Who is Shakespeare?

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Who is Shakespeare?

• William Shakespeare is one of literatures
  greatest influences
• Little is actually known about him.
• What we do know about his life comes from
  registrar records, court records, wills, marriage
  certificates, and his tombstone.

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WILLIAM SHAKESPEAREThe early years
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The Early Years

• William was possibly born in Stratford-upon-Avon
  in England on April 23,1564.
• We know his baptism happened on Wednesday, April
  the 26th, 1564.
• We dont actually know his birthday but from
  this record we assume he was born in 1564.

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The Early Years

• William was the third child of John and Mary
  Shakespeare.
• William's father was best known as a glover
• William's mother was Mary Arden who inherited
  much of her fathers landowning and farming
  estate when he died.

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Home as a child
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The Early Years

• He was probably educated at the local grammar
  school.

• We do not know how long William attended the
  school, but the quality of his works suggest a
  solid education.
• What is certain is that William never went to a
  university, which has stirred some of the debate
  concerning the authorship of his works.

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The Early Years

• Little is known of his life up to his eighteenth
  year.
• 1582, eighteen year old William married the
  twenty-six and pregnant Anne Hathaway.
• Barely seven months later, they had his first
  daughter, Susanna.

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The Early Years

• Twins Hamnet and Judith were born in
  January/February 1585.
• Hamnet, William's only son died in 1596, just
  eleven years old

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The Hidden Years

• For seven years, William Shakespeare disappears
  from all records, turning up in London
  around1592.

• The years of 1585-1592 were called "The Hidden
  Years".

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Rumors

• Suspected that he ran away from the law
• Became a butcher's apprentice.

• Shakespeare may have had to flee Stratford after
  an incident with Sir Thomas Lucy, whose lands he
  allegedly hunted.
• There is also rumor of Shakespeare working as an
  assistant schoolmaster in Lancashire

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Shakespeare The Man

• Shakespeare apparently arrived in London about
  1588 and by 1592 had attained success as an actor
  and a playwright.

• By 1594, he was not only acting but also
  writing for the Lord Chamberlain's Men

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Shakespeare The Man

• Shakespeare made a good name for himself in
  London.
• Not only were The Lord Chamberlain's Men the
  most popular company at the time, they were the
  favorites of Queen Elizabeth, a patron of
  theatres

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Shakespeare The Man
Shakespeare and the acting company commissioned
the building of the Globe
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His canon includes 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and 2
epic narrative poems. The First Folio (cover
shown at left) was published in 1623
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Shakespeare The Man
Shakespeare left London in 1611 and retired. On
March 25, 1616, Shakespeare made a will. He died
April 23, 1616 at the age of fifty-two. The cause
of his death was unknown.
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Place of Burial
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Holy Trinity Church
Shakespeares grave
Monument inside Holy Trinity Church
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• At Shakespeare's time, after the graveyard was
  full, they would dig one's corpse up and burn the
  person's bones in a huge fireplace. Shakespeare
  hated this type of treatment after death, so he
  wrote his own epitaph.

• A while ago, a few people wanted to dig him up
  and check his bones to be sure that the person
  buried there was Shakespeare. However, the
  government would not allow it.

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Good friend, for Jesus sake forbeare To digg
the dust enclosed here! Blest be ye man that
spares thes stones And curst be he that moves my
bones.
The Tombstone
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LIFE IN LONDON

• London was overcrowded, noisy, and reeking of
  garbage
• No sanitation, plumbing or clean running water
• People got their water from the polluted River
  Thames
• The River Thames was the main highway of traffic

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LIFE IN LONDON

• Inhabitants of London were sailors, noblemen,
  actors, and servants.
• London was governed by powerful citizens and a
  Lord Mayor
• The queen was not allowed to enter the city
  without an invitation.

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LIFE IN LONDON

• Entertainment
• The Theater
• Drinking in the Tavern
• Bear Baiting

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LIFE IN LONDON

• The Bubonic Plague or Black Plague spread in
  London due to poor sanitation
• The plague was carried by fleas that were on the
  rats in the loading docks
• 1 out of 10 died during the plague in 1592

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LIFE IN LONDON
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LIFE IN LONDON

• Symptoms
• Fever of 104
• Vomiting, body aching
• Mental disorganization
• Puss filled lymph nodes known as buboes
• Black spots on the skin
• Die within 24 hours

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LIFE IN LONDON

• Other health issues
• Venereal disease
• Rotten teeth and poisoned gums
• Scurvy
• All classes of people were effected

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History of London

• England was ruled by sovereignty (king or queen)
• Considered the closest to God
• Privy Council carried out the Queens policies,
  13 members
• Queen Elizabeth I reigned from 1558-1603

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Queen Elizabeth I
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History of London

• Queen Elizabeth I beheaded her cousin, Mary
  Queen of Scotts
• Queen Elizabeth was Protestant and didnt want a
  Catholic to succeed her
• James the VI was her successor (Marys son)

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History of London

• James the VI
• crowned on 1603
• Imprisoned Elizabeths top advisor Sir Walter
  Raleigh
• He remained in a tower for 13 years only to be
  beheaded
• Had no mercy for anyone

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King James VI
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History of London

• Puritans
• Conservative religious group
• Tried to ban theaters
• Thought the plays corrupted the youth
• Blamed the Black Plague on the actors and
  theatergoers

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History of London

• Catholics
• Had been discriminated against for years
• Tried to blow up the parliament buildings in
  London
• The king found out and stopped them
• 8 people were publicly beheaded