William ShakespeareApril 23th, 1564 - April 23rd, 1616

The FamilyCame from Farmers

Ambitious and Hardworking

Respected MerchantLandholder

Stratford Ruling EliteMayor (1568)

Removed from council due to financial decline and

decline in reputation

Died from Bubonic Plague

Died from Bubonic Plague

Survives Bubonic Plague

Came from wealthy farmersCapable, Strong-Minded and Quick-Witted

Not Known Whether She Could Read or Write

Youngest of 8 Daughters (Favorite)

Brought Property to Marriage

John Shakespeare

Mary Arden

Infant Daughter

Infant Daughter

William Shakespeare

Other Younger Siblings (Details Unknown)

The BeginningStratford upon Avon, Warwickshire

Thriving market center

Influenced setting for many of his plays

Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to add

Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to add

ChildhoodSurvives Bubonic Plague after 2 sisters before him die

By age 4, the threat of the plague ends

Large Childhood home2 buildings joined together with gardens and an orchard in the back

Buildings devoted to family trade (glover) on the property

Lived next door to other tradesmen (tailor, blacksmith, haberdasher, and shepherds)

Mother teaches him local folk tales Feature fairies, goblins, ghosts, witches, and enchanted forests

These aspects are commonly seen in many of his plays

Father taught him about the glover trade

Learned about rural life (culture and language dialects)

Fascinated with birds

Learned hunting and falconry (referenced in plays)

Took part in some poaching

SchoolReceived Free Education at the King’s School

Dad is an alderman = free

Starts at age 6 or 7, ends at age 15

Learns Reading, Writing, and Basic Arithmetic

Attended Church Daily (as part of school)

Learned Latin

6 or 7am Until 5pm Breaks for Breakfast and Lunch

6 days a week

Few Holidays

Learned about classic authors that would later influence his work

The Original King’s School

Barnett Grammar

School

Love and Marriage

Marries Anne Hathaway (Age 26) who is already pregnant (Nov. 1582)

William was 18 (still considered a minor) and needed his father’s permission to marry

By age 21, William has 3 children with Anne (Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith)

William pursues theater career in London to support family

Leaves his family in Stratford with his parents and siblings

To visit his family, it would take 2 days on horse or 4 walking

Hamnet dies in 1596

Shakespeare buys “New Place” in Stratford

This is where he dies in 1616

Later Knocked Down

Nash’s Place (Husband of

Shakespeare’s Granddaughter) Built

Next to “New Place”

Death

April 23, 1616

Receives Little Public Attention

Did Not Interest Scholars for Many Years

His will is the Only Surviving Document He Wrote

No personal letters or diaries were saved

Shakespeare the man is a bit of a mystery

Theater Career Pre-Fame

Joins an Acting Company from London

Starts as an actor, but the company quickly learns he is a great writer and director

Moves Between Several Acting Companies

Shakespeare OrganizedTake Out your Literature Notebook and Draw a Vertical Line and a Horizontal Line to Create 4 Boxes on a Page.

Title one box Tragedies

Title one box Comedies

Title one box History Plays

Title one box Romance Plays

Write Characteristics of Each Category of Play in each box as we discuss them

Copy down at least 5 Shakespeare plays from each category as we discuss them

Types of Plays

Tragedy

Comedy

History Plays

Romance Plays

Tragedy

Most Often PerformedSome Considered Among the Greatest Masterpieces of All Time

Dark Plots and ThemesMurder

Rivalry

Death

Conflicted and Flawed HeroesExperience Intense Suffering

Often end in all Characters Dying

TragediesTitus Andronicus (1593-1594)

Romeo and Juliet (1594-1595)

Julius Ceaser (1599)

Hamlet (1600)

Troilus and Cressida (1601)

Othello (1603)

King Lear (1604-1605)

Macbeth (1606)

Antony and Cleopatra (1606)

Timon of Athens (1606-1609)

Coriolanus (1608)

Comedy

Witty Wordplay and Humorous SituationsOften involve mistaken identities

Most End in Characters Married“Happy Ending”

3 Main Stages1. Confusion and Trouble

2. Social Reconciliation

3. Harmony

ComediesThe Two Gentlemen of Verona (1590-1591)

The Comedy of Errors (1592)

The Taming of the Shrew (1592)

Love’s Labor’s Lost (1594-1595)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1594-1595)

The Merchant of Venice (1596-1597)

The Merry Wives of Windsor (1597 or 1600)

As You Like It (1598)

Much Ado About Nothing (1598)

Twelfth Night (1601-1602)

All’s Well That Ends Well (1604-1605)

Measure for Measure (1604)

Twelft

h

Night

The Taming of t

he

Shrew

A Midsummer

Night’s

Dream

History

Detailed Representation of Elizabethan History (For Elizabethan People)

Insight Into Power Politics and Human Nature (Modern Audiences)

Named After Kings

Shows turbulent medieval and early Renaissance England

Ambition of Nobles

Downfall of Kings

Bloody Chaos of War

History PlaysHenry VI, Part 1 (1592)

Henry VI, Part 2 (1591)

Henry VI, Part 3 (1591)

Richard III (1592-1593)

Richard II (1595)

King John (1595-1596)

Henry IV, Part 1 (1596)

Henry IV, Part 2 (1597)

Henry V (1599)

Henry VIII (1612)

Romances

Written at the End of Career

Filled with Improbable Incidents

Focus on Family Relations/ReconciliationEspecially between parents and children

Problems Resolved By “The Healing Power of Art”

In previous works, would have ended in death

Romance Plays

Pericles (1606-1609)

Cymbeline (1609-1610)

The Winter’s Tale (1610)

The Tempest (1610)

The Two Noble Kinsmen (1613-1614)

Shakespeare Create!Create a timeline of Shakespeare’s life

Should include birth and death (One Color)Should include at least 3 plays from each category (One Color for each Category)Should include at least 3 relevant historical events (One Color)Should include at least 3 interesting facts (One Color)Should include a Key That States What Each Color Represents