born months later. (troth-plight)
Three children: born in 1583, twins and born
1585
Hamnet died at age ; the girls never had any children.
1585-1592: The Lost Years
We have records of his life during this time period
It is speculated that he might have been a , a , or an to
support his family.
In 1592, he is in , while Ann and the kids are still in
1590s
Queen ruled
By 1592, Shakespeare began developing a reputation as an and
As theatres were beginning to grow in popularity, it is probable that Shakespeare began
earning a living writing (adapting old ones and working with others on new
ones).

The Playwrights
1594: William became involved with a company of actors named
.
This group later (1603) changed their name to .

The Theatres
The Theatre, built in
The , built in 1587 (Londons first theatre)
The , 1595
The (Shakespeare and other actors and helped construct 1598-1599)
Protestants the plays
Theatres were on the outskirts of London--away from the
People who attended the theatres included , , ,
, , , .
This theatre was the first of its kind, breaking away from the traditional
rectangular theatres.
London frowned upon acting.
Acting was even within city limits.
William was one-tenth of the theatre.
It was sided.
Groundlings got in for a and stood on the next to the stage
Groundlings brought in food to eat ( ) and food to at the
actors in case the show was not entertaining.
This kept the on their toes and may have been one of the reasons why
there are so many bawdy in his plays.
There was no over the center of the theatre.
This allowed for lighting.
There were three galleries for the (under a and )
The stage was
No
No -- J ust a .
Could hold around people.
The most expensive seats were directly behind the , called the .
Though the people sitting there could only see the actors from , they
themselves could be seen by in the audience.
The theatres were closed during the .
His first play performed at the Globe Theater was
In 1599 he became partial owner of the Globe Theater. He held % of its shares
During the years of the plague, he would write since the theaters were often
. It was considered by the Elizabethans to be more important to write
than to write plays.
After the plague he wrote about plays a year. Shakespeare wrote a total of
plays. This made William a man.
The Players
The Men.
The Men. (Shakespeare founded; Richard Burbage
was their leading actor)
The Lord Chamberlains Men performed mostly in The .
There were no programs which is why the plays have and parts for the
at the beginning of the play
Few so the setting is often written into the of the play
All parts played by
o Yes, that includes
Troupes were small and therefore sometimes players were
(they played two people who were never on stage at the same time)
They were considered and owned stock or shares in the play
texts, costumes, and props
Their pay depended on sales
Actors only had about weeks to practice a new play
In one week, the troupes may perform different plays (as many as lines!)

Last Days
Between 1611-1612, Shakespeare returns to to his wife and family.
Dies April 23, 1616 at the age of
His will, which he revised a month before , left the bulk of his estate to his oldest
daughter, and the to his wife. (Not as odd as you think.)
Shakespeare is considered the greatest in the world.
Shakespeare is considered the greatest English .
Language of Shakespeares Time
In Shakespeares time, everyone the English language.
There were no grammar , keys, OR !
The language was evolving and everyday new words were being .
Shakespeares language reflects this and experimentation.
At the time of his death, Shakespeare is said to have written around plays and
sonnets.
He is also known to have contributed over words to the English language.
Shakespeare is also known to have written around words throughout
all of his works.

Iambic Pentameter
Is a pattern
IAMB: one (or unstressed) syllable with one syllable
Its like a : ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum
Five ba-bums in a row make line of iambic pentameter (10-syllable lines)
o Example: he WENT to TOWN toDAY to BUY a CAR
OR: In SOOTH / I KNOW / not WHY / I AM / so SAD
Using iambic pentameter kept things in the play (like a drum beat)
It made the words & play more
It helped the actors their lines (like a song)

The Plays
In Shakespeares time, you only had copy of a play, and after you wrote it for the
acting company, you no longer it!
Scripts were when they were no longer wanted or needed.
copies of Shakespeares plays in his own have survived.
o The only known evidence of anything in his handwriting is his on
the play Sir Thomas More that Shakespeare might have written.
Companies may perform plays for years before they became .
Plays werent thought of as works of literature. They were .
Small books of published plays were called .
o The first published works of Shakespeares vary considerably, making it probable that
they were written from actors , or notes from a scribe
working for a publisher, as opposed to himself.
o Scholars believe these are faulty versions, calling them . Or
as we say today, versions.
Acting troupes didnt want other acting troupes and their plays.
o It was common that people would go watch the play and down the lines they
remembered, then sell the to .
Many think that much of Shakespeares own work was from other playwrights.
o Remember, back then there were no laws!

