1. Introduction to Shakespeare
Advanced English 9

2. Shakespearean Heritage
“Not of an age but for all time”
Being a playwright made you more artisan than artist (poems more highly valued)

3. Shakespeare’s life Born and died on April 23rd—born 1564, died 1616
Born in a small town near London called Stratford- upon-Avon
Worked in London as an actor by the time he was 30
When he was 35, the Globe Theater opened (he was one of the owners)
Finally made some money off the theater (poetry doesn’t pay well but garnered more respect)
37 plays written during a 25 year period

4. Wrote 37 plays—most popular on Earth
Shakespeare’s Work
Wrote 37 plays—most popular on Earth
Also wrote sonnets—many to a “dark lady” and a “fair young man”
Shakespeare was respected in his day for writing poetry. Writing plays, however, was not well respected.
Patronage System

5. Shakespeare’s Work cont.
Shakespeare added hundreds of words to the English language.
Created new words such as: laughable, silliness, sneak, droplet etc.
Tragedies (plays that end in tragedy and explore the pathos in the human soul)
Comedies (plays designed to be fun and humorous for the audience)
Histories (plays based on historical events, often used as social allegories)

6. ELIZABETHAN Theater
Ten years before Shakespeare came to London, THERE WERE NO THEATERS!
People watched plays in the courtyards of inns
First theater was built in 1576
During the 1570’s through the 1590’s, more theaters were constructed, including The Globe (1599)
Theaters were situated on the south side of the Thames river—this way, city officials could not monitor them

7. The Globe Theater

8. The Globe Theater Today:

9. Shakespearean Theater cont.
City officials did not like theaters because they were gathering places where people could plot sedition (rebelling against the government), spread plague, or be burned alive by fire.
Plays were viewed as an “idle pastime”
Actors were not well respected—regarded as miscreants or drifters and were sometimes imprisoned

10. Shakespearean Theater cont.
First real “theaters” were designed to look like the inn with its courtyard
Circular or octagonal with open roof over the “pit”— the bottom area
“groundlings” paid a penny for standing room
Middle class and wealthy people watched from the roofed balconies

11. Shakespearean Theater cont.
Stage was opposite entry and was built with tiers to be versatile
No actresses at this time—female roles were played by boys because their voices were still high
Scenery was kept to a minimum—hence the importance of powerful language
Costumes were elaborate

12. Historical context Wrote during the Elizabethan era
Prosperity marred by religious dissension left over from King Henry VIII (Anglicans whose parents had been raised Catholic)
Naval dominance = path to becoming world leader (Spain and Portugal)
Elizabeth was famous for becoming a virgin Queen

13. Great chain of being
Concept that social hierarchy resembles a Christian view of the divine order
Many histories and tragedies include a hero with a “misordered” social structure that he must set right

14. Linguistic aspects of Shakespeare
Shakespeare wrote in Early New English (Early Modern English)
Believed in the power of words as instruments of reason
King James Bible standardized the English language: (Late in Shakespeare’s career)
Phonetic changes: GREAT VOWEL SHIFT
“mood” rhymes with “blood”
“wars” rhymes with “stars”
Puns: double meaning to appeal to all members of the audience