The Renaissance Theater and

William Shakespeare

In the beginning…• The first public

theater built in England was called the Theater (1576) – Built by James

Burbage

• Other public theaters followed, including the Rose and the Swan.

• The most popular theater was the Globe

Swan Theater. A sketch by Johannes de Witt

The Globe•Built in 1599 out of pieces of the Theater

•Built on the south side of the Thames River in the Southwark district

•Easily accessible across the Thames River or over London Bridge

The Structure of the Globe

• Sixteen-sided polygon –Called the “Wooden O” by Shakespeare in Henry V

• Three stories high (100 feet)• Three main parts: building

proper, stage, tiring house (backstage area)

• The building proper surrounded an inner yard

The Globe Audience• General admission (one penny) = yard “seats”

– People who paid general admission were called groundlings

• Pay more=gallery seats• Expensive=chairs set directly on sides of the

stage• Held between 2,000 and 3,000 people in very

close proximity to one another– Reason why it and other public theaters

were closed during plague epidemics and fires

Structure of the Globe

Drawing of the Globe by C. Walter Hodges

Actors and the Stage• Jutted partially into

the yard• Referred to as a

“bare stage”– Little scenery, yet

much music– Actors used the stage

(trap doors, hangings, balcony, gallery)

– Audiences had to use their imaginations

• Highly trained actors– Sing, dance, wrestle,

fence, weep, roar, whisper

– Very close to audience

Actors and their Costumes

Vital elements of the plays–Signified time and people

Women’s costumes often more elaborate–Helpful because women were not allowed to be actors; all female roles were played by men/adolescent boys.

The Tiring House

Contained machinery and dressing rooms Had a gallery above it–Spectators could sit there–Musicians performed there–Actors used it Allowed for props and actors to emerge

Advantages of the Globe

• Flexibility– Stage

anywhere– No

interruptions for set changes

• Speed– Moved quickly

because audiences practiced listeners

Shakespeare’s Role in the Globe

• Owned part of it• Principal writer and

member of the Chamberlain’s Men

• Staged his plays specifically for the Globe

• Extremely popular under the reigns of Elizabeth I and King James I– The King’s Men or

His Majesty’s Servants

Shakespeare: An Actor?

• Besides writing the plays, he occasionally acted in them– Played smaller

roles– Took over when

actors were ill• Performed in a few

plays of his friends• Better known as a

playwright and producer

The End of the Globe

• 1612 – Shakespeare retires• Still manages the Globe and

Blackfriars• 1613 – Globe burns when a fired

cannon catches the roof on fire during a performance of Henry VIII

• 1614 – Globe reconstructed• 1640s – Globe and other public

theaters closed by new Puritan government, which felt plays were immoral

William Shakespeare: The Man, the Myth, the

Legend• Born April 23, 1564 in

Stratford-on-Avon• Grew up poor• Education

– Free grammar school– Studied Latin, the

Bible, and English composition

• Married Anne Hathaway at age 18; she was 26– 3 children: Susanna,

Hamnet, and Judith

The Lost Years• 1585-1592• Speculated to have

held various jobs, including teacher and lawyer

• Supposedly left his family in 1588 to go to London

• 1592 – Henry VI debuted

• Spent the next 21 years of his life writing– 37 plays (comedy,

tragedy, and history)

– 154 sonnets

A Genius• His father was illiterate, yet he had

a vocabulary of nearly 30,000 words– Coined phrases and words: “into

thin air” and “be all and end all” – Wrote of court life, foreign affairs,

law, science, classical, and European literature

• Blended plot, characters, and language in a unique way

The Question of Authorship

Most Wanted #1: Edward de Vere• Born in 1550

• Earl of Oxford– Aristocrat– Studied at Cambridge – Surrounded by books– His uncle translated

Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which Shakespeare based many of his plays on

• Poet & playwright– Stopped writing

around the time that Shakespeare’s name began to appear

Many believe this to be de Vere not Shakespeare

More Evidence for de Vere

Links between characters in the plays and his life– Polonius from Hamlet = caricature of his

father-in-law

1579 Bible – contains 1,000 underlined and marked passages plus marginal notes– More than 250 of the marked passages are

directly referenced in Shakespeare’s plays

His nickname was “Spear-shaker” based on his ability at tournaments and his coat of arms had a spear on it

The Case Against de Vere

•Died in 1604 but many of Shakespeare’s plays were written after this date–Could have been published after his death

•He would have been using the name because it was not conventional for aristocrats to write, but we know he did write and publish under his own name

Most Wanted #2: Francis Bacon

• Aristocrat• Educated• Similarities occur

between the works of Bacon and Shakespeare– Metaphors,

similes, basic ideas of their works are similar

Northumberland Manuscript

A folder found at Northumberland House in 1867 Contained works by Bacon , including letters and speeches Most interesting:– The cover page contains both Bacon and

Shakepeare’s names on it– Inside the folder are two transcripts to

Shakespeare’s plays: Richard II and Richard III– Above the titles of the plays, it says “By

Francis Bacon”

Most Wanted #3: Christopher Marlowe

• Evidence: he lived at the same time as Shakespeare

• Died in 1593 just when Shakespeare’s career was beginning

• Some claim that he never died but only pretended to in order to escape people coming after him

Did He Do It?

No one really knows We do know that he borrowed from many texts It is possible that he may not be the sole author of his works

The Death of a Legend

Died April 23, 1616Epitaph: “Good friend for Jesus’ sake forbear, To dig the dust enclosed here: Blest be the man that spares these stones, And curst be he that moves my bones.”“He was not for an age but for all time.” - Ben Jonson