William Shakespeare 1564 1616 Part I Adapted from

William Shakespeare 1564 -1616 Part I Adapted from http: //www. public. asu. edu/~muckerrm/E nglish_321_S 2005/Introduction. ppt

Early Life l l Born 1564—died 1616 Lived in Stratford-upon-Avon Parents: John and Mary Arden Shakespeare • Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner • John—glovemaker, local politician 3 rd child of 8 children

Early Life

Stratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s Time As reproduced in William Rolfe, Shakespeare the Boy (1896).

Stratford-upon-Avon Today From Stratford’s web site: http: //www. stratford-upon-avon. co. uk/index. htm

Shakespeare’s Birthplace From: http: //perso. wanadoo. fr/danielle. esposito/

Education • Probably attended King’s New School in Stratford • Received excellent education with heavy focus on grammar and literature • Educated in: • Rhetoric • Logic • History • Latin

King’s New School From: http: //perso. wanadoo. fr/danielle. esposito/

Married Life • Married at the age of 18 in 1582 to Anne Hathaway (she was 26), who was pregnant at the time with their first daughter • First child was a daughter, Susanna - born in 1583 • Had twins Hamnet and Judith born in 1585 - Hamnet dies at age 11

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

Theatre Career • Moved to London around 1591 and became an actor • Member and later part-owner of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later called the King’s Men • Globe Theater built in 1599 by L. C. M. with Shakespeare as primary investor • Burned down in 1613 during one of Shakespeare’s plays

Works of Literature l Along with acting, he also wrote some of the most renowned and studied literature written in the English language l Poems - famous for his sonnets (he wrote approximately 154 Sonnets) l Plays - Comedies, Tragedies, and Histories

The Plays l l 37 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare l 14 comedies l 11 histories l 12 tragedies Collaborated on several others His vocabulary was HUGE-somewhere between 17, 000 and 34, 000 words! The estimated vocabulary of an educated person today is around 15, 000 words

Comedies More Known Comedies l Twelfth Night l Merchant of Venice l Midsummer Night's Dream l Taming of the Shrew l Much Ado about Nothing l All’s Well That Ends Well l Tempest Less Known Comedies l As You Like It l Comedy of Errors l Love's Labour's Lost l Measure for Measure l Merry Wives of Windsor l Two Gentlemen of Verona l Winter's Tale

Tragedies More Known Tragedies l Hamlet l Julius Caesar l Macbeth l Romeo and Juliet l Othello l King Lear Lesser Known Tragedies l Antony and Cleopatra l Coriolanus l Cymbeline l Timon of Athens l Titus Andronicus l Troilus and Cressida

Histories l l l Henry IV, Part II Henry VI, Part II l l l Henry VIII King John Pericles Richard III

Shakespeare's Language • Shakespeare did NOT write in “Old English. ” • Old English is the language of Beowulf: Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum Þeodcyninga Þrym gefrunon Hu ða æÞelingas ellen fremedon! (Hey! We have heard of the glory of the Spear -Danes in the old days, the kings of tribes, how noble princes showed great courage!)

Shakespeare's Language • Shakespeare did not write in “Middle English. ” • Middle English is the language of Chaucer, the Gawain-poet, and Malory: We redeth oft and findeth y-write— And this clerkes wele it wite— Layes that ben in harping Ben y-founde of ferli thing… (Sir Orfeo)

Shakespeare's Language • Shakespeare wrote in “Early Modern English. ” • EME was not very different from “Modern English, ”

Shakespeare's Language • A mix of old and very new • Rural and urban words/images • Understandable by the lowest peasant and the highest noble

Works of Literature He had an amazing influence on our English language

Recognize these phrases? l l l l I couldn’t sleep a wink. He was dead as a doornail. She’s a tower of strength. They hoodwinked us. We’d better lie low for awhile. I am constant as the Northern Star. It’s all Greek to me.

The Later Years l l l Returned to Stratford around 1610 where he lived as a country gentleman Wealthy-Owned one of the largest homes in town Died in Stratford in 1616 at the age of 52. His death was a mystery. It is rumored that he drank too much and contracted a fever or that he died from a cerebral hemorrhage.