First Folio
The first full collection of Shakespeares work was published in , seven years after
his death.
It was called
o It contained plays (compiled by J ohn Heminge and Henry Condell--friends and
fellow actors of Shakespeares)
First Folio, as well as many other works at that time, contained many , as
sometimes the printers could not read the and had to memorize the lines
as they set them on the press.
o The were the ones who decided how a line should be
punctuated and spelled (not the )!
o First Folio contained multiple errors--for example, there was no indication where Acts
or Scenes or .
o Todays Act and Scene divisions are based on shrewd by
generations of editors.
o There are many uncertainties, so even todays editions have in the text.

Why Study Shakespeare
Chances are, youve quoted without even knowing it!
Have you ever said the following...
o in a
o Its to me.
o Too much of a thing.
o as would have it
o good
o dead as a
o foul
o without or
o send me
o an
o a stock

Dramatic Terminology
Pun: A humorous play on
o After that poisonous snake struck at me in the Arizona Desert I was really
.
o A gossip is someone with a great sense of .
o A carpenter must have been here. I saw .
o Energizer Bunny arrested - charged with .
o Corduroy pillows are making .
o The executioner decided to drop out of Executioner School. It was just too
for him.
o He who farts in church sits in his own .
Dramatic Foil: A pair of characters who are opposite in many ways and highlight or
exaggerate each others .
Tragedy: A narrative about serious and important actions that end ,
usually with the death of the main characters.
The is broken up into acts and the acts are broken up into scenes.
Monologue: A long uninterrupted given by one character onstage to everyone.
Soliloquy: A long uninterrupted speech given by one character on stage,
inaudible to other characters
Aside: A speech given by character, traditionally the other
characters cannot hear.
Blank Verse: Unrhymed meter; unrhymed pentameter specifically.
Iambic Meter: Each unstressed syllable is followed by a syllable.
Couplets: Two consecutive lines that (aa bb cc). Usually followed when a
character leaves or a scene ends.
End-stopped Line: Has some form of at the end of the line (,;.!?).
Run-on Line: Has punctuation at the end of the line and meaning is continued
to following lines.
Sonnet: A line poem using iambic pentameter and the following rhyme
scheme: abab cdcd efef gg.
Internal Rhyme: Words inside one line.
End Line Rhyme: Words rhyming at the of consecutive lines.
Perfect vs. Slant Rhyme: ball & hall are a perfect rhyme ( sounds the same). Ball &
bell are slant rhymes (beginning and end sounds the same; sound is different).
Alliteration: the repetition of the same beginning
Assonance: the repetition of the same sounds in the middle of words
Consonance: the repetition of the same ending
Onomatopoeia: words that are spelled much like how they .

Shakespeares Five point Story Telling Pattern
Act I:
o Establishes , , conflict, and
Act II:
o A series of
Act III:
o A series of
Act IV:
o Results of the turning ; characters locked into deeper
Act V:
o Death of the main and then the loose parts of the plot are

Tips for Understanding Romeo and Juliet
and is based on Arthur Brookes long narrative poem the
Tragicall Historye of Romeus and J uliet (1562).
o The play has a highly tone: disobedience, as well as fate, leads to the
of two lovers.
Motifs in Romeo and J uliet
o Power of
o Violence from
o The Individual vs.
o The Inevitability of
MONTAGUE vs. CAPULET
Romeo J uliet
Lord Montague (his ) Lord Capulet (her )
Lady Montague (his ) Lady Capulet (her )
Mercutio ( ) Tybalt ( )
Benvolio ( ) Nurse

A Pair of Star Crossed Lovers
My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
~J uliet; Act I, Scene V