1. William Shakespeare
An Introduction

2. Translate the following clichés.
All that glitters is not gold
Love is blind
Tower of Strength
Flesh and blood
In my mind’s eye
Fair play
Mum’s the word
Vanish into thin air
Dead as a doornail
A sorry sight
A laughing stock
Forever and a day
Eaten out of house and home
Not slept a wink
Send you packing
Wear your heart upon your sleeve

3. Yes! They all come from The Bard
His language still affects how we speak! That’s why we study him!

4. Early Life Born in Stratford-Upon- Avon, England on April 23, 1564
Son of Mary and John Shakespeare
John Shakespeare was a glove- maker and an alderman of the town, but lost his position and money due to illegal sheep trafficking.
That’s his home on the right!

5. School Life He attended King’s New School, which was highly respected.
There he put on Christian plays and memorized the works of the Greeks.
He was introduced to acting when a traveling troupe came to perform.

6. A Player?
At 18, he married Anne Hathaway, who was 26. (Rumor is that she was pregnant)
They moved into Anne’s home with her family and proceeded to procreate.
They had 3 children that survived after infancy: Hamnet, Judith, and Susanna

7. The Lost Years: A Deadbeat?
Will soon left Anne and the kids behind to live with her family—supposedly to make some cash.
We think he was a teacher, but there is speculation that he traded in illegal wool.

8. A Move to the City
We do know that he soon moved to London where he joined the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, an acting troupe
He also met James Burbage in London—an important friendship was struck!

9. The Globe Theatre
James Burbage was the owner of a theatre where Lord Chamberlain’s Men performed. It was simply named “The Theatre”
Unfortunately, he owed his landlord money and was threatened with foreclosure.

10. The Globe
Instead of paying back rent, Burbage, his son, and a few cronies went late at night and moved “The Theatre” across the Thames River.
It was renamed “The Globe”

11. The Globe This theatre can hold 3000 people---just not comfortably.
Think of plays as the superbowl—they were one of the only forms of entertainment.
The Globe was an open-air theatre that opened for people of all classes.

12. The Layout

13. Shakespeare’s Later Life
Shakespeare wrote and acted throughout his life, never returning to his wife at Stratford-Upon-Avon.
Four years after his retirement, he died of a fever on April 23, 1616.
He is buried under the floor of the Trinity Church in Stratford-Upon-Avon

14. His Legacy
On his tomb is a curse to anyone who dares to move his bones, which is perhaps why he has never been relocated to St. Paul’s Cathedral in London