SHAKESPEARE HIS LIFE AND TIMES The Renaissance Period

SHAKESPEARE: HIS LIFE AND TIMES The Renaissance Period Elizabethan Era (Queen Elizabeth) Adapted from http: //www. public. asu. edu/~muckerrm/English_321_S 2005/ Introduction. ppt

Early Life • Born 1564—died 1616 • born around April 23, 1564. We know this from the earliest record: his baptism which happened on Wednesday, April the 26 th, 1564 Therefore, it is celebrated three days earlier. • In Stratford-upon-Avon • Parents: John and Mary Arden Shakespeare • Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner • John—glovemaker, local politician From: http: //perso. wanadoo. fr/danielle. esposito/

Location of Stratford-upon-Avon As reproduced in William Rolfe, Shakespeare the Boy (1896). From: http: //www. where-can-i-find. com/tourist-maps. html

Education • Probably attended King’s New School in Stratford • His school day was long and rigorous Educated in: -Rhetoric -History -Logic -Latin • Shakespeare dropped out of ‘middle school’ when his father lost his fortune From: http: //perso. wanadoo. fr/danielle. esposito/

Married Life • Married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, who was pregnant at the time with their first daughter • Had twins in 1585 - Hamnet & Judith • Hamnet died from the plague at age 11 • Sometime between 1583 -1592, he moved to London and began working in theatre. • The years 1583 -1592 are know as ‘The Lost Years’ • No one know where he was, or what he was doing during those years

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage From: http: //perso. wanadoo. fr/danielle. esposito/

His Work He goes to London where he writes his first plays. 38 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare 14 comedies 10 histories 10 tragedies 4 romances Possibly wrote three others Collaborated on several others 154 sonnets (mostly written between 1596 and 1603)

His Work • He is not only a playwright but an actor as well. • The theatres close down because of the plague in 1592. He writes book-length poems at this time called Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece • When theaters reopen, he writes more plays and becomes a charter member of Lord Chamberlain’s Men

The Rebuilt Globe Theater, London

Shakespeare’s Major Works 1588 -93 - The Comedy of Errors 1588 -92 - Henry VI (three parts) 1592 -93 - Richard III 1592 -94 - Titus Andronicus 1593 -94 - The Taming of the Shrew 1593 -94 - The Two Gentlemen of Verona 1593 -94 - "The Rape of Lucrece" 1593 -1600 - "Sonnets" 1588 -95 - Love's Labor's Lost 1594 -1596 Romeo and Juliet 1595 - Richard II 1594 -96 - A Midsummer Night's Dream 1590 -97 - King John 1592 - "Venus and Adonis" 1596 -97 - The Merchant of Venice 1597 - Henry IV (Part I) 1597 -98 - Henry IV (Part II) 1598 -1600 - Much Ado About Nothing 1598 -99 - Henry V 1599 Julius Ceasar 1599 -1600 - As You Like It 1600 -02 - Twelfth Night 1600 -01 Hamlet 1597 -1601 - The Merry Wives of Windsor 1600 -01 - "The Phoenix and the Turtle" 1601 -02 - Troilus and Cressida 1602 -04 - All's Well That Ends Well 1603 -04 - Othello 1604 - Measure for Measure 1604 -09 - Timon of Athens 1605 -06 King Lear 1605 -06 Macbeth 1606 -07 - Antony and Cleopatra 1607 -09 - Coriolanus 1608 -09 - Pericles 1609 -1 O - Cymbeline 161 O-1 I - The Winter's Tale 161 I - The Tempest 1612 -13 - Henry VIII 1613 - The Two Noble Kinsmen

• In 1603, Queen Elizabeth dies and King James I becomes the new ruler of England. Lord Chamberlain’s Men are renamed to The King’s Men and Shakespeare writes tragedies. • In 1608, he moves back to Stratford. Other events

He dies on April 23, 1616 his burial being recorded in the Stratford Holy Church Register two days later. He was 52. Not exactly sure what he died from ◦ History says he drank too much wine and ate too many pickled herrings In his will, Shakespeare left money, horses, stables, etc. to his two sons-in-law But only left his wife one thing- the “second-best bed” ◦ Was he trying to make a point? Shakespeare’s Death

Shakespeare is buried in Holy Trinity Church in his birth village of Stratford. His grave is covered by a flat stone that bears an epitaph warning of a curse to come upon anyone who moves his bones. His First Folio was published posthumously by two members of the King’s Men Shakespeare’s Death