William Shakespeare “The Bard”

His Times  The Elizabethan Age (named for Elizabeth I)  The wake of the Renaissance and the Reformation  Acting was a precarious way of life

His Life  1564: Born in Stratford-upon-Avon  1582: Marries Anne Hathaway (26) at age 18  1585: Leaves Stratford sometime and joins a company of actors as a performer and playwright.  1589: Begins writing plays  1594: Performs with the theater troupe the Lord Chamberlain's Men  : The Lord Chamberlain's Men lease land for the Globe Theatre  1599: The Globe Theatre opens

His Life (cont)  1603: Queen Elizabeth dies The troupe takes the name the King's Men to honor the new king  1613: The Globe Theatre burns down  1614: The Globe Theatre reopens  1616: Shakespeare dies on April 23rd  1623: Anne Hathaway Shakespeare dies Publication of the First Folio

The Globe Theatre Shakespeare’s Stage

The Globe Theater  Lighting  Acoustics  Background  Scene changes  Stage  Seating  Open Air

The Globe (cont)  Burned down June 29, 1613Reconstructed in 1614  Closed in 1642 and demolished in 1644 by an anti-theater regime  A replica built in 1996 as a full- functioning theatre

The Audience  Already knew the story  audience and actors can clearly see each other  several short breaks  audience may come and go as they choose  Audience is expected to get involved

The Plays Shakespeare’s Life Work

His Plays  Thirty-eight plays in three categories Histories (10) Tragedies (11) Comedies (17)  Focus not on plot  Addressed virtually every aspect of human experience  About language

Shakespeare’s Use of Language

“Not of an age, but for all time” –Ben Jonson