William Shakespeare By: Ms. Freeman

William Shakespeare Born-1564Died-1616 (52 years old) Known for his sonnets – Iambic pentameter Tragedies – Romeo and Juliet – Hamlet Comedies – The Taming of the Shrew Histories – Julius Caesar Born in Stratford-upon- Avon (a town in England) Attended grammar school until he was 14 years old Studied Latin and Greek Married Anne Hathaway when he was 18 years old

Background Leaves his family and goes to London Joins a successful theater company, called Lord Chamberlain’s Men – Company changes its name later to The King’s Men (in 1603) Shakespeare retires from the company in 1610

How did Shakespeare make his money? There were three ways that Shakespeare made his money: 1.He was part owner of The Globe Theater 2.He was an actor 3.He was a playwright

The Globe Theater

In 1599, the Burbage brothers (the first male actors) built The Globe Theater – Shakespeare owned 10 % of the theater – A flag was flown on the top of the theater This showed that there was a play The color of the flag indicated what type of play was going to be performed that day Plays were performed in the afternoon

The Globe Theater Very little scenery was used on stage More dialogue, or conversation, between characters – Female parts were played by young male actors – ONLY MEN performed on stage because women were not allowed “Groundlings”-people that sat, or stood, in the cheap seats

Elizabethan Era In England, the late Renaissance was known as the Elizabethan Era – Named after Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s first female monarch – The daughter of King Henry VIII The queen reopened theaters, even though there was a Bubonic Plague – Spread quick and many people died from this disease

Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare used a technique called word play, words that have more than one meaning Sets the play in Verona, Italy

Assignments Write three pieces of information that you learned about Shakespeare. Write two things you learned about the time period. Write one thing (can be a question) you wish to learn about Shakespeare, the time period, the plays, or Romeo and Juliet.