Intro to Shakespeare
That’s him, by the way.
This was an important time in
England because…
Western (and thus American)
Civilization’s concepts of the
modern English language, ideals of
democracy and liberty, and a
capitalist economy were formed in
the Elizabethan period.
How to start with this Bard
guy?
“The most successful encounter with
Shakespeare’s works occurs when the person confronting them is well
informed about the texts, their creator, and the culture from which they arose.”
--Russ McDonald
Renaissance – rebirth of arts and
sciences and Greek/Roman ideas
• around 1450,printing press invented
Italy began to leave the ancient ways of the dark ages
• for 1000 years Europe hadn’t advanced much in science or culture
• Italy began returning to Greek and roman studies of art and science
Renaissance – rebirth of arts and
sciences and Greek/Roman ideas
• in1492 Spain caught on and began exploring • this spread to England by about 1590 where
the English fleet defeated the Spanish becoming a “world power”
• England led by Queen Elizabeth I decided to grow its arts and sciences too
England in the Sixteenth Century
(1500’s)
• The reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth I, was getting old; she was still single and had no
children, i.e., heirs.
• Before Elizabeth were her sister, Queen Mary I (a.k.a. Bloody Mary), her sickly brother King
Edward VI, and her father King Henry VIII (the one with all the wives).
• England had just split with the Roman Catholic Church, rejoined it, and left it again in just 30 years (or so).
England in the Sixteenth Century
(1500’s)
• almost everyone in England at this time lived on farms and in small towns
• only one city, London, already the size of today’s Albuquerque
• most people were poor and illiterate; only the new upper middle class went to school and only royalty went to college
• people just worked ate slept and went to church no other entertainment….
Elizabethan Theater
• part of cultural development
• actors weren’t paid well weren’t respected • some considered acting sinful
• actors too poor to have a permanent theater (which would have been illegal anyway)
• actors toured around playing where and when they could often in the courtyards of inns and in the great halls of castles and
Elizabethan Theater
• troupe knew several plays and actors took several parts each in each play
• very little scenery (too large to move); they did have decorative costumes and props
• young boys whose voices hadn’t changed wore platform shoes and played the
female roles(acting illegal for women) • In 1580s,the first permanent theatre in
England was built south of River Thames, technically outside of London
Shakespeare’s Life
• (after Columbus brought Spain to Western Hemisphere, before the Mayflower)
• (probably) born April 23, 1564, St. George’s Day • Born in Stratford-on-Avon, a center of trade
since the 1100’s
• Middle Class; father was a glove maker and local politician
• Shakespeare went to school until about the sixth or eighth grade, which was advanced for his
Shakespeare’s Life
• married Anne Hathaway when he was 18 and she was 26
• a daughter was born 6 months later (you do the math)
• Twins born in 1585
• 1585-1590-ish, we have no records (we call these “The Lost Years”)
Shakespeare’s Life
• by 1588 or so, he was an actor working in London, where he later formed an acting troupe called Lord Chamberlain’s Men
(later King’s Men); he was the troupe’s playwright and a lead actor
• his family stays in Stratford; he buys a big house there and visits often (he’s rich) • by 1599, he is the chief stockholder in the
Shakespeare’s Life
• 1599-1608 – his most productive period • he and his partners start an indoor
theater in uptown London, called Blackfriars
• 1611 – he retires to Stratford, although his plays continue to run in London
• Apr. 23, 1616, he dies on his birthday (St. George’s Day)
The Globe Theater
• built on Thames River’s south bank
• the flag went up on performance days • designed like a hotel courtyard
• open roof, used sunlight (no night performances)
• actors see audience face to face in daylight
The Globe Theater
• no sound system, just good acoustics and loud actors
• 3,000 people could see a play, 1/3 of them standing in the courtyard
– called “groundlings,” or “slobberers”
The Globe Theater
• set always the same
• had trapdoors (underneath was “hell”) • balcony, rear room with curtain
• orchestra sat upstairs
The Globe Theater
• most of Shakespeare’s plays written for
this theater (and for his individual actors)
• Balcony • Trap door
The Globe Theater
• the first globe, during a 1613
performance of Henry VIII, suffered a
canon shot through the roof and burned to the ground
• Lots of plays and documentation probably destroyed with it
The Globe Theater
• a new globe has been completed near the site of the original, as accurately as possible
• Why rebuild Globe, close to the same spot?
