william shakespeare background notes. william shakespeare “all the world’s a stage”

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare

Background Notes Background Notes

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare

““All the All the world’s a world’s a stage”stage”

http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/life.htm

Why Shakespeare? Why Shakespeare?

For For 400400 years, Shakespeare has been years, Shakespeare has been considered the considered the greatestgreatest dramatistdramatist and and poetpoet in the English-speaking world. in the English-speaking world.

His His playsplays are produced are produced thousandsthousands of times of times each year in each year in theaterstheaters all over the all over the world, world, and audiences today are and audiences today are enthralledenthralled as the as the ones who first attended them in ones who first attended them in London.London.


His plays are filled with His plays are filled with action,action, intrigue, intrigue, mystery,mystery, rollicking –rollicking –humor,humor, and and heart-heart-wrenchingwrenching tragedytragedy, , sometimes all within sometimes all within the bounds of the the bounds of the play. His plays are play. His plays are timelesstimeless. .

© Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging. http://www.nea.gov/national/shakespeare/ShakespeareLA.html


The The characterscharacters in Shakespeare’s in Shakespeare’s plays are plays are completecomplete in all in all varietiesvarieties of human experience. Some are of human experience. Some are sillysilly people who do not know they people who do not know they are are sillysilly. A few of them are . A few of them are monstersmonsters. Some are truly . Some are truly tragictragic people, good but with people, good but with flawsflaws in in character which lead them to character which lead them to destructiondestruction. .

http://quicksilvermint.com/medallions/pages/comedy-tragedy.htm


Some are Some are loverslovers embracing embracing lifelife with a with a passion,passion, and others are and others are loserslosers who who spend their lives in spend their lives in angeranger and and hate.hate. They They represent all the varieties of represent all the varieties of personalitypersonality, , motivationmotivation, and , and charactercharacter which exist in which exist in humankind.humankind.

Why ShakespeareWhy Shakespeare

ShakespeareShakespeare was a master was a master of our complex English of our complex English language, and he filled his language, and he filled his playsplays with with poetrypoetry and and proseprose in a way in a way unequaledunequaled by any by any other writer other writer

Why Shakespeare? Why Shakespeare? He wrote with an incredible He wrote with an incredible vocabularyvocabulary of over of over

29,00029,000 words, which is astounding when one words, which is astounding when one considers that the King James Version of the considers that the King James Version of the Bible uses slightly over Bible uses slightly over 3,000 3,000 Many of those Many of those words are used in sophisticated words are used in sophisticated punspuns and and wordplaywordplay yet he wrote for the yet he wrote for the

commonercommoner as well as the as well as the

educatededucated. The . The languagelanguage of of

Shakespeare is rich beyond Shakespeare is rich beyond

that of any other that of any other writer.writer.

The English language owes a great debt to Shakespeare. He invented over 1700 of our common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together, adding prefixes and suffixes, and devising words wholly original.

academe accused addiction advertising amazement

arouse assassination backing bandit bedroom

beached besmirch birthplace blanket bloodstained

barefaced blushing bet bump buzzer

caked cater champion circumstantial cold-blooded

compromise courtship countless critic dauntless

dawn deafening discontent dishearten drugged

dwindle epileptic equivocal elbow excitement

exposure eyeball fashionable fixture flawed

frugal generous gloomy gossip green-eyed

gust hint hobnob hurried impede

impartial invulnerable jaded label lackluster

laughable lonely lower luggage lustrous

madcap majestic marketable metamorphize mimic

monumental moonbeam mountaineer negotiate noiseless

obscene obsequiously ode olympian outbreak

panders pedant premeditated puking radiance

rant remorseless savagery scuffle secure

skim milk submerge summit swagger torture

tranquil undress unreal varied vaulting

worthless zany

Source: http://shakespeare.about.com/library/weekly/aa042400a.htm

About the Author About the Author

Williams Shakespeare was born into a Williams Shakespeare was born into a reasonable well-to-do family. His father, reasonable well-to-do family. His father, JohnJohn Shakespeare, was an established Shakespeare, was an established businessmanbusinessman in in Stratford-Upon-AvonStratford-Upon-Avon who who dealt in dealt in leatherleather and and glove makingglove making and who and who rose in town importance from being rose in town importance from being chamberlain and chamberlain and aldermanalderman to to high-bailiffhigh-bailiff, , much like being a much like being a mayormayor today. today.

http://www.onlineshakespeare.com/earlyyears.htm


William Shakespeare’s mother, William Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Mary ArdenArden came from a prominent Catholic came from a prominent Catholic family, although there is no evidence to family, although there is no evidence to support a conclusion that during those support a conclusion that during those Elizabethan ProtestantElizabethan Protestant times Shakespeare times Shakespeare himself was ever a secret himself was ever a secret Catholic. Catholic.


