William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden...

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William Shakespeare

Transcript of William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden...

Page 1: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

William Shakespeare

Page 2: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

•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

Page 3: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

•Life expectancy: 35 years

•Primary course of study: Latin

•Plato’s chain of being:

• Gods

• Kings

• Nobles

• Craftsmen

• Peasants

• Women

Page 4: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

•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

Page 5: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

•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

Page 6: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

•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

Page 7: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

•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

Page 8: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

Shakespeare’s epitaph

Page 9: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

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 38 plays – all written in iambic pentameter

•Penned 150 short poems—most of which were sonnets

Page 10: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

Iambic pentameter

•Rhyme scheme in which each line consists of ten syllables

•The syllables are divided into five pairs called an “iam.”

•An “iam” consists of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable

•baBOOM/baBOOM/baBOOM/baBOOM/baBOOM

•“Shall I/comPARE/thee TO/a SUM/mer’s DAY?”

Page 11: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

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

Page 12: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

Who Really was Shakespeare?

• SECOND THEORY: EDWARD DE

VERE:

• 17th Earl of Oxford

• Elizabethan courtier, playwright,

lyric poet, sportsman and patron

of the arts – THE most popular

alternative candidate proposed

for the authorship of

Shakespeare’s works

Page 13: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

•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

Page 15: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

•Performances were

geared toward the

uneducated masses –

much focus on sexual

innuendo, bodily

functions, and

slapstick (low comedy

at its finest)

The Globe Theatre

Page 16: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

A Globe Theatre Performance

Page 17: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

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

Page 18: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

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

Page 19: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

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

female roles were played by young boys)

Page 20: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

Layout of The Globe

Page 21: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

Common Shakespeare Expressions:

• “It’s Greek to me.”

• “Tongue-tied”

• “A fool’s paradise”

• “High time”

• “Without rhyme or reason”

• “To be, or not to be? That is the

question”

Page 22: William Shakespeare. A time associated with Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558-1603 “Golden Age” in England's history Height of the English Renaissance.

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