1. Shakespeare’s Background Mirrors: Characters & Society
Shakespeare’s World
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Shakespeare’s Background
The Globe
Shakespeare’s Works
Elizabethan England
Resources
Mirrors: Characters & Society
The Language
Objective: To understand the personal, social, and historical events that shaped Shakespeare and his works.

2. Shakespeare’s Life

3. Shakespeare’s Life, Continued

4. Shakespeare’s Globe Theater Bankside in Southwark, London
Click on the picture of The Globe to access my YouTube playlist. PRESS “PLAY ALL”
These three videos were recorded by Ms. Hefner last spring during a tour of the rebuilt Globe Theater. As you are listening to the guide, pay attention to the differing perspectives from each floor of the Globe.
How would the play watching experience be different depending on the audience members’ social class?
Erected in 1599, The Globe was London’s first theater built by and for actors. As one of seven shareholders in the company that commissioned it (not to mention the company’s chief playwright), Shakespeare probably had some say in the theater’s design. He wrote many of his plays, from Julius Caesar on, with this venue in mind.
Some Facts about The Globe:
The Globe was originally built in on the South Bank of the river Thames.
It was located just outside of London because theaters were banned from being within the city limits.
Theaters were places of ill-reputation: the plays were often bawdy, prostitutes and pickpockets were commonly present, and gambling often occurred.
On the other hand, many members of the gentry and royal class were fans of Shakespeare and attended his plays.
The Globe could hold 1,500 people on the main (standing only) floor in front of the stage.
Another (approximately) 1,500 people could fit in the balconies.
The original Globe Theater burned down during a production of Henry VIII. A canon used for sound effects caused a spark that ignited the thatched roof.
The current Globe Theater is the third Globe. It is located within only a few yards of the original and was carefully replicated to match as much as possible to the original Globe.
Except for, of course, now there are plenty of water sprinklers.

5. Shakespeare’s Works
Shakespeare wrote thirty-seven plays between 1588 and He was an actor, director, and businessman as well as a playwright. Shakespeare’s universal popularity is due to his extraordinary facility for language, his memorable characters, and his wonderful stories. His plays cover a variety of topics and his characters represent a diversity of individuals. While being performed, his plays would appeal to the whole social spectrum of Elizabethan society. With the advent of the printing press and the growth of literacy in the seventeenth century, Shakespeare’s plays were also published as a result of their popularity.
Shakespeare’s plays are generally divided into the following categories:
Comedies- Most characters are still alive at the end of the play
Tragedies- Most characters are dead by the end of the play
Histories- Based on a historical person or event (may be fictionalized)
Stage and moves directors can adapt Shakespeare’s works in limitless ways. Click the image to see how one director interpreted the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet.
Have you seen these Shakespeare Movies?
“West Side Story” (Romeo and Juliet)
“10 Things I hate About You” (The Taming of the Shrew)
“She’s the Man” (Twelfth Night)
“Much Ado About Nothing”
“The Lion King” (Hamlet and Richard III)

6. England’s Renaissance
The long reign of Elizabeth, who became known as the “Virgin Queen” for her reluctance to endanger her authority through marriage, coincided with the flowering of the English Renaissance, associated with such renowned authors as William Shakespeare. By her death in 1603, England had become a major world power in every respect, and Queen Elizabeth I passed into history as one of England’s greatest monarchs.(2)
Historical Context:
-War of Roses ends in 1485 and political stability arrives
-Printing Press helps stabilize English as a language and allows more people to read a variety of literature
-Economy changes from farm-based to one of international trade
Some Key Authors During the Renaissance Period in British Literature:
William Shakespeare
Thomas Wyatt
Ben Jonson
John Donne
Christopher Marlowe
Andrew Marvell
Robert Herrick
Katherine Phillips

7. Mirrors: Characters Reflecting Society
One of the reasons why Shakespeare’s works were, and continue to be, so accessible is because he created characters from all walks of life. Explore these links to learn more about Shakespeare’s characters.
The English during this time had a strong sense of “social class” They belonged to different groups according to their: -Occupation -Wealth -Ancestry Social classes determined many factors in a person’s life, from what he could wear, to what he could live, and even to what jobs his children could get
However, during this time period, there was an upheaval in the accepted social hierarchy. This allowed Shakespeare to explore the humanity of every character regardless of their social position. Even monarchs were given human emotions and were capable of making mistakes.
Women were not allowed on stage during this time period . Women’s roles were played by young males whose voices had not yet changed.

