1. Shakespearean Background
William Shakespeare
( )

2. Birth and Family
Born Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, which was a prosperous town.
Father, John, a merchant; Mother – Mary from a prominent ENG family.
Went to Stratford Grammar School – Great education in Latin, Bible, ENG

3. Lost years
Little is known about Shakespeare from – No records of his whereabouts
Materialized in 1593 and was prominent until he retired in belonged to the same theater company as writer Richard Burbage and clown Willie Kemp.

4. Fame and Fortune
1593 “Venus and Adonis” – an erotic love poem; 1594 – “The Rape of Lucrece” – Dedicated to a young nobleman, the Earl of Southampton.
1592 – play – “The Comedy of Errors” – mistaken identity
1593 – “Titus Andronicus”; Comedies - “The Taming of the Shrew”; “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”; “Labor’s Lost Love”

5. Tragedies 1594-95 – “Romeo and Juliet” – ill-fated lovers
Plays during War of Roses: “Richard II”; “Henry IV”; “Henry V”
1599 – “Julius Caesar”
– “Hamlet” – Used the most varied and controversial interpretations from critics, scholars, and actors.

6. Queen Elizabeth…
… asked Shakespeare to rewrite “The Merry Wives of Windsor” so she could see the buffoon, John Falstaff, fall in love.

7. Under King James
While waiting for the plague to leave London, Shakespeare’s acting company did many private plays for the king.
Kings assumed the acting company and called it “The King’s Men” – gave them free reign in the kingdom, places to perform, gave them special clothing for special occasions, and increased their salaries.

8. Tragic Period
“Hamlet”; “Othello”; “King Lear”; “Macbeth”; “Antony and Cleopatra” – ( ) – Evil, violence, and death were shown.
Many thought these were his unhappiest years.

9. Perspective
Shakespeare’s works do not show his private life; but his genius and desire to please the audience.

10. Globe Theater
Shakespeare’s main portal for his company to perform. It burned with the firing of a cannon in “Henry VIII” in 1613 – The company performed at the Blackfriars theater until the Globe was reopened in 1614.

11. Shakespearean Plays - Research Project
3-4 pages – ½ is background of the play and ½ of it is content (plot, characterizations, themes, motifs, literary devices) of the play. 12-font, double spaced. Use MLA format… No Wikipedia(Formal)
Product – Make sure the product shows your research. Ex. Posters, power point, web sites… (Informal x 2)
Presentation – 5 min. – Verbalize your research on any part of the play you are assigned. (Informal x 2)

12. Shakespearean Plays - Research Project
2 pages – Based on a term from the Renaissance. 12-font, double spaced. Use MLA format…(6X)
Product – Make sure the prouct shows your research. Ex. Posters, power point, web sites… (3x)
Presentation – 3- 5 min. – Verbalize your research on any part of the term/play you are assigned. (3x)

13. The Draft – For Shakespearean Plays research