1. Well-known Facts about Will
Great writer of England
37 Plays translated into all languages, musicals, ballets
Born Stratford-upon-Avon
Well-to-do, affluent while alive
Most quoted, other than the Bible

2. Lesser-known Facts
Teen father: married pregnant 26 year old Anne Hathaway when he was 18
Deadbeat dad: Left wife and children for London stage career
Father of twins
Elizabethan rapper: uses rhythm and rhyme
“Plagiarism” ?

3. Conditions in London-BAD!
Thames River polluted with raw sewage
Trees used up for fuel
Poverty

4. Personal hygiene/health
Bathing considered dangerous
Body odor strong
Childhood diseases
Children often died before 5 years
Small Pox
Bubonic Plague

5. Small Pox Image

6. Living Conditions
No running water
Chamber Pots
Open Sewers
Crowded
                  

7. Clothes One set used all year long, rarely washed
Underclothing slept in, infrequently changed
Clothes handed down from rich to poor

8. Theater in London Performed in courtyards of inns
The Theater-first public theater-1576
Daytime/open air
Limited set design
Relied on music, sound, costumes, props and great description

9. The Globe Built in 1599 Across the Thames- “Wrong side of town”
King’s Players - Shakespeare’s company
Penny admission

10. Actors All men Female parts played by young boys
No actual kissing or hugging on stage

11. The groundling Poor audience member Stood around stage in “the pit”
Women not allowed (had to dress up as men to attend)
Threw rotten vegetables at bad performances

12. Queen Elizabeth Bastard daughter of King Henry VIII
And Ann Boleyn (2nd of 6 wives)
Henry had Ann beheaded for “treason”
Younger sister of “Bloody Mary.”
“Virgin Queen”?
A tease and a player

13. Her “loving” parents

14. The Renaissance 1500-1650 “Rebirth” of arts, culture, science
Discovery of “New World”
Copernicus: Sun-centered Universe (1543)
King Henry VIII = renaissance man (ideal)
Reformation of Catholic Church

15. Elizabethan Comedy
A Shakespearean comedy is one that has a happy ending, usually involving marriages between the unmarried characters, and a tone and style that is more light-hearted than Shakespeare's other plays.

16. Other Elements in Shakespearean Comedy:
A greater emphasis on situations than characters (this numbs the audience's connection to the characters, so that when characters experience misfortune, the audience still finds it laughable)
A struggle of young lovers to overcome difficulty, often presented by elders
Separation and re-unification
Deception among characters (especially mistaken identity)

17. Other Elements of Shakespearean Comedy Continued:
A clever servant
Disputes between characters, often within a family
Multiple, intertwining plots
Use of all styles of comedy (slapstick, puns, dry humour, earthy humour, witty banter, practical jokes)

18. Elements of Shakespearean Comedy:
Pastoral element (courtly people living an idealized, rural life), originally an element of Pastoral Romance, exploited by Shakespeare for his comic plots and often parodied therein for humorous effects
Happy ending