1. Willy Shakes An Introduction to William Shakespeare & A Midsummer Night’s Dream

2. Willy Shakes- The Thespian Life ●Born into humble origins ●Established himself as an actor, then playwright and poet ●Married Anne Hathaway (no, not that one), and they had three children, 2 girls and a boy, but only the girls survived. ●Born and Died at Stratford-upon-Avon (1564-1616)

3. Willy Shakes- The Thespian Life ●Actor and shareholder in Lord Chamberlain’s Company (Later the King’s Men) by 1595. ●After 1599, a shareholder at the Globe Theatre. ●Actor, playwright, and sometimes director. ●Between 1590 and 1613, he wrote 38 plays (although, for some, the authorship is still in doubt), some written with others (John Fletcher, for instance).

4. Willy Shakes- The Thespian Life ●Histories: (English history, like Marlowe’s Chronicle plays) such as Henry IV, V, VI, VIII, Richard II, Richard III ●Tragedies: Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth ●Comedies: Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Comedy of Errors

5. Willy Shakes- The Thespian Life General characteristics of the plays: 1.Early point of attack 2.Several lines of action (subplots), independent at first, then somehow merge together – unity in apparent diversity (King Lear is a perfect example). 3.Large number and variety of incidents; mixing of tears and laughter; gentle and violent passions 4.Time and space used freely – a sense of ongoing life behind the scenes

6. Willy Shakes- The Thespian Life General characteristics of the plays continued: 5. Large range and number of characters; 30 is common; rich and poor, all individuals. 6. Varied language: elegant, ribald, witty, prosaic; all to enhance character and action. 7. Subjects from many sources (mythology, history, legend, fiction, plays) but reworked to become his own.

8. Willy Shakes- A Midsummer Night’s Dream ●Comedy driven by societal expectations of marriage, love triangles, magic, the fairy realm, and mischief. ●It’s a comedy-yay everyone isn’t dead at the end ●Most comedies end in marriages-this is no exception. ●Pay attention to who loves whom and how that plays out in the plot line. ●Pay attention to the difference between the “real” world and the forest/fairy world and the multiple story lines.

11. Presentations over Acts-that’s you! ●Review of what happened in the Act ●Unique method of presenting ●Act-out one excerpt from the Act ●Introduce characters from the excerpt (each person should introduce their character + description) ●BE PREPARED TO PRESENT EVERY ACT! ●50 points