– natural daylight – acoustics
Shakespeare’s Works
• he wrote 37 plays and they generally fit into three categories: histories,
comedies, and tragedies • 152 sonnets as well
Shakespeare’s Works
Histories -- his earlier work and less
interesting to us, but very popular in his day • recent English history leading up to current
Queen Elizabeth and King James
– England’s violent history – War of the Roses
• ancient (medieval) British history
Shakespeare’s Works
Comedies -- by definition, start happily, get complicated, and then end happily, usually with one or more marriages
• not necessarily funny (Merchant of Venice)
• often had angels, fairies, pixies, twins separated at birth, servants disguised as nobles and vice versa, cross
Shakespeare’s Works
• tragedies – started okay, but declined to a tragic ending = “everybody dies”
• often had fights and comic relief to keep groundlings interested
• Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Macbeth
Who would want to watch a
tragedy?
“The age of Shakespeare, the age of
Elizabeth, believed in a participation in life, not in an escape from it.”
--Louis B. Wright
Shakespeare’s Works
• Shakespeare wrote his stories from folk tales and histories; he didn’t create his plots from scratch
• only The Tempest is an original plot
• being the Renaissance, many take
Shakespeare’s Works
• remember, this wasn’t high art or great literature; it was entertainment for the masses, many uneducated
• However, he didn’t sacrifice his art for profit “He had the genius to transmute into poetry the
feelings, the ideas, and the ideals of Everyman.”
Shakespeare’s Works
• his plays have inspired restagings, adaptations and other works
• Writings about Shakespeare and his
works far outnumber those about Italy’s Dante, Spain’s Cervantes, and France’s Molière, Racine and Corneille (the
greatest writers of their respective cultures)
Shakespeare’s Works
• Shakespeare’s language is weird
because English is constantly changing, especially when he was writing
• we were moving from Middle to Modern English
Why Do We Study
Shakespeare?
His Themes Are Timeless And
Universal
• revenge – Hamlet, Othello
• claw your way to the top – Macbeth, Othello • dysfunctional families – King Lear
• generation gap – Henry IV part I, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• racism/discrimination – The Merchant Of Venice, Othello, Richard III
His Themes Are Timeless And
Universal
• mixed up love couples – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• magic and sorcery – The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• marital problems – Taming Of The Shrew, Othello
• Extra-marital affairs – Merry Wives of Windsor • morality in religion and law – Measure for
Measure
His Themes Are Timeless And
Universal
• sexism – King Lear, Hamlet, Othello
• bloody carnage and horror – Titus Andronicus • teenagers who run away because parents
don’t understand – Romeo and Juliet • gang violence – Romeo and Juliet
Why Do We Study Shakespeare?
There were other famous playwrights during
Shakespeare’s time—have you heard of any of them? • Ben Jonson • Christopher Marlowe • Thomas Kyd • John Fletcher • Thomas Heywood • George Peele • John Webster • Thomas Middleton
Why Do We Study Shakespeare?
• he played with the English language more than any writer before or since
• the fights, dirty jokes, sly remarks are there • so are philosophy, the meaning of life, and
the question of why we’re here
• lots of common phrases and words crated by Shakespeare or found there first
Why Do We Study Shakespeare?
• we keep coming back to Shakespeare because we always find something new • stage directions say only “enter,” “exit,”
and “die” and everything else is added by the reader/actor
• some plays very different from diff points of view
Why Do We Study Shakespeare?
• His nickname, “The Bard,” refers to his ability to entrance audiences with a
well-told story of humor, passion, drama and often death
• And because of the two quotes Mr. Shanley will read to you now…
“He was not of an age, but for
all time.”
Extra Tidbits
• only four copies of Shakespeare’s signature exist
• in his own will, he spells his own name four different ways!
• no direct heirs of Shakespeare survived past his childless granddaughter
• he received no royalty money for writing
Extra Tidbits
• his complete works were published after his death, thus without his revisions
• some plays probably incomplete
• it has been argued that he didn’t write anything, but rather took the credit to
protect a nobleman “above” the theatre; there is evidence on both sides; Mr.