8. Shakespearean Translator
The Language
Shakespeare made many contributions to the English language
Many phrases that we use in our daily life are attributed to Shakespeare
A sorry sight (Macbeth)
As dead as a doornail (Henry VI)
Eaten out of house and home (Henry V, Part 2)
Fair play (The Tempest)
I will wear my heart upon my sleeve (Othello)
In a pickle (The Tempest) In stitches (Twelfth Night)
In the twinkling of an eye (The Merchant Of Venice) Mum's the word (Henry VI, Part 2)
Neither here nor there (Othello)
Send him packing (Henry IV)
Set your teeth on edge (Henry IV)
There's method in my madness (Hamlet)
Too much of a good thing (As You Like It)
Vanish into thin air (Othello)
Here are translations of the top nine most commonly used words in Shakespeare’s works
1. Thee, Thou, Thy and Thine  You and Your 2. Art Are A sentence beginning “thou art” simply means “You are”. 3. Ay  Yes “Ay” simply means “yes”. So, “Ay, My Lady” simply means “Yes, My Lady.” 4. Would  Wish 5. Give Me Leave To Allow Me To 6. Alas Unfortunately 7. Adieu Goodbye) 8. Sirrah  Sir 9. -eth For example “speaketh” simply means “speak” and “sayeth” means “say”.
Shakespearean Translator

9. Renaissance Man
It’s very easy to think of Shakespeare as a one-off genius with a unique perspective on the world around him. However, Shakespeare was very much a product of the huge cultural shifts that were occurring in Elizabethan England during his lifetime.
He was working in the theater at the height of the renaissance movement, something that is reflected in Shakespeare’s plays.
The Renaissance in Shakespeare's Time
Broadly speaking, the renaissance movement is used to describe how Europeans moved away from the restrictive ideas of the Middle Ages. The ideology that dominated the Middle Ages was heavily focused on the absolute power of God and was enforced by the formidable Catholic Church.
From the Fourteenth Century onwards, people started to break away from this idea. The renaissance movement did not necessarily reject the idea of God, but rather questioned humankind’s relationship to God – an idea that caused an unprecedented upheaval in the accepted social hierarchy. In fact, Shakespeare himself may have been Catholic.
This focus on humanity created a new-found freedom for artists, writers and philosophers to be inquisitive about the world around them.
Shakespeare: the Renaissance Man
Shakespeare was born towards the end of the renaissance period and was one of the first to bring the renaissance’s core values to the theater.
Shakespeare Embraced the Renaissance in the Following Ways:
Shakespeare updated the simplistic, two-dimensional writing style of pre-renaissance drama. He focused on creating “human” characters with psychologically complexity. Hamlet is perhaps the most famous example of this.
The upheaval in the accepted social hierarchy allowed Shakespeare to explore the humanity of every character regardless of their social position. Even monarchs are given human emotions and are capable of making mistakes.
Shakespeare utilized his knowledge of Greek and Roman classics when writing his plays. Before the renaissance, these texts had been suppressed by the Catholic Church. (3)

10. Shakespeare Insult Kit
To create a Shakespearean insult combine one word from each of the three columns below, prefaced with "Thou":
Example: “Thou infectious doghearted barnacle!”
“Thou” means “you”.

11. Social Class The Monarchy King, Queen, and Royal family
Inherited Power
The Nobility Only 55 noble families Led by a duke, a baron , or an earl Rich and powerful
The Gentry Only 5% of the population when Queen Elizabeth was young Knights, squires and gentlemen/gentlewomen who “did not work with their hands for a living Most “important” social class in England
The Yeomanry The middle-class people Could survive comfortably, but could also be wrecked by disease or misfortune very easily and be plunged into poverty Yeomen farmers, tradesmen and craft workers
The Poor The sick, the disabled, the old and feeble, and wounded soldiers Due to “enclosure” – towns grew in size and people living in the countryside, surviving on agriculture, did not have anymore space to grow crops and therefore, were jobless

12. Common Features of Shakespeare’s Plays
Comedy
Tragedy
History
Comedy through language: Shakespeare communicated his comedy through language and his comedy plays are peppered with clever word play, metaphors and insults.
Love: The theme of love is prevalent in every Shakespeare comedy. Often, we are presented with sets of lovers who, through the course of the play, overcome the obstacles in their relationship and unite.
Complex plots: The plotline of a Shakespeare comedy contains more twists and turns than his tragedies and histories. The climax of the play always occurs in the third act and the final scene has a celebratory feel when the lovers finally declare their love for each other.
Mistaken identities: The plot is often driven by mistaken identity. Characters also play scenes in disguise and it is not uncommon for female characters to disguise themselves as male characters.
Examples of his comedies:
Much Ado About Nothing
As You Like It
A Midsummer’s Night Dream
The fatal flaw. Shakespeare’s tragic heroes are all fundamentally flawed. It is this weakness that ultimately leads to their downfall.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. The Shakespeare tragedies often focus on the fall of a nobleman. By presenting the audience with a man with excessive wealth or power, his eventual downfall fall is all the more tragic.
External pressures. Shakespeare’s tragic heroes often fall victim to external pressures. Fate, evil spirits and manipulative characters all play a hand in the hero’s downfall.
Examples of Shakespearean tragedies:
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Othello
Hamlet
Romeo and Juliet
Set against Medieval English history.
Not historically accurate. In writing the history plays, Shakespeare was not attempting to render a historically accurate picture of the past. Rather, he was writing for the entertainment of his theater audience and therefore molded historical events to suit their prejudices.
Provides social commentary. The history plays say more about Shakespeare’s time than the Medieval society in which they are set.
Explores the social structure of the time. Shakespeare’s history plays offer a view of society that cuts right across the class system. These plays present us with all kinds of characters from lowly-beggars to the monarchy.
Examples of his histories
Henry IV
Henry VI
Henry VIII
Richard II
Richard III