Transcript WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

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WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
26 April 1564; died 23 April 1616
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FACTS
William Shakespeare is known around the
world to be one of the greatest playwrights
of all time.
 A playwright is someone that writes plays
to be performed on stage in a theater by
actors and actresses.
 In his career he wrote 37 plays, 154 sonnets
(a form of lyrical poetry usually sung) and a
number of other poems.
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LIFE
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William Shakespeare was born in Stratfordupon-Avon, on April 23, 1564. Young
William was born of John Shakespeare, a
glover and leather merchant, and Mary
Arden, a landed local heiress. William,
according to the church register, was the
third of eight children in the Shakespeare
household—three of whom died in
childhood. Common at that time.
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STRATFORD UPON AVON
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CHILDHOOD
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Early on Shakespeare likely attended the Elizabethan
theatrical productions of traveling theatre troops, they
would come to Stratford to entertain the local official
townsmen and women.
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Although enrolment registers did not survive, around the
age of eleven Shakespeare probably entered the grammar
school of Stratford, King's New School, where he would
have studied theatre and acting, as well as Latin literature
and history.
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TEEN / ADULT LIFE
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At the age of 18, William married 26 year old Anne
Hathaway (not the actress).
Very little factual information remains concerning
Anne Hathaway, except that she is most likely the
eldest daughter of Richard Hathaway, who lived in
Shottery, a small village a mile or so to the west of
Stratford.
The couple had 3 children, Susanna; Hamnet and
Judith. Unfortunately though Hamnet died of
unknown causes in August 1596 at the age of eleven.
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SKETCH OF ANNE HATHAWAY
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EARLY CAREER
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Shakespeare may have joined a theatre company touring
Stratford, or he may have simply set out for London
because he was tired of country life. For whatever reason,
by 1592 he had made a place for himself in the theatrical
world of London as a playwright and actor.
By 1594, he had joined with a theatre company known as
The Lord Chamberlain's Men, (their name changed to the
King's Men upon the ascension of King James I to the
throne in 1603) in which he played principle roles as well
as taking upon himself the management of the company.
It is believed that during his time traveling with these
different theatre companies, he was writing poems and
plays. Records of performances show that several of his
plays were on the London stage by 1592.
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STUMBLING BLOCKS
By 1592, he was well enough known in London
and some of his early work was highly
criticized especially by his peers and in
particular playwright Robert Green who
described him as an upstart crow. Which in a
modern translation may mean self centered
and trying to be more than he was.
 This however only fuelled William’s desire to
be successful.
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WRITTEN WORK
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, of these, only 18
were printed in his lifetime.
 The plays first appeared in “quarto” which was
basically a large piece of paper folded four ways
and then bound. The result was a book slightly
larger than today’s paperbacks.
 It was not until 1623 the complete works of
Shakespeare were printed. It was then referred
to as a folio.
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FOLIO
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THE THEATRE
The first playhouse was built in Elizabethan
London in 1576 to showcase dramatic
performances, It was actually called “The
theatre”.
 As the taste for theatre grew, so did the amount
of playhouses.
 After joining The Lord Chamberlain’s men and
being quite successful, they built their own
theatre called The Globe. Named after it’s
uniquely wooden “O” shape.
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THE THEATRE CONT.
This theatre was situated outside the city following
protests from the public on mostly moral or
political grounds and also partly because of the
spread of the plague.
 This theatre usually could accommodate an
audience of two to three thousand people.
 Performances were advertised by playbills or
posters around the city. The plays were performed
during daylight (no electricity) and when the
weather was suitable, due to it’s open ceiling.
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THE GLOBE THEATRE
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THE GLOBE 2
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THE GLOBE 3
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THE NEW GLOBE
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVmOric9n
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TYPES
Shakespeare’s plays were categorized into 4
different types. These were – comedies,
tragedies, histories and romances.
 Some of the more popular of his plays have since
been turned into modern day adaptations of
feature films, like: Romeo and Juliet; Othello;
Hamlet; Macbeth; A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
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COMEDIES
A full third of his plays were comedies. He was
considered the best writer of his day in this
genre. Now this wasn’t ha ha funny but in those
days a comedy was a play that ends happily. They
do still have bright comical moments, hilarious
characters and dialogue but they still dealt with
serious themes.
 EX: The taming of the shrew, As you like it
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TRAGEDIES
Shakespeare’s tragedies are among his most
highly respected works. In these plays, tragic
heroes grapple with important issues like love,
death, revenge, jealousy, ambition and
ingratitude to name a few. By definition, a
tragedy ends unhappily. The protagonist suffers a
tragic end as a result of some inner flaw or error
in judgment.
 EX: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth
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THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
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HISTORIES
These plays basically serve to create a sense of
patriotism and loyalty amongst the audience to
the crown (English government)
 They also warn about the dangers of civil war.
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EX: King John, Henry V
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ROMANCES
Among the most interesting of his plays were his
romances. Most of which can be called tragicromance but they end happily.
 These plays often involve sea travel, wrecks and
adventure with families being separated and
then reunited. There can also be tragic
misunderstandings followed by forgiveness and
reconciliation.
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EX: The Tempest
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POETRY
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It should also be noted that Shakespeare also
wrote many credible poems in his time.
Sometimes mysterious they were usually in the
form of narrative sonnets or in some instances
very short verse (sometimes 1 line).
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A LOVER’S COMPLAINT EXTRACT
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"Father," she says "though in me you behold
The injury of many a blasting hour,
Let it not tell your judgment I am old:
Not age, but sorrow over me hath power.
I might as yet have been a spreading flower,
Fresh to myself, if I had self-applied
Love to myself, and to no love beside….
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THE END IS NEAR
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Most likely Anne and the children lived in Stratford while Shakespeare spent
his time traveling between Stratford and London, dealing with business affairs
and writing and acting.
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William Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616, according to his monument, and
lies buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford upon Avon.
While there is little known of her life, Anne Hathaway outlived her husband by
seven years, dying in 1623 and is buried beside him. It is not clear as to how or
why Shakespeare died, but in 1664 the reverend John Ward, vicar of Stratford
recorded that "Shakespeare, Drayton and Ben Johnson had a merie meeting,
and it seems drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a feavour there
contracted."
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His tombstone is inscribed with the following epitaph;
Good friend for Jesus sake forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here
Blessed by the man that spares these stones
And curst be he that moves my bones
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ACTIVITY
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On a sheet of paper, I want you to imagine that
you have traveled back to the 15th century and
you have been assigned the task of
interviewing William Shakespeare about one of
his plays and his career in general.
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List 10 questions you would ask Shakespeare
and briefly describe why you would ask that
question.
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