William Shakespeare was almost certainly William Shakespeare was almost certainly born in the house now known as born in the house now known as the the birthplacebirthplace. .

www.onlineshakespeare.com/birthplace.htm

House today, after renovations

Shakespeare’s House

http://www.onlineshakespeare.com/birthplace.htm

www.onlineshakespeare.com/birthplace.htm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kerneljack/90576341/


It was custom to baptize a child It was custom to baptize a child threethree days after days after birth, and since church records at birth, and since church records at HolyHoly TrinityTrinity Church Church in in StratfordStratford show his baptism to have show his baptism to have been been April 26, 1564,April 26, 1564, he is assumed to have he is assumed to have been born been born April 23, 1564. April 23, 1564. The only records The only records kept of births, marriages, and deaths were those kept of births, marriages, and deaths were those kept by the kept by the church.church. He is believed to have He is believed to have attended in the attended in the half-timberedhalf-timbered building which still building which still stands in stands in StratfordStratford and some think he and some think he taughttaught there for a short time, as well. there for a short time, as well.


He married He married Anne Anne HathawayHathaway when he when he was was 1818 and she was and she was 2626 They became the They became the parents of parents of threethree children--children--SusannaSusanna, , and two years later, and two years later, twins twins JudithJudith and and Hamnet.Hamnet.

This family portrait shows (back row) Shakespeare, Dr John Hall, Judith (Shakepeare's other daughter), (centre row) Anne Hathaway, Susanna, Thomas Quiney (a friend of Judiths), (front) Elizabeth (Susanna's daughter). From: A Pictoral Biography of William Shakespeare. http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/life.htm

http://www.onlineshakespeare.com/familytree.htm


No one knows for sure what Shakespeare No one knows for sure what Shakespeare did from did from 15851585 to to 15921592 he was being he was being mentioned as an “mentioned as an “upstart crowupstart crow” by a ” by a jealous rival dramatist in jealous rival dramatist in London.London. His first His first threethree plays were plays were Henry VIHenry VI, , TitusTitus AndronicusAndronicus, and , and The Comedy of ErrorsThe Comedy of Errors. .


The theaters of London The theaters of London were closed between the were closed between the years of years of 15921592 and and 15941594 because of the because of the bubonic bubonic plagueplague, and during this , and during this time Shakespeare wrote time Shakespeare wrote his poem “his poem “Venus and Venus and AdonisAdonis” and began ” and began writing writing sonnetssonnets..

http://www.hero.ac.uk/resources/5264.jpg


In In 15941594 the plague was over, and the plague was over, and Shakespeare helped form the Shakespeare helped form the Lord Lord Chamberlain’s MenChamberlain’s Men which became which became London’s premier London’s premier actingacting company in which company in which he was both he was both actoractor and and playwright.playwright.


Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth placed the placed the company under her company under her protection. protection.

http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/elizface.htm


This was very important This was very important because a religious group because a religious group called the called the PuritansPuritans were were trying to shut down the trying to shut down the theaterstheaters for being for being sinfulsinful and attracting the wrong and attracting the wrong sorts of sorts of people.people. The The queen loved the queen loved the theatertheater and the and the artsarts, so , so Shakespeare’s company Shakespeare’s company was able to enjoy was able to enjoy 1414 productive years until her productive years until her death in death in 1603. 1603.

http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/elizface.htm


At that time, At that time, King King James I James I continued continued royal patronage, and royal patronage, and thereafter the thereafter the company was known company was known as as The King’s Men. The King’s Men.

http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/james/


Shakespeare’s plays and poetry were very Shakespeare’s plays and poetry were very popularpopular and from the beginning of his and from the beginning of his writingwriting until his until his deathdeath in in 16161616 he wrote he wrote 3737 plays, plays, 154154 sonnets, sonnets, and other poetry. Around and other poetry. Around 16101610 he left he left LondonLondon for good and for good and retiredretired to his home in to his home in StratfordStratford where he became and important member of the where he became and important member of the local gentry. In local gentry. In 16131613 he collaborated with he collaborated with John John FletcherFletcher on on Henry VIII,Henry VIII, The Noble Kinsmen, The Noble Kinsmen, and and a play, which has since become lost, named a play, which has since become lost, named CardeniaCardenia. He died on . He died on April 23rdApril 23rd in in 16161616. .

