Well-known Facts about Will

• Great writer of England

• Plays translated into 100s of languages, musicals, ballets

• Born Stratford-upon-Avon

• Well-to-do, affluent while alive

• Most quoted, other than the Bible

Lesser-known Facts

• Teen father: married pregnant 26 year old Anne Hathaway when he was 18

• Deadbeat dad: Left wife and children for London stage career

• Father of twins• Elizabethan rapper: uses

rhythm and rhyme• “Plagiarism” ?

The Competition

• Bear-baiting• Races• Gambling• Music• Drinking/socializing• Prostitution• Public executions

Conditions in London-BAD!

• Thames River polluted with raw sewage

• Trees used up for fuel

• Poverty

Personal hygiene/health

• Bathing considered dangerous

• Body odor strong

• Childhood diseases

• Children often died before 5 years

• Small Pox

• Bubonic Plague

Living Conditions

• No running water

• Chamber Pots

• Open Sewers

• Crowded

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Clothes

• One set used all year long, rarely washed

• Underclothing slept in, infrequently changed

• Clothes handed down from rich to poor

Theater in London

• Performed in courtyards of inns

• The Theater-first public theater-1576

• Daytime/open air

• Limited set design

• Relied on music, sound, costumes, props and great description

The Globe

• Built in 1599

• Across the Thames- “Wrong side of town”

• King’s Players - Shakespeare’s company

• Penny admission

Actors

• All men• Female parts played

by young boys• No actual kissing or

hugging on stage

The groundling

• Poor audience member• Stood around stage in

“the pit”• Women not allowed

(had to dress up as men to attend)

• Threw rotten vegetables at bad performances

Queen Elizabeth

• Daughter of King Henry VIII

• and Ann Boleyn (2nd of 6 wives)

• Henry had Ann beheaded for “treason”

• Younger sister of “Bloody Mary.”

• A tease and a player

Her “loving” parents

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The Renaissance

• 1500-1650• “Rebirth” of arts, culture,

science • Discovery of “New

World”• Copernicus: Sun-centered

Universe (1543)• King Henry VIII =

renaissance man (ideal)• Reformation of Catholic

Church

“Julius Caesar”• Tragedy• Written in 1599• Set in Rome, 44 BC• Themes: jealousy, betrayal, demands of honor, and conspiracy

The play reflected the general anxiety of England over succession of leadership

•  At the time of its creation and first performance, Queen Elizabeth, a strong ruler, was elderly and had refused to name a successor, leading to worries that a civil war similar to that of Rome might break out after her death.

Report Topics(Choose one)

• Times of Rome in 44 B.C.

• Elizabethan England

• Roman Senate (circa 44 B.C.)

• Julius Caesar (historical figure)

• The death of Julius Caesar (historical)

• 500 words, MLA, at least 2 sources (no in-text citations needed)

• Due Friday, 14th