William Shakespeare The Bard

1564-1616 Childhood

• Born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England • Parents: John and Mary Arden Shakespeare - Mary: daughter of wealthy landowner - John: glovemaker, local politician Education

• Probably attended a Grammar school in Stratford • Educated in: - Latin through classical authors - Rhetoric - Logic - History • No university education Family Life

• Married Ann Hathaway 1582 (when he was 18, she was 26) • Three children: Susanna born in 1583, twins Judith and Hamnet born 1585 • Hamnet died from the plague at age 11: the girls never had any children 1585-1592 The Lost Years

• We have no records of his life during this time period. • It is speculated that he might have been a teacher, a butcher, or an to support his family. • Sometime between 1583-1592, he moved to and began working in theatre. • Ann and the children stayed in Stratford-upon- Avon. 1590’s

• Queen ruled • English explorers were crossing the ocean to the New World • And travelers coming to England LOVED watching plays... The Theatres... • Before Shakespeare’s time, plays not performed in purpose-built buildings but in parks, halls, courts, inn courtyards and gamehouses. • Buildings built on the outskirts of the city as protestants condemned the immorality of these games and plays: afraid of public disorder, disturbances. • The Elizabethan theatre attracted people from all classes – the upper class nobility and the lower class commoners. • Anyone could attend .

• In 1576, the first playhouse, called The Theater, was built outside London’s city walls. • , built in 1587 (London’s first “” theatre) - • , 1595 • The in : open-roofed roundish theatre owned and built by Shakespeare's playing company, The ’s Men in 1599. The theatres were closed during the big outbreak of the plague in 1592-1594. Who were the Players? • From 1594, Shakespeare's plays were performed only by the Lord Chamberlain's Men, a company owned by a group of players, including Shakespeare, that soon became the leading playing company in London. • Richard Burbage was their leading actor • The Lord Chamberlain’s Men performed mostly in The Theatre, then in the Globe Theatre. The Globe Theatre • Burned down in 1613 during one of Shakespeare’s plays: Henry VIII • A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site by June 1614 and closed in 1642 by the Puritans. • First play performed in the new Globe was The Tragedy of Julius Caesar • A modern reconstruction of the Globe, named "Shakespeare's Globe", opened in 1997 . The New Globe

Elizabethan theatre performances

• Theatres were makeshift, dirty, and loud, especially in the pit where audience members were packed. • But attracted huge crowds: audiences as large as 3,000 from all social classes. • No artificial lighting: performances only during broad daylight (usually afternoon performances) • No scenery : the stage was bare. • No general curtain so all scenes on the main stage began with an entrance and ended with an exit. • Different price of admission, with the lowest prices in the pit below stage level where patrons stood to watch the play • Etiquette did not prohibit the audiences from freely expressing their distaste or satisfaction for the action on stage. • No interval: refreshments (beer and nuts) sold throughout the play.

Acting • The were all men; young boys (age 12-14) played the female parts • They were considered “shareholders” and owned stock or shares in the play texts, costumes, and props. • Their pay depended on admission sales. • Actors only had about 3 weeks to practice a new play. • In one week, the troupes may perform 6 different plays (as many as 4,000 lines!) Costumes

• Richly decorated • Didn’t always match up to the time period of the play • Looking good was more important than being realistic! Contemporary playwrights • Thomas Kyd (1558-1594) : The Spanish Tragedy • Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593): - the first great playwright, paving the way for Shakespeare. He wrote and acted for The Lord Admiral’s Company - The Lord Chamberlain’s Men’s arch-rivals. - possibly Shakespeare’s biggest influence. - most notable works: Tamburlaine the Great, Dr. Faustus, The Jew of Malta, Edward II • By summer 1598, Shakespeare was recognised as the greatest of English dramatists.

• He had already written his two tetralogies (history plays) Henry VI (Parts I, II and III) + Richard III Richard II + Henry IV (Parts I and II) + Henry V • He had experimented with comedy in his early plays and had already written the following masterpieces: A MidSummer Night’s Dream (1596) The Merchant of Venice (1596-7) Much Ado about Nothing (1598-9)

• He had written his first tragedy: Romeo and Juliet (1595-6) • And two major poems: Venus and Adonis (1592-93) The Rape of Lucrece (1594)

1603 • Queen Elizabeth died • England’s new king, James Ist, was a far more enthusiastic patron • Shakespeare’s troupe became the King’s official theatre company and changed their name to The King’s Men. Shakespeare’s last days

• Between 1611-1612, Shakespeare returns to Stratford to his wife and family. • Dies April 23, 1616 at the age of 53 • Shakespeare is buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. • Warning of a curse on his epitaph. Shakespeare’s Legacy

• 37 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare - 13 comedies - 10 histories - 10 tragedies - 4 romances • Possibly wrote three others and collaborated on several others • Two major poems, 154 sonnets and numerous other poems

• 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 (shown above) on the play that Shakespeare might have written.

• Companies may perform plays for years before they became printed. • Plays weren’t thought of as works of literature. They were “entertainment.” “Quartos” • Small books of published plays were called “quartos.” • 19 of Shakespeare’s plays were printed during his lifetime, but he didn’t supervise their publication so the different publications vary considerably. • Scholars believe these are faulty versions, calling them “bad quartos.” Or as we say today, “Pirated” versions. • The first full collection of Shakespeare’s work was published in 1623, seven years after his death. • It was called “First Folio” • It contained 36 plays (compiled by John Heminge and Henry Condell--friends and fellow actors of Shakespeare’s) • “First Folio”, as well as many other works at that time, contained many errors, due to the fact sometimes the printers could not read the handwriting and had to memorize the lines as they set them on the press. • Not always Act and Scene divisions, so today’s divisions are based on shrewd guesses by generations of editors. • There are many uncertainties, so even today’s editions have variations in the text. Even today, Shakespeare lives on

• We can relate to his tales of love, hatred, revenge, courage, trust and deception. • So much of our world today has been influenced by Shakespeare.