Attending Shakespeare’s TheaterAttending Shakespeare’s Theater

Attending the theater in Shakespeare’s time was Attending the theater in Shakespeare’s time was very different from attending it now, and very different from attending it now, and Shakespeare’s theater, the Shakespeare’s theater, the Globe,Globe, was unlike was unlike any modern one. It was probably any modern one. It was probably round,round, or or nearly so, and the roof covered only the outside nearly so, and the roof covered only the outside galleries; thus, many who went to see the plays galleries; thus, many who went to see the plays got got wetwet in the frequent London in the frequent London rains.rains. The stage The stage juttedjutted out into the out into the audienceaudience and the and the actorsactors were were surrounded on three sides by people who surrounded on three sides by people who paidpaid to see the performance.to see the performance.

http://www.uni-regensburg.de/Uni/Studententheater/img/macbeth/globe-theatre.jpeg

http://www.bridgetown.ednet.ns.ca/Amanda-Lynn%20Baskwell/WEB/theglobe.htm


Nearly half the theater-goers stood on the ground around the stage; they were called “groundlings,” and they were a rowdy bunch, eating, talking and yelling out anything which took their fancy at the moment. People paying higher prices got seats in the galleries for their money and a roof to keep off the rain.


No one went to the theater at No one went to the theater at night.night. There There were no were no electricelectric stage lights, and the stage stage lights, and the stage was in the was in the middlemiddle of the audience, of the audience, lightedlighted by the sun. There was no by the sun. There was no sceneryscenery and and very few very few propsprops. There were no . There were no costumescostumes except for any which the except for any which the actorsactors acquired acquired for themselves, so there might be all for themselves, so there might be all manner of manner of stylesstyles and and periodsperiods of dress on of dress on the stage at one time.the stage at one time.


Today no courteous theater-goer would think of Today no courteous theater-goer would think of walking around while a play was on, but walking around while a play was on, but Shakespeare’s audiences, especially the Shakespeare’s audiences, especially the groundlings, made no pretense of groundlings, made no pretense of courtesycourtesy, and , and the the playwrightplaywright who, after all, had been an who, after all, had been an actoractor himself, knew he had better write a play filled himself, knew he had better write a play filled with action and good stories or he would soon with action and good stories or he would soon lose the lose the attentionattention of his audience. of his audience. Shakespeare’s plays are Shakespeare’s plays are action-packedaction-packed with all with all sorts of sorts of swordsword play play and and buffoonerybuffoonery..


In Shakespeare’s time no In Shakespeare’s time no womenwomen or or girlsgirls acted in acted in plays, which is probably the main reason there plays, which is probably the main reason there are many more are many more men’smen’s than than women’swomen’s parts in his parts in his plays. For a plays. For a womanwoman to act in a play would have to act in a play would have been a been a shamelessshameless and serious and serious breachbreach of of socialsocial custom.custom. Women were played by Women were played by menmen, and girls , and girls and young women were played by young and young women were played by young menmen or or boysboys who were carefully taught by the older who were carefully taught by the older actors. Only later in the actors. Only later in the 17th17th century did women century did women and girls act, and even then an actress was and girls act, and even then an actress was considered somewhat considered somewhat daringdaring and her character and her character a little a little suspectsuspect..


In In 16131613 the old the old Globe Globe TheaterTheater burned to the burned to the ground after being set ground after being set on fire by a on fire by a sparkspark from from a a cannoncannon during a during a performance of performance of Henry Henry VIIIVIII

Shakespeare's Globe TheatrePhoto: Nik Milner http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/navigation/framesetNS.htm

http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbi.cgi/Globe_Theater.html/cid_globe_the_km_003.gbi

http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbi.cgi/Globe_Theater.html/cid_1034646035_The_Globe_Theatre_interior.gbi

http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbi.cgi/Globe_Theater.html/cid_1034645766_The_Globe_theatre_S.gbi

william shakespeare background notes. william shakespeare “all the world’s a stage”

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