A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 Golden age in England's history...
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Transcript of A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 Golden age in England's history...
•A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603
•Golden age in England's history
•Height of the English Renaissance – poetry, music, literature, and theatre flourished
•William Shakespeare and many others broke free of past style of theatre and arts
•A period of peace in England
•Life expectancy: 35 years
•Primary course of study: Latin
•Plato’s chain of being:
• Gods
• Kings
• Nobles
• Craftsmen
• Peasants
• Women
•Blood sports were popular (bear or bull baiting)
•Fencing/jousting was also a common source of entertainment
•Team sports became more popular - football, hurling, and soccer
•Hunting was a great source of sport
•Theatre was an important source of entertainment
•1558: Elizabeth I becomes queen at age
25
•1564: Shakespeare is born (Stratford-
upon-Avon)
•1582: at age of 18, Shakespeare marries
Anne Hathaway (who was 26)
•1583 -1585: has three children:
Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith
•1587: Virginia Dare – first English-born
child born in America
•1594: Shakespeare is leading member of
Lord Chamberlain’s Company
Timeline
•1534: Henry VIII recognized as
Supreme Head of Church of
England:
• Separated The Church of
England from the Roman
Catholic Church
• Private life greatly influenced
English political history
• Wanted an heir
• Died 1547
Timeline
•1594: Taming of the Shrew
•1600: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado
About Nothing, R & J
•1607: English settlement at Jamestown
•1611: The Tempest
•1616: Shakespeare dies; buried at Holy Trinity
Church
•1623: Shakespeare’s widow, and his last
surviving descendent, Elizabeth Hall, dies
•1623: The First Folio: originally titled “Mr.
William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, and
Tragedies”
Timeline
Shakespeare’s epitaph
William ShakespeareApril 23, 1564 – April 23, 1616
•English poet and playwright – greatest writer of the English
language
•The “Bard of Avon”
•Plays have been translated into every major language and
performed more than any other playwright
•Early plays were comedies and histories and later ones were
tragedies
•Penned 37 plays – all written in iambic pentameter
•Penned 150 short poem—most of which were sonnets
Who Really was Shakespeare?
•ONE THEORY: Shakespeare was just a
front to shield the identity of the real
author(s) who for some reason did not
want credit:
• Scholars speculate that Shakespeare
lacked the “education, aristocratic
sensibility, and familiarity with the
royal court” to be able to write such
works of literature
Who Really was Shakespeare?
• SECOND THEORY: EDWARD DE
VERE:
• 17th Earl of Oxford
• Elizabethan courtier, playwright,
lyric poet, sportsman and patron
of the arts – most popular
alternative candidate proposed
for the authorship of
Shakespeare’s works
•Built in 1599 in London by
Shakespeare’s playing company: Lord
Chamberlain’s Men
•Destroyed by fire on June 29, 1613
while performing Shakespeare’s Henry
the Eighth
•Rebuilt on the same site by June 1614
and closed in 1642 by the Puritans
The Globe Theatre
•All performances, weather
permitting, were
performed during the day
(no lighting)
•Open air theatre resulted
in poor acoustics, so
performers had to shout
and exaggerate gestures
The Globe Theatre
•Performances were
geared toward the
uneducated masses –
much focus on sexual
innuendo, bodily
functions, and
slapstick (low comedy
at its finest)
The Globe Theatre
A Globe Theatre Performance
The Globe Theatre Layout•Three story, open-air amphitheatre that
held up to 3,000 spectators
•At base of stage was “the pit” —
“groundlings” paid a penny and stood on
straw to watch the performances
The Globe Theatre Layout•Vertically around the yard: three levels of
stadium-style seats (more expensive
seating)
•These were ‘two-penny’ seats and were
partially covered
The Globe Theatre Layout•Flag was flown on day of performance:
different colors for different genres:
comedy, tragedy, history
• ALL characters played by MEN (often
women played by young boys)
The Stage of the Globe Theatre
•Rectangular platform known as an ‘apron stage’
•Trap door for performers to use to enter from the ‘cellarage’
•Two to three doors at the rear of the stage where performers waited in costume
•Balcony housed musicians
Layout of The Globe
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women
merely players.
They have their exits and their
entrances;
And one man in his time plays
many parts...
~ from Shakespeare’s As You Like It