The Life & Times of Shakespeare

An introduction to the Renaissance, Shakespeare’s life and the Globe Theater

The Renaissance in Elizabethan England

• The age of Shakespeare was a great time in English history.

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) saw England emerge as the leading naval and commercial power of the Western world.world.

• England defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.

• Elizabeth firmly established the Church of England begun by her father, King Henry VIII (following Henry's dispute with the Pope over having his first marriage annulled).

The Renaissance in Elizabethan England• Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the world and became the most

celebrated English sea captain of his generation.

• Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh sent colonists eastward in search of profit.

• European wars brought an influx of continental refugees into England, exposing the English to new cultures.

• In trade, might, and art, England established an envious preeminence. preeminence.

The Renaissance in Elizabethan England

• At this time, London was the heart of England, reflecting all the vibrant qualities of the Elizabethan Age.

• This atmosphere made London a leading center of culture as well as commerce.culture as well as commerce.

• Its dramatists and poets were among the leading literary artists of the day.

• In this heady environment, Shakespeare lived and wrote.

The Renaissance in Elizabethan England

• London in the 16th century underwent a transformation.

• Its population grew 400% during the 1500s, swelling to nearly 200,000 people in the city proper and outlying region.city proper and outlying region.

• A rising merchant middle class carved out a productive livelihood, and the economy boomed.

The Renaissance in Elizabethan England• In the 1580s, the writings of the University Wits (Marlowe,

Greene, Kyd, and Peele) defined the London theatre.

• These men produced new dramas and comedies using Marlowe's styling of blank verse.

• Shakespeare outdid them all; he combined the best traits of Elizabethan drama with classical sources, enriching of Elizabethan drama with classical sources, enriching the admixture with his imagination and wit.

Birth of a Legend• Records indicate that

William Shakespeare was John and Mary's third child.

• His birth is unregistered, • His birth is unregistered, but legend places it on April 23, 1564.

• Ironically, April 23 is the day on which he died 52 years later.

Educating Shakespeare• He attended the King's New

School, which was staffed with a faculty that held Oxford degrees.

• He did not attend a university, since university university, since university education was reserved for prospective clergymen.

• More impressive than his formal education is the working knowledge of many professions and a vocabulary far greater than any other English writer.

Married With Children

• In 1582, at age 18, William Shakespeare married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway.

• Their first daughter, Susanna, was baptized Susanna, was baptized only 6 months later; much speculation about the circumstances surrounding the marriage.

• In 1585 Anne bore twins, baptized Hamnet and Judith Shakespeare.

Triumph and Tragedy• Hamnet died at the

young age of eleven.

• In1589, Shakespeare wrote his first play, wrote his first play, Henry VI, Part 1.

• He and his wife moved to London, where he pursued a career as a playwright and actor.

Street Fighter• Shakespeare was a tough young

scrapper who was once forced to flee London under sketchy circumstances.

• Young Will was not an immediate and universal success.

• A statement by rival playwright • A statement by rival playwright Robert Greene, called Shakespeare: – an "upstart crow...[who]

supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you" - hardly high praise.

Shakespeare Rising

• By 1590, Shakespeare was a popular playwright.

• In1593, he garnered a prominent patron in the Earl of Southampton.Earl of Southampton.

• The majority of Shakespeare's sonnets were probably written in the 1590s.

All The King’s Men• In 1594 Shakespeare became

a charter member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, – a group of actors who

changed their name to the King's Men when James I ascended the throne.

• By 1598 he was the "principal • By 1598 he was the "principal comedian" for the troupe, and by 1603 he was "principal tragedian".

• At this time, acting and playwriting were not considered noble professions, but successful actors were relatively respected.

MONEY• Shakespeare made a lot of

money, so he invested in Stratford real estate.

• In 1597 he purchased the second largest house in Stratford, the New Place, for his parents.for his parents.

• In 1596 Shakespeare applied for a coat of arms for his family– in effect making himself a

gentleman; – his daughters married

successfully and wealthily.

The Great Works• In 1596, Shakespeare wrote

Romeo and Juliet, along with Love's Labor's Lost, and The Taming of the Shrew.

• Two of his greatest tragedies, Hamlet and Julius Caesar, followed in 1600.

• The 17th century witnessed the debut performances of: Richard III [1601], Othello [1604], Antony and Cleopatra [1606], and King Lear [1608].

• The last play of his to be performed was King Henry VIII, in either 1612 or 1613.

Death of Shakespeare

• William Shakespeare lived until 1616, and his wife Anna died in 1623. He was buried in his church at Stratford.

• The lines above his tomb (allegedly written by Shakespeare himself) read:

– "Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear. To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these

stones. And cursed be he that moves my bones."

The Globe Theater History• In 1596, a Dutch student by

the name of Johannes de Witt attended a play in London at the Swan Theatre.

• de Witt made a drawing of the theatre's interior.

• The sketch is the only surviving rendering of the

• The sketch is the only surviving rendering of the interior of an Elizabethan-era public theatre.

• It's the closest thing historians have to an original picture of what the Globe may have looked like in its heyday.

The Globe Theater Design• Shakespeare's company

erected the Globe Theatre in 1598 in London.

• The open-air, octagonal amphitheater rose 3 stories high with a diameter of 100 feet, holding a seating capacity of up to 3,000 capacity of up to 3,000 spectators.

• The rectangular stage platform was nearly 43 feet wide and 28 feet deep.

• This staging area housed trap doors in its flooring and primitive rigging overhead for various stage effects.

The Globe Theater Destroyed• In 1613, the original Globe

Theatre burned to the ground when a cannon shot during a performance of Henry VIIIignited the roof of the gallery.

• The company completed a new Globe on the foundation of the old before Shakespeare's old before Shakespeare's death.

• It continued operating until 1642, when the Puritans closed it down to build tenements upon the premises.

• The Globe would remain a ghost for the next 352 years.

The Globe Theater Today• The foundations of the Globe

were rediscovered in 1989.

• Workers began construction in 1993 on the new theatre near the site of the original.

• The latest Globe Theatre was completed in 1996; Queen completed in 1996; Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the theatre on June 12, 1997 with a production of Henry V.

• The Globe is as faithful a reproduction as possible to the Elizabethan model, seating 1,500.

• In its initial 1997 season, the theatre attracted 210,000 patrons.

THE END