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Welcome to the world of
William Shakespeare
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3. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford Upon Avon, England.
born in 1564, in Stratford-
upon-Avon. The register of
Stratford's Holy Trinity
Church records
Shakespeare's baptism on 26
April. He is traditionally said
to have been born on 23
April.
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4. Who were Shakespeare’s family?
His father, John, trained as a glove-maker and married Mary Arden, the daughter of Robert Arden, a farmer from the nearby village of Wilmcote.
John Shakespeare was a prominent citizen, serving on the town council for many years and becoming the Mayor, in Besides his craft as a glover, he traded as a wool dealer and was also involved in money-lending.
The Family Home
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5. William Shakespeare’s childhood.
As he was the son of the Mayor, Shakespeare went to the Stratford Grammar School. Here he learnt basic reading, writing and the ancient myths of Greek and Rome.
Stratford Grammar School
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Getting Married
In November 1582 William married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a local farmer. William was eighteen and Anne was already pregnant with their first child Susanna, who was born 7 months later. Two years later twins followed, Hamnet and Judith.
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The Missing Years.
Then William left his wife and children.
For seven years, he disappeared from all records.
Eventually, he turned up in London in 1592.
This has sparked a lot of curiosity. Some say he was fond of poaching, and had to escape after stealing from Sir Thomas Lucy, a large landowner in Stratford.
What do you think?
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8. Making a name for himself
Seven years later Shakespeare became recognized as an actor, poet and playwright. It wasn’t all easy-going; Shakespeare had to fight off stiff competition. A rival, Robert Greene, referred to him as "an upstart crow“.
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9. Moving to The Globe Theatre
A few years later he joined up with one of the most successful acting troupe's in London: The Lord Chamberlain's Men. When, in 1599, the troupe lost the lease of the theatre where they performed, (called The Theatre) they were wealthy enough to build their own theatre across the Thames, south of London, which they called "The Globe."
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10. What did the Globe look like?
The Globe was built using timber and had a thatch roof. It opened in 1599 and was able to seat three thousand people. It was built on the south side of the Thames, where all the poor people lived, as it wasn't considered 'proper' to have it built where the rich people lived.
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Did you know?
While the actors were learning their lines and acting, Shakespeare was writing a new play. The actors were learning about two plays each week.
The actors’ clothes were all handmade and were dyed using natural materials. The make-up used was, and still is, applied with sheep’s wool.
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The audience
The poorer people when watching a play would stand under the open bit. The richer people would have seats but important people would have a seat with a back on it and it would probably be padded. The King or Queen at the time would probably have their own private box.
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The Globe’s interior
Above the stage the ceiling was painted it had pictures of a storm, a sunshiny day and angels - it was called 'the heavens'. The pillars were painted to give a marble effect. The ground had a trap door to seem like people were coming up from hell. The scenery never changed.
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The acting experience
Often they had to repeat their lines so everyone knew what was happening. A narrator was needed to give everyone a small intro, so that the audience knew the setting of the play.
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Women were strictly forbidden from acting on stage, so men played the women in the play.
There were many great plays performed at the Globe Theatre. Some of Shakespeare's greatest plays were performed there, such as Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth and many, many more.
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16. The end of Shakespeare on the stage.
Shakespeare entertained the king and the people for another ten years until June 19, 1613, when a canon fired from the roof of the theatre for a gala performance of Henry VIII set fire to the thatch roof and burned the theatre to the ground.
The audience ignored the smoke from the roof at first, being to absorbed in the play, until the flames caught the walls and the fabric of the curtains. Amazingly there were no casualties, and the next spring the company had the theatre "new builded in a far fairer manner than before."
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18. Shakespeare’s retirement
He retired from the stage to the Great House in Stratford, where he continued to write until his death in 1616 on his 52nd birthday.
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Shakespeare’s will
He infamously left his second-best bed to his wife Anne Hathaway and little else. This was not as callous as it seems; his best bed was for guests; his second-best bed was his marriage bed.
How romantic.
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Written upon William Shakespeare’s tombstone is an appeal that he be left to rest in peace with a curse on those who would move his bones...
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Good friend, for Jesus´ sake forbeare To digg the dust enclosed here! Blest be ye man that spares thes stones And curst be he that moues my bones.
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22. Translated this reads as:
Good friend, for Jesus’ sake, forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here;
Blest be the man that spares these stones
And curst he that moves my bones.
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