1. William Shakespeare the Bard 1564-1616 Life, theatre, works
William Shakespeare was the most famous playwright and writer in the English language. He is generally regarded as the most famous English writer and often called the “Bard of Avon”.

2. Biography Birthplace His father John was a glove-maker and
Married Mary Arden,
the daughter of
a farmer.
John Shakespeare
was a very important
citizen who became
Mayor in 1568.
Besides his activity
as a glover, he traded
as a wool dealer and
was also involved in
money-lending.

3. As he was the son of the Mayor, Shakespeare went to
the Stratford Grammar School. Here he learnt basic
reading, writing and the ancient myths of Greek and Rome.
Shakespeare didn’t receive any University education.

4. In November 1582 William married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a local farmer. William was eighteen and Anne was already pregnant with their first child Susanna, who was born 7 months later. Two years later twins followed, Hamnet and Judith.

5. London’s Renaissance Theatre
Shakespeare
got familiar
with theatres
when he
was young.
As a child his
father probably
took him to see
plays when
travelling troupes
of actors came to town.
Front of Theatre
The point where the audience entered

6. Biography Portraits

7. At the end of the 16° century
London was a prosperous city.
It was the biggest city in Europe and the largest urban area in England.
This population wanted to be entertained. Playhouses began in the countryards of inns before special ‘Theatres’ were built to show plays.

8. His time London
Visscher 1625

9. Elizabethan Theatres

10. Elizabethan Theatre Outside View
They used flags
to advertise the
plays performed.
Different colored
flags told the
themes of the
plays: a black flag
indicated a tragedy,
a white flag indicated
a comedy and a red
flag indicated a History.

11. The Missing Years William left his wife and children.
For seven years, he disappeared.
Eventually, he turned up in London
in 1592.
By the end of 1592, Shakespeare
had become a famous actor in London.
That same year, many of Shakespeare’s
plays were already popular and he was
recognized as an actor, poet and
playwright.
It wasn’t all easy-going;
Shakespeare had to fight off stiff
competition.

12. The Theatre is Closed…
In 1593, all of the theatres of London closed due to
the plague and it is likely that Shakespeare took time
off to work on poetry.
Shakespeare wrote 154 Sonnets (14 line lyric poem ).
14 lines: 3 quatrains – groups of 4 lines
1 couplet – group of 2 lines
In 1594, Shakespeare returned to the
theatre and became a leading
member of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men.

13. Shakespeare became famous
quickly in the theatre as both
an actor and an author. He joined
the Lord Chamberlain's Men,
an acting company which was
protected by the Queen.
Because of his success in
London, he was able to purchase
New Place, the largest and most
elegant house in his home town
of Stratford, when he was in his
early thirties (1597).

14. Moving to The Globe Theatre
When, in 1599, the The Lord Chamberlain's Men
troupe lost the rent of the theatre where they
performed, (called The Theatre) they were
wealthy enough to build their own theatre across
the Thames, south of London, which they called
"The Globe.“
It was built on the south side of The Thames, where
all the poor people lived, as it wasn't considered
'proper' to have it built where the rich people lived.
The Globe was built using timber and had a thatch
roof.

15. The GLOBE – Quick Facts Large circular structure, three stories high
Thatched roof
Fit around 3,000 people
Did not have a curtain
Plays performed only during daytime
General admissions cost:
one penny – “groundings” (standing)
more expensive seats were in the roofed galleries and most expensive seats were chairs set right on the stage along its
two sides
Above the main entrance "Totus mundus agit histrionem" (The whole world is a playhouse).

17. 'the heavens' Above the stage the ceiling was painted
with pictures of a storm, a sunshiny
day and angels - it was called:
'the heavens'

18. The poorer people when watching a play would stand in the pit
The audience

19. The audience The richer people would have seats but important
have a seat with
a back on it. The
King or Queen at
the time would
probably have
their own private
box.

20. The acting experience A Show lasted about 2 ½ hours
Always in the afternoon
No “acts” but frequent interruptions
No Scenery – A narrator was needed to give everyone a small
introduction, so that the audience knew the setting of the play.
Lots of effects (trap doors, witches, ghosts etc.)
No Actresses - Acting was not considered a respectable
profession by the
English Puritans.
All women’s parts
were played by
boys.

21. The Globe on fire The next spring the company
had the theatre "new built in a fairer
manner than before."
On June 13,1613, a canon fired
from the roof of the theatre for a
gala performance of Henry VIII
set fire to the thatch roof and
burned the theatre to the ground.

22. Shakespeare’s retirement
In 1610 he retired from theatre and spent his last years in Stratford, where he continued to write until his death in 1616 on his 52nd birthday.
The Globe Theatre was destroyed by the Puritans in 1644.
The strict religious views of the Puritans disapproved
of various social activities within England which
developed into adopting strict codes of conduct.
They deplored the Globe Theatre
and all that it stood for.
A modern reconstruction of the
Globe opened in 1997 close
to the site of the original theatre.

23. Shakespeare as an Elizabethan
Queen Elizabeth reigned
from 1558 to1603
She tried to unite her people,
by insisting that they were all
English: the people developed
a sense of national pride.
Nearly half of the population
had some kind of literacy
(they could read and write).
The spirit of the Renaissance began to show in England. The rising middle class had access to education, could read and write in their mother tongue instead of Latin, and knew that they could improve their wealth trading with the New World. They were growing richer and more powerful.

24. KING JAMES I
He was Queen Elizabeth’s Godson and inherited her throne.
He was the patron of theatre—Shakespeare’s King’s Men were his favorite acting troupe.
Macbeth was written expressing gratitude to King James for his support.
Events in Macbeth directly relate to those events in King James I’ s life:
treachery & deceitfulness relate to the unsuccessful attempts to kill King James I.

25. The plays Hamlet

26. The plays Macbeth

27. The plays King Lear

28. The plays Romeo and Juliet

29. The plays Henry V

30. The plays A Midsummer Night’s Dream

31. 36 plays published after his death The First Folio

32. The sonnets A collection of 154 sonnets, dealing with themes such as
the passage of time,
love, beauty and
mortality.