1. W ILLIAM S HAKESPEARE

2. Q UEEN E LIZABETH I Elizabeth I (Protestant) became the Queen of England in 1558, six years before Shakespeare's birth Elizabeth’s mother was Anne Boleyn who was executed by husband Henry VIII

3. E LIZABETHAN E NGLAND England was firmly established as a leading military and commercial power in the Western world Queen Elizabeth recognized the importance of the arts and was fond of the theater With her permission, professional theaters were built in England for the first time Music, art, and theater began to flourish

4. E ARLY T HEATER Theatres built on outskirts of city out of county jurisdiction Areas called “Liberties” Naturally also a breeding ground for thieves, pickpockets, criminals, etc: slum areas Other popular forms of entertainment included: bear/bull-baiting, cock fights

5. E LIZABETHAN E NGLAND Hygiene was not understood as it is today (Sewage & garbage thrown into street gutters) Onset of bubonic plague, or Black Death hit London in 1592 and theatres and other public venues were closed

6. K ING J AMES VI Replaced Elizabeth after her death Reigned in three kingdoms (England, Scotland, and Ireland) for 22 years, a period known as the Jacobean Era The "Golden Age" of Elizabethan literature and drama continued Shakespeare now part of the King’s Men (Theatrical company supported by James) King James strong believer of witchcraft

7. G UY F AWKES D AY November 5 th, 1605: Guy Fawkes and other terrorist conspirators failed to blow up the Houses of Parliament Known as the 'Gunpowder Plot,' and was discovered the night before the explosion was to occur An attempt to re-establish the Catholic religion All the conspirators were subjected to extensive torture. Fawkes and the other conspirators who remained alive were tried for high treason and were convicted and sentenced to death. The heads and other portions of the conspirators' bodies were set up at various points around Westminster and London.

8. S HAKESPEARE ’ S L IFE Born on April 23, 1564 and died on April 23, 1616 in Stratford on Avon Went to school at Stratford Grammar school where he got ideas for plays from Greek/Roman history, Plautus, Seneca, and learned Latin (school was very rigorous-9 hours per day all year round) Married Anne Hathaway when he was 18, she was 26 Anne gave birth to daughter Susanna 6 months after they were married

9. Anne Hathaway’s cottage in Stratford on Avon Shakespeare spent very little time here, lived most of his life in an apartment in London

10. S HAKESPEARE ’ S L IFE Later had twins Judith and Hamnet (Hamnet died at 11) Little is known of his life between when he left Stratford and arrived in London During these “Lost Years” he could have done anything: sailor, soldier (helped defeat the Spanish Armada), printer, gardener, etc Between 1589-1613, Shakespeare wrote 36 plays, 154 sonnets, and 2 narrative poems (sonnets and poems mostly written during time of plague when theatre were shut down in 1592) He retired a wealthy man having invested in real estate His death is something of a mystery

11. G LOBE T HEATRE Opened in 1599 Theatre advertising was forbidden (Puritan pressure) so a flag was raised and a trumpet blasted before every performance, red for histories, white for comedies, black for tragedies Ticket priced depended on the location of the seat: groundlings had penny seats and stood in the pit in front of the stage Performances were only during the day Environment was very boisterous, loud, and riotous, audience often threw food, beer, and other items at performers

12. G LOBE T HEATRE Scenery and props were minimal, focus was on the language, although props and costumes were often elaborate No women actors were allowed, female parts played by young men In 1613 the Globe was destroyed by cannon fire as part of a production of Henry IV. It was then rebuilt and then closed in 1642.

14. New Globe

15. S HAKESPEARE ’ S W ORKS Shakespeare wrote in Early Modern English Plays are divided into Comedies, Histories, Tragedies, and Romances He usually wrote in Iambic Pentameter: Iamb: a poetic unit with one unstressed syllable followed by an stressed syllable Pentameter: ten syllables or beats in each line (5 stresses per line) Prose: no pattern, no rhyme

16. To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? Iambic Pentameter Prose For the satirical rogue says here that old men have gray beards, that their faces are wrinkled, their eyes purging thick amber and plum-tree gum, and that they have a plentiful lack of wit, together with most weak hams. All which, sir, though I most powerfully and potently believe, yet I hold it not honesty to have it thus set down; for yourself, sir, should be old as I am if like a crab you could go backward. Nobles Rational (Natural Speech Patterns) Songs Rational (Iambic Pentameter) is contrasted with the emotional (Prose) (Brutus vs. Antony in Julius Caesar ). Commoners Mad/Insane Drunk Disorderly

17. M AJOR P LAYS Julius Caesar Hamlet Othello King Lear Macbeth Henry V Romeo & Juliet The Tempest Twelfth Night A Midsummer Night’s Dream First Folio (1623)

18. S HAKESPEARE ’ S D EATH Shakespeare died April 23, 1616 (52 years later on his birthday) Cause of death is unknown He is buried under the old stone floor of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. The following is carved on his tombstone. He wrote his own Elegy: “Good friend, for Jesus sake forbear To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones And cursed be he that moves my bones”