The Man That Would Be Shakespeare

1563-1616Stratford-on-Avon,

EnglandHe wrote 37 plays & 154 sonnetsHe started out as an

actor

Background of the Bard Born April, 1564 in Stratford on Avon Parents John & Mary Shakespeare Educated at Stratford Grammar School Learned business as an apprentice for his

father Married Anne Hathaway November 28, 1582

She was 8 years his senior and 3 months pregnant when they married

The Plays Early plays, 1590’s, were mainly comedy

Comedy (and this could be extended to most of Shakespeare's history plays as well)  is social--leading to a happy resolution (usually a marriage or marriages) and social unification. 

Shakespeare began to focus on tragedy/dramatic themes in the early 1600’s Tragedy is individual, concentrating on the

suffering of a single, remarkable hero--leading to individual torment, waste and death

1608 marks a change in tone from tragedy to romance, light, magic, and reconciliation

Comedy of Errors 1592The Taming of the Shrew 1592-94

Love's Labor's Lost 1594-95Two Gentlemen of Verona 1594-95A Midsummer Night's Dream 1595-

96The Merchant of Venice 1596-97

Much Ado About Nothing 1598-99As You Like It 1599-1600Twelfth Night 1599-1600

Merry Wives of Windsor 1601-02Troilus and Cressida 1601-02

All's Well That Ends Well 1602-03Measure for Measure 1604-05

Titus Andronicus 1593-94Romeo and Juliet 1594-95Hamlet 1600-01Othello 1604-05The Tragedy of King Lear 1605-06Macbeth 1605-06

Timon of Athens 1607-(?)Cymbeline 1609-10The Winter's Tale 1610-11Tempest 1611-12

Henry VI parts I, II, III 1590-92Richard III 1590-92King John 1594-96Richard II 1597-(?)

King Henry IV part I, part II 1597-98Henry V (1599) 1598-99Julius Caesar 1599-1600

Henry VIII 1613-(?)Antony and Cleopatra 1606-07

Coriolanus 1607-08

When in a play...

Only men were permitted to perform

Boys or effeminate men were used to play the women

Costumes were often the company’s most valuable asset

Costumes were made by the company, bought in London, or donated by courtiers

English Theater

Plays were most often performed in outdoor theaters

Performances took place during the day so that the stage would be illuminated by natural light

The Globe Theater

THE GLOBE THEATER Built in 1599 The most magnificent theater in London Shakespeare was 1/5 owner He earned 10% of the total profit, approximately

£200-250 a year The Bard retired to Stratford and lived on the

profits he earned from the Globe June 19, 1613 the Globe burned to the ground

during a performance of Henry VIII

The Globe Theater – Many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed

here The stage was a large, rectangle that jutted

out into the yard Held 2,000-3,000 people tightly packed An open playhouse with a wooden structure

three stories high It was shaped like a 16 sided polygon General admission = 1 Penny entitled a

spectator to be a “groundling”-someone who could stand in the yard.

More expensive seats were in the roofed galleries and most expensive seats were chairs set right on the stage along its two sides

Rebuilt in 1900’s

Aristocrats

The Queen/King

The Groundlings!

Actors

Only men and boys allowed onstage

Young boys whose voices had not changed play women’s roles

It would have been considered indecent for a woman to appear on stage

Differences

No scenerySettings > references in

dialogueElaborate costumesPlenty of propsFast-paced, colorful>2 hours!

SpectatorsWealthy got benches“Groundlings”>poorer people

stood and watched from the courtyard (“pit”)

All but wealthy were uneducated/illiterateMuch more interaction than

today

The Cost of a Show1 shilling to stand2 shillings to sit in

the balcony1 shilling was 10%

of their weekly income

Broadway Today:$85 Orchestra$60 Balcony10% of a teacher’s

weekly salary