1. Introduction to William Shakespeare 6 th Grade/English 2

2. Shakespeare’s Life Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, on 23 April 1564 He was the 3 rd of eight children Went to the King Edward VI Grammar School in Stratford and studied Latin grammar and literature Married Anne Hathaway in 1582,when he was 18 years old. Was working on plays and sonnets in London by 1592 Died in 23 April 1616. He was 52 years old.

3. Stratford-upon-Avon

4. Family Life Father - John Shakespeare was a leather glovemaker and wool merchant (1531-1601) Mother - Mary Arden, daughter of rich local landowner(1540-1608) Wife - Anne Hathaway was 12 years older Children - Susanna (1583 - 1639), twins Judith (1585 – 1592) and Hamnet(died when he was eleven from a disease) Family lived in Stratford, Shakespeare lived in London except for the last five years of his life when they were together

5. His work and career FACTS William Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest writer in English Literature. Poet and dramatist He wrote 37 plays: comedies, tragedies and histories Wrote about 154 sonnets and a few poems Started out as an actor

6. Comedies A Midsummer Night’s Dream All’s Well That Ends Well As You Like It The Merry Wives of Windsor Measure for Measure The Comedy of Errors Two Gentlemen of Verona The Tempest The Merchant of Venice Twelfth Night The Taming of the Shrew Winter’s Tale Cymbeline

7. Tragedies Antony and Cleopatra Coriolanus Macbeth Othello Romeo and Juliet Hamlet Julius Caesar King Lear Timon of Athens

8. History Henry IV, part 1, part 2 Henry V, King John Richard II Richard III

9. Importance to English Used over 20,000 words in his works ( the average writer uses 7,500) The English Dictionary of his time only had 500 words Shakespeare’s plays show the first recorded use of 2,035 new English words He created many words we use in our daily speech: “antipathy, critical, frugal, dwindle, extract, horrid, vast, critical, excellent, eventful, majestic, lonely, leapfrog, well-read, and countless others (including countless)”

10. Globe Theater

11. Why is he still so famous? In his plays the characters are in situations that we experience in our lives: love, marriage, death, the need to make difficult choices, greed, selfishness, revenge, kindness etc. His plays are full of humanity, tolerance and wisdom They are constantly fresh and can be adapted to the time and place they are performed Their language is very expressive and powerful Shakespeare’s plays were very popular when he was alive, and today they are even more popular. There are many films based on his plays.

12. In conclusion… William Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers in history.