William Shakespeare and The Globe Theatre By Jihad Belbachir and Ghea Abou Faycal

EARLY yEARS William was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England . His father was the mayor of Stratford and his mother was a landowner. He was the 3rd child of 8. He received and excellent education with a heavy focus on Latin, Greek, grammar and literature . He studied at “King Edward’s Grammar school for Boys “ in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Marriage and Family William married Anne Hathaway at the young age of 18 while she was 26 . They had 1 child : Susanna Twins: Hamnet and Judith His son, Hamnet, died at the young age of 11.

later years He moved to London in around 1591 and he became an actor . He worked with a group of actors called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men , later known as the King’s Men.

Occupations and works of literature William Shakespeare was an actor, a poet and a playwright. He got famous for his very successful plays (between 35 and 40),his many poems ( 154 sonnets) , his tragedies (Hamlet , Julius Caesar…), his comedies (As You Like It, Twelfth Night…) and his histories . William Shakespeare had a huge vocabulary of between 17 000 and 34 000 words.

Last years William Shakespeare returned back to Stratford-Upon-Avon in around 1610 . He had the second largest house in all of Stratford. He died in his home in 1616.

Renaissance and the Elizabethan age Shakespeare lived and wrote in a period called the English Renaissance . He also lived in the period called the Elizabethan Age named after Queen Elizabeth 1st who ruled England from 1558 to 1603.

GLOBE THEATRE

ABOUT The Globe Theatre was the place where Shakespeare used to introduce his plays, in London. The Globe Theatre was also named “The wooden «O»” because of its circular shape. At that time , plays were performed during the day. On the roof , a white flag indicated that there was a play that very day.

Where to sit? Who will sit? Who will act ? The poor people , also named the “groundlings” used to sit in the pit , on the ground , next to the stage. The wealthy people used to sit in the upper galleries and got a better view. Since women did not have the same rights as men , they were not permitted to get roles in the play . So , men dressed up as ladies and used to play the female roles.

Goodbye globe theatre The original theatre was destroyed by a fire in 1613 , rebuilt in 1614 , closed in 1642 and was demolished in 1644. A brand- new “Shakespeare’s Theatre” was built in London in 1997.