William Shakespeare “All the world 's a stage, / And all the men and women merely players.”——

Born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon in England. Died April 23, 1616 Married Anne Hathaway at age 18 (his wife was 26) Worked as an actor, poet, playwright, businessman. Had 3 children. Spent most of his time in London working in the theater while his family was back home.

Shakespeare He owned part of The Globe Theater. He owned part of a Troupe called Lord Chamberlain’s men, and later called the King’s men. A troupe is a group of actors (10 – 12 men). All of his plays have 5 acts each and were written in BLANK VERSE (unrhymed iambic pentameter).

The Globe Theater 1599 Burned in 1613

The Globe Was a 3 story wooden building that held 3,000 theatergoers. In the center was an open-air courtyard with a platform stage on which the plays were performed. A white flag flew at the Globe the day a play was performed to advertise it. The people paying the least amount for admissions were called GROUNDLINGS. They only paid a PENNY! Groundlings stood in the pit, the part of the courtyard right near the stage. Groundlings tended to be very loud with appreciation, cheering the heroes, yelling insults at the villains, and laughing loudly at humorous characters jokes.

The Globe All the social classes enjoyed the plays – there was a little something for everyone included – powerful speeches, fancy sword fights, humor, eerie supernatural events, and insightful observations about human nature.

The Plays Comedy Tragedy Historical

Comedies The Taming of the Shrew Much Ado About Nothing As You Like It Twelfth Night Midsummer Night’s Dream

Tragedies Hamlet Romeo and Juliet Othello King Lear Macbeth Julius Caesar

Shakespeare’s Contribution to the English Language He invented 32,000 words. We use about 5,000 today.

Have you heard these phrases? I couldn’t sleep a wink. He was dead as a doornail. She’s a tower of strength. They hoodwinked us. I’m green-eyed with jealousy. We’d better lie low for awhile. Keep a civil tongue in your head.

Julius Caesar (The Play) Shakespeare borrowed his information for this play from Plutarch’s book called Lives of Noble Grecians and Romans. Shakespeare took what really happened over three years and condensed it to make it look like three days.

Julius Caesar (The Play) Written in 1599 Set in 44 BC in Rome Theme of the play: Why Caesar was murdered and what happened to his murderers. Although the title of the play is Julius Caesar, Caesar is not the main character. The protagonist of the play is Marcus Brutus.

Julius Caesar (The History) Julius Caesar was one of the first of the great European dictators. He was popular with the common people (called Plebains), but he wasn’t so popular with some of his former political allies and some of the upper class (called patricians). He was a great military leader. He conquered Gaul (France) and Belgium and invaded Britain twice.

Julius Caesar (The History) In the Civil War, he defeated Pompey (a member of the first triumvirate (meaning 3- men ruling). He pursued Pompey to Egypt but Pompey was killed by Caesar supporters before Caesar arrived. He met Cleopatra and stayed awhile in Egypt. He later defeated Pompey’s army and sons. He granted amnesty to all opposing generals in an attempt to unite Rome, which was a major error in judgment.

Julius Caesar Julius Caesar is a TRAGEDY. Tragedy – is a drama in which a series of actions leads to the downfall of the main character, called the tragic hero. Tragic Hero – is the main character of a tragedy, whose actions or error lead to their downfall. Is usually of high social rank Tragic flaw (error in judgment leads to downfall). Suffers complete ruin or death Faces his or her downfall with courage and dignity

Julius Caesar (The Play) 6 characteristics of a Tragedy: Hero is a person of high rank whose fate affects the destiny of others. Hero is an outstanding and admirable man. Hero has a tragic flaw. Dual conflict – external and internal Good always prevails in the end. Use of the supernatural or coincidence.

Important Literary Techniques Dramatic Irony – when the audience knows more than one or more of the characters. Its builds suspense. Ex. Caesar does not know that people are plotting against him, but the audience does. Soliloquy – is a speech given by a character alone on stage used to reveal his or her private thoughts and feelings. – May help audience understand character’s motivation. Aside – a character’s remarks, either to the audience or to another character, that no one else onstage is supposed to hear. This lets the audience in on the character’s thoughts or secrets.

Important Literary Techniques Repetition – use of words and phrases more than once to emphasize ideas. Ex.Therein, ye gods, make the weak most strong; therein ye gods you tyrants do defeat. (Act One, Scene 3, Lines ). Parallelism – the repetition of grammatical structures to express ideas that are related or of equal importance. Ex. Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. (Act Three, Scene 2, Line 20). Rhetorical Questions – the use of questions that require no answer to make the speaker’s rightness seem self evident. Ex. Wherein hath Caesar thus deserved your loves? Alas, you know not! (Act Three, Scene 2, Lines ).