Transcript Everything you never wanted to know about Bill

Everything you never wanted to
know about Bill
William Shakespeare
The Bard
The Poet
The Playwright
Money Lender
Actor (The King’s Men)
Husband
Father
Philanderer
That’s what I heard?!
From the Beginning
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon
Allegedly on April 23, 1564. Church records from
Holy Trinity Church indicate that he was baptized
there on April 26, 1564.
Dad
John Shakespeare: a successful glover, leather
merchant, alderman and high bailiff of Stratford (it all
sounds great doesn’t it?).
It all declined in the late 1570’s though.
Mom
Mary Arden, a landed local heiress.
From the Beginning
William
According to the church register, was the third of
eight children — 3 of whom died in childhood.
It is assumed by scholars that Shakespeare attended
the free grammar school in Stratford, which, at the
time, had a reputation to rival that of Eton. It is a
guess, but based on his ability to write he went to
school somewhere for some time.
The Next Records
Marriage
To Anne Hathaway - November 28, 1582.
William was 18 and Anne was 26
- and pregnant
Children
Susanna, born on May 26, 1583.
Hamnet and Judith, born February 2, 1585
Hamnet died in childhood at the age of 11
Life in London
Shakespeare arrived in London around 1588 and
began to establish himself as an actor and
playwright.
By 1594 he was acting, writing and managing partner
for the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later called the
King's Men after James I in 1603), with Will Kempe, a
master comedian, and Richard Burbage, a leading
tragic actor of the day.
The Lord Chamberlain's Men became a favorite London
troupe, patronized by royalty and made popular by
the theatre-going public.
Finally, he dies
William Shakespeare wrote his will in 1611:
To his daughter Susanna he left his properties
To his daughter Judith he left £300
To his wife Anne left "my second best bed"
William Shakespeare allegedly died on his birthday,
April 23, 1616. This is probably more of a romantic
myth than reality, but Shakespeare was interred at
Holy Trinity in Stratford on April 25.
What happened to his work?
In 1623, two working companions of Shakespeare
from the Lord Chamberlain's Men, John Heminges
and Henry Condell, printed the First Folio edition of
his collected plays, of which half were previously
unpublished.
Thanks Henry
Thanks John
But, Reading His Work is so Hard
Language
Shakespeare had an incredibly large vocabulary
He is credited with introducing nearly 3,000 words into
the English language
From his work it is estimated that he had a vocabulary
of approximately 17,000 words, without a dictionary
According to one source, he was able to use over 7,000
of those words only once and never again; that is
more than the number of words used in the King
James Bible
Grammar, it too I hate
The most common simple sentence in modern English
follows the pattern: Subject (S), Verb (V), Object (O).
SVO
For example: subject (John), a verb (caught), an object
(the ball).
A simple and clear sentence, "John caught the ball,”
that even Shakespeare and fellow Elizabethans
would/could understand.
Shakespeare used a great deal of SOV inversion, which
changes the sentence to "John the ball caught." This
is found in many Germanic languages, from which
English derives a lot of its syntax.
Grammar, still I loathe thee
Due to the Norman invasion of England in 1066, English
poetry adapted the rhymed verse that was popular in
French and Italian.
Of course, Shakespeare wrote a great deal of work in
blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter).
When he wasn't rhyming, what was he thinking?
Elizabethans allowed more freedom in word order.
Shakespeare took advantage of this freedom with
inverted word order so he could effectively place the
metrical stress wherever he needed it most—to
suggest emphasis and meaning.
Why else break he the rules?
One part of speech is often substituted for another; this is most
frequent with nouns and verbs.
In the dark backward and abysm of time.
That may repeat and history his loss.
My death's sad tale may yet undeaf his ear.
Adjectives don't always mean what they seem to say
Wherever in your sightless (= invisible) substances.
There's something in 't That is deceivable (=
deceptive).
Oppressed with two weak (= weakening) evils
Why else break he the rules?
Verbs don't always agree with their subjects; frequently
a singular verb is used with a plural subject.
These high wild hills and rough uneven ways
Draws out our miles, and makes them
wearisome.
Three parts of him Is ours already.
The infinitive (to + verb, e.g., "to have" or "to eat") is
used as a noun more frequently than in modern
English; it is also frequently substituted for a gerund
(verb + -ing).
Could you on this fair mountain leave to feed [i.e.,
leave off feeding].
Why else break he the rules?
Double-negatives are often used for emphasis of a
point.
You may deny that you were not the mean Of my
Lord Hastings' late imprisonment [i.e., deny that
you were the mean].
The possessive of the neuter pronoun it ("its") is
regularly written as his, and sometimes as simply it.
How far that little candle throws his beams!
Since nature cannot choose his origin.
The Stage
is the Thing
The Stage is the Thing
Actual quote ‘The play is the thing’ H. II.ii.604
The previous image of the Swan Theater is the only
surviving image of an Elizabethan era stage.
Thanks to Johannes de Witt
There four were large theatres
Swan, Rose, Hope and Shakespeare’s Globe
They were open-air, octagonal amphitheaters three
stories high, and held up to 3,000 spectators.
The rectangular stage platform probably housed trap
doors in its flooring and primitive rigging overhead for
various stage effects.
Stage Cont.
At the base of the stage was an area called the ‘yard’
where people would stand to watch the performance.
The people who watched there were called
groundlings.
Around the yard were three levels of seating which were
more expensive than standing. The first two levels
were called the ‘Two penny Rooms’ and the top level
was called the ‘Penny Gallery’.
Stage Cont.
Although the three galleries cost the same to sit in, the
middle gallery was considered the highest status.
The lower gallery was too close for comfort to the yard,
while the upper gallery served as a meeting place for
unsavory business deals, and local prostitutes.
The most expensive seats were located above the rear
of the stage. These seats provided separation from
the masses and a place for the rich to show off.
Tickets for the ‘Lords Rooms’ were sold for six
pennies each.
Stage, lastly
Unlike most modern dramas, Elizabethan plays did not
have scenery to indicate the setting of the play.
The setting was usually unknown until the characters
identified it with lines of dialogue.
The main stage had no curtain so one scene had to
follow the other quickly, because there was no curtain
to close and open and no scenery to change.
Ta da….
Will The Real Macbeth Stand
Up?
A Real Mac Bethad mac Findláich, or
Macbeth
1005 1057
1040 he killed King Duncan in battle
Macbeth became king and married Gruoch
(Lady Macbeth)to keep the throne.
He ruled successfully for 14 years.
He was also a brave leader and made
successful forays over the border into
Northumbria, England.
1054, Macbeth was challenged by Siward,
Earl of Northumbria, who wanted
Duncan's son, Malcolm, to be king.
1057, Macbeth was killed in battle by
Malcolm III.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic
_figures/macbeth.shtml
Were there Witches?
I dunno,
BUT, supposedly King James I was interested
in them.
We still seem to like them, too.
A Real Banquo?
Probably not.
At least there is no actual
record of him during
Macbeth’s court
One would think an
important General
would be noted in
history.
Often the nobility claimed
mythic warriors to be
the start of their family
trees.
Favorite Images and Themes in
Macbeth
Ambition
Gender
Tyrants Vs Kings
Natural Order
Fate
Fall of Man
Hubris
Light Vs. Dark
Reality Vs. Metaphysical
Clothing
Works Cited
• All information was collected from
www.bardweb.net
and collaborated, because who knows
what crazy people post on the Internet.
The End - Finis