1. William Shakespeare PowerPoint
Born on April 23, 1564 (St. George’s Day, The Patron Saint of England)
Baptised on April 26, 1564 (actual birthday is unknown)
Died on April 23, 1616
Was a playwright, poet and actor

2. Shakespeare’s Early Life
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England
Was the son of John Shakespeare (glover and possible money lender) and Mary Arden (land owner)
Was the third child of eight
Educated at the King’s New School in Stratford

3. Shakespeare’s Education
Attended school until the age of 15
The curriculum was dictated by law throughout England
Was provided an intensive education in Latin grammar and the classics

4. Marriage and Family Married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18
Anne Hathaway was 8 years older than Shakespeare at the time
Their first child was born 6 months after they were married
Had three children: Judith, Susanna & Hamnet (twins)
Has no living descendents (his grandchildren all died)

5. The Lost Years ( )
Shakespeare left few historical traces after the birth of his twins
The period between is often referred to as the “Lost Years”
Some scholars have suggested that Shakespeare may have been employed as a schoolmaster during this time (never proven)

6. Shakespeare’s Theatrical Career
Lived most his life in London
Wrote during the English Renaissance (Elizabethan Period)
Credited with writing 37 plays (often disputed) and sonnets (154 poems)
Never published any of his plays (Ben Johnson- “The Folio”)

7. The Globe Theater “totos mundus agit histrionem”
The whole world is a playhouse
Home of Lord Chamberlain’s Men acting company
Built by buying shares
Shakespeare was part owner
Constructed with recycled (stolen) materials

8. History of the Globe Theater
Opened in 1599
Burned down in 1613
Canon fire ignited roof
Rebuilt in 1614
Torn down in 1644
Puritan intolerance

9. Fun for All at the Globe Theater
Anyone with the price of admission could attend
Educated and uneducated
Royal patronage made it “respectable”
Nobility could be seen by the masses
A place to see and be seen
Fashion trends could be set
Networking

10. More About The Globe Theater
Held approximately 3000 people
Different colored flags were flown from the turret
Black flag meant a tragedy; white flag meant a comedy; red flag meant a history
Plays were typically about things outside the masses daily routine
Royalty, Power, Wealth, etc.
One of the first performances held at the theater was Julius Caesar

11. Design / Layout The Heavens The Lord’s Room The Stage The Yard The Hut
The Tiring House
The Galleries

12. William Shakespeare’s Writings (Blank Verse-Iambic Pentameter)
Wrote Comedies (early)
As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice
Wrote Histories (early)
Richard III, Henry IV
Wrote Tragedies (…1608)
Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet
Wrote Romances (Tragic-Comedies- Last phase)
The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest

13. Shakespeare’s Later Years and Death
After 1607 wrote fewer plays and none are attributed to him after 1613
Died on April 23, 1616
Was buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church
In 1623 a funerary monument was erected in his memory

14. Shakespeare’s Unusual Epitaph
“Good friend, for Jesus’ sake, forbear,” “To dig the dust enclosed in here.””Blessed be the man that spares these stones,” “And cursed be he who moves my bones.”

15. Shakespeare Trivia
Shakespeare’s plays have been translated into every major living language
His plays are performed more often than those of any other playwright
Was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not take shape until the 19th century
Favorite playwright of Queen Elizabeth (Lord Chamberlain’s Men) and King James (The King’s Men)

16. More Shakespeare Trivia
Shakespeare often performed in his own plays
Actors performing in Shakespeare’s time usually received only copies of their parts
Boys and men played all the parts in Shakespeare’s plays in Elizabethan times
No one knows how he died (kidney disease, “murder most foul” and too much to drink are some possibilities)

17. Final Facts and Some Rumors
Shakespeare’s father was accused of being a money lender (not acceptable at the time)
Shakespeare did not write his own plays
Shakespeare’s family were illiterate
Not one portrait was painted of Shakespeare while he was alive
In his will he left his wife his “second-best” bed
May have had a illegitimate son (Sir William Davanant, his godson)