Transcript William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare
A brief history of the man
In one act
The Prime of Life
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon 1564
Baptised April 26
May have attended school in Stratford
In 1582, married Anne Hathaway
Her
NOT her
Moving to the City
When did he move to London? We don’t know.
Records show he was writing as early as 1592
First mentioned by rival playwright Robert Greene
Basically accused Shakespeare of writing above his station
Shakespeare began working with a group called the Lord
Chamberlain’s Men
LCM became the leading theatrical group in London
When James I became king, the group changed their name to the
King’s Men
Even actors need a home
In 1599, The Lord Chamberlain’s Players built their own theatre on
the banks of the Thames River
Called the Globe Theatre
An open-air facility
In 1608, the King’s Men added an indoor theatre
Called the Blackfriars playhouse
The success of the company made Shakespeare very wealthy
The Play’s the thing
In his life, Shakespeare wrote 37 plays
14 comedies, 12 histories and 11 tragedies
Comedies included A Midsummer Night’s Dream, All’s
Well That Ends Well, and The Tempest
Histories dealt mostly with British monarchs
Henry IV and Henry VI broken into 2 and 3 parts,
respectively
Tragedies included Hamlet, Julius Caesar and Romeo
and Juliet
A sonnet, a poem
in 14 lines
Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets
Sonnets are written in iambic pentameter
14 lines long
First published in 1609, dedicated to “Mr
W. H.”
Most famous sonnet begins with “Shall I
compare thee to a summer’s day?”
(sonnet 18)
Later years
Shakespeare acted as well as wrote
Wrote The Tempest, his last play around 1611
Globe Theatre burned down in 1613
Died April 23, 1616, in Stratford-Upon-Avon
Influences
William Shakespeare is considered the most influential
writer in the English Language
Plays are translated and performed all over the world
Many phrases we use today come from his plays.
Allusions to Shakespeare are found in modern culture
today
Words, words, words
A selection of words coined by William Shakespeare
– alligator (Romeo and Juliet; Spanish "aligarto" was already in use in
English)
– bedazzled (The Taming of the Shrew)
– cold-blooded (King John; first use to mean "lack of emotion")
– downstairs (I Henry IV, supposedly first use as an adjective)
– eyeball (The Tempest)
– fortune-teller (The Comedy of Errors)
– to gossip (The Comedy of Errors; first use as a verb; "gossip" was one's
familiar friends)
– hot-blooded (The Merry Wives of Windsor / King Lear)
– invitation (The Merry Wives of Windsor; signifies "flirting")
– Judgement Day (I Henry VI; usual term had been "Day of Judgement")
Words, words, words
A selection of phrases coined by William Shakespeare
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All's well that ends well (title)
Neither a borrower nor a lender be (Hamlet)
Brave new world (The Tempest)
Dead as a doornail (2 Henry VI)
Devil incarnate (Titus Andronicus / Henry V)
For goodness' sake (Henry VIII)
Good riddance (Troilus and Cressida)
Knock knock! Who's there? (Macbeth)
Love is blind (Merchant of Venice)
Own flesh and blood (Hamlet)
Sound and fury (Macbeth)
The world's my oyster (2 Henry IV)
The little quiz at the end
Where was William Shakespeare born?
Give me one of the names Shakespeare’s
theatre company was known by.
Give me the name of one of
Shakespeare’s theatres
How many plays did Shakespeare write?
What three categories do Shakespeare’s
plays fall under?
The little quiz at the end
•Who did Shakespeare’s histories mostly deal
with?
•Tell me the name of one of Shakespeare’s
tragedies and one of his comedies
•What style of poetry is Shakespeare famous for?
•Name one word that Shakespeare introduced to
the English language.
•Name one phrase coined by Shakespeare.
•When did Shakespeare die? What was so
unusual about his dying day?