William Shakespeare - biog.
Life
• Born 1564 at Stratford-upon-Avon, England
• Known as England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"
• Little known of his life
• Parents: Mary & John (landowners – farmer, butcher, wool merchant)
• Father’s business failed – left school at 14
• Married Anne Hathaway (26) when only 18
• Three children: Suzanna, Hamnet and Judith
• 1596 – Hamnet died of bubonic plague
Career
• Left Stratford for London in 1585 with Queen’s Players (acting group)
• Poor actor / brilliant playwright (old plays retold with interest)
• Elizabeth I / James I (political themes)
• The Lord Chamberlain’s Company – wealth and fame
• 2 theatres: ‘The Globe’ and ‘Blackfriars’
• Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the
nineteenth century
• 1611 - retired
Plays
• 4 main tragedies: Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Othello
• Comedies, tragedies, and histories
• Produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613
• 38 plays have survived
• Considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works
attributed to him were written by others
• Modern interpretations and dress codes
• 154 sonnets (addressed to a young man, the Earl of Southampton – his likely patron - and a ‘dark’ lady)
• Universal themes
• 2 tiered audience – clowns and tragic heroes
• Born 1564 at Stratford-upon-Avon, England
• Known as England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"
• Little known of his life
• Parents: Mary & John (landowners – farmer, butcher, wool merchant)
• Father’s business failed – left school at 14
• Married Anne Hathaway (26) when only 18
• Three children: Suzanna, Hamnet and Judith
• 1596 – Hamnet died of bubonic plague
Career
• Left Stratford for London in 1585 with Queen’s Players (acting group)
• Poor actor / brilliant playwright (old plays retold with interest)
• Elizabeth I / James I (political themes)
• The Lord Chamberlain’s Company – wealth and fame
• 2 theatres: ‘The Globe’ and ‘Blackfriars’
• Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the
nineteenth century
• 1611 - retired
Plays
• 4 main tragedies: Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Othello
• Comedies, tragedies, and histories
• Produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613
• 38 plays have survived
• Considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works
attributed to him were written by others
• Modern interpretations and dress codes
• 154 sonnets (addressed to a young man, the Earl of Southampton – his likely patron - and a ‘dark’ lady)
• Universal themes
• 2 tiered audience – clowns and tragic heroes