1. William Shakeapeare’s Life and Times

2. Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon
Son of John & Mary Arden
Similar to the home young Shakespeare may have grown up in.

3. William Shakespeare Grammar School 1583 Married Anne Hathaway
Susanna, Hamnet, Judith
Seven Dark Years

4. Shakespeare’s London

5. London in 1600’s: Slightly unpleasant
Homes of the poor were small, dirty and prone to fire
Sewage ran in open ditches in the streets
Syphilis, smallpox, and the Black Death
Overcrowding-London’s population boomed 400% from

6. London Bridge
Heads of traitors were displayed on pikes on the city’s main bridge.

7. On the other hand. . .

8. England’s Golden Age
Elizabeth I was one of the most popular and long-reigning monarchs in English history—her curly red hair and shrewd political mind are well-known to us through books, movies, and legends.
In 1588, England defeated the Spanish Armada
Taking its name from this sovereign figure, Elizabethan England was a time of great literary and artistic flowering, royal turmoil, and general domestic tranquility.

9. Shakespeare in London
1580s: Dramatists like Christopher Marlowe (the “University Men”) took English theater to a new level
By 1592, Shakespeare had made enough of a splash that a contemporary complained that he was “an upstart crow, beautifying himself with our feathers.”

10. The New Globe

11. The Globe Located on the south bank of the Thames
The most famous London Playhouse
Owned by the Burbage family
Flew a flag to announce a performance
Acting companies used boys to play female roles.
Shakespeare was a member of Lord Chamberlain’s Company. Later called the King’s Men.

12. The wealthy’s view of the stage

13. “The Heavens” as seen by the groundlings

14. Objections to Theaters
Large assemblies of people
Spread diseases
Guilt by association
Theaters were often located outside the city walls to avoid censor by London’s Lord Mayor.

15. Shakespeare earned enough from the theater to become relatively wealthy—not an easy feat.
Bought a title for his father and one of the largest homes in Stratford
Retired to Stratford around 1611.
Left his property to his daughters. To his wife, his “second best bed.”

16. Seven years after his death, several fellow colleagues collected his plays into the First Folio
Ben Johnson: “He was not for an age, but for all time.”

17. Shakespeare: Why so popular?

18. Romeo and Juliet: Archetypal lovers
Written in 1599
Celebrates the passion of youthful love
Dates back to 400 AD in a Greek Romance
Feud--a prolonged conflict between families.
The feud is so old that the cause has been forgotten.

19. Star Crossed Lovers Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy.
In a tragedy many of the main characters die.

20. Motifs to watch for: Light v. dark Youth v. age
Earthy v. idealized ideas of love
Time
Fate
Antithesis-the juxtaposition (positioning side by side) of two opposite elements

21. Cultural Context: Cultural context: Upper class v. lower class
Cultural context: women v. men

22. The End