When was he born? Death? born where? # plays, jobs?
Born April 23, 1564;
Died on Birthday 1616
Born in Stratford-Upon-Avon
Wrote 37 plays
Wrote over 150 sonnets
Actor, poet, playwright
100
What age did he marry how old Anne Hathaway, who was _____
At age 18 he married 26 year old Anne Hathaway (who was pregnant)
100
Plays?
Comedies – social plays, light and amusing, usually with a happy ending (marriage)
Tragedies – emphasis on the individual, usually one hero who ends up suffering torment and death; “wasted” lives that end too soon
Histories – involve events or persons from history
Poetry- over 150 Sonnets
100
"The Wooden O"
“The Wooden O”
Open ceiling
Stage stuck out into the audience and they sat on 3 sides
Three stories high
No artificial lighting
Plays were shown during daylight hours only
Trap doors: “ghosts”
Held up to 3,000 people
100
Spectators?
Expensive seats were in the top gallery
Wealthy patrons would get a cushion
The poor (called “groundlings”) had to stand and watch from the courtyard
Paid only 1 penny
There was much more audience participation than today.
200
Father? Education?
Father was not a nobleman
Glovemaker/shopkeeper
Became Mayor of Stratford-Upon-Avon
Shakespeare did not receive much formal education
Grammar school- learned mostly Latin and Rhetoric
200
Children?
He had 3 children:
1st a girl named Susanna
Then twins: boy Hamnet and girl Judith
Hamnet died at age 11 and no one is sure why
200
Romeo And Juliet?
Written circa 1595
Plot was borrowed from another play- this was a common practice at this time
One of Shakespeare’s first tragedies
he had written primarily comedies until this time
Unusual because it was a “tragedy” about love
Themes: love, hate and betrayal
200
Actors?
Only men and boys
Young boys whose voices had not changed played the women’s roles
It would have been indecent for a woman to appear on stage
Scenery was plain but the costumes were elaborate
300
Leave?
Left his family to move to London to pursue acting and playwriting
400
Group of Actors?
Helped create a group of actors called “Lord Chaimberlain’s Men”