William Shakespeares

Romeo and Juliet

About Shakespeare

William Shakespeare:
Believed to have been born April 23,1564
Died April 23, 1616
Father was a glove maker, tradesman,
and bailiff (a mayor in todays time)
Mother came from a
prosperous farming family

More about Shakespeare

At age 18 he married Anne Hathaway

They had a daughter, Susanna, and twins Judith

and Hamnet

Not this -----

Anne Hathaway

More about Shakespeare

By 1594, Shakespeare had joined Lord

Chamberlains Men
Later renamed The Kings Men after James I
came to power
Shakespeare owned a share of Lord
Chamberlains Men.
He was very successful;
therefore, he should have
made a good living for his day.

More about Shakespeare

During his time, Shakespeare produced and

wrote thirty-seven (37) plays.

William Shakespeare Man of Mystery

We have only fourteen words in his own

hands.

His name signed six times

The words by me on his will

William Shakespeare Man of Mystery

No written description of him penned in his

own lifetime!

First textual portrait he was a handsome, wellshapt man: very good company, and of a very
readie and pleasant smooth witt
This was written 64 years after his
death by a man who was born 10
years after that death.

William Shakespeare Man of Mystery

The best spelling of his name is not certain

He spelled his name differently in all six

signatures that survived.

Willm Shaksp
William Shakespe
Wm Shakspe
William Shakespere
Willm Shakspere
William Shakspeare
None of this are the spelling we use today!

William Shakespeare Man of Mystery

Only three images of Shakespeare exists

1. The Chandos portrait
Artist unknown
Subject unknown
Origin unknown
Not positive this is
Shakespeare

William Shakespeare Man of Mystery

Copperplate Engraving
Painted 7 years AFTER
Shakespeares death
- Very poorly painted

One eye bigger

- Mouth is mispositioned
- Hair is longer on one side
- Head is out of proportion
- Head seems to float off
the shoulders like a balloon
-

William Shakespeare Man of Mystery

Statue
Painted and life-sized
Carved 7 years after
Shakespeares death
- Was repainted, then
Mistakenly white-washed
then repainted again with
no idea of original colors
- Original colors would have
given the statue detail
not carved

Shakespeares Globe Theatre

Why was the Globe built?

The Lord Chamberlains
Men (Shakespeares
acting troupe) needed a
place to perform their
plays so they could
compete with other
acting troupes.

History of the Globe Theatre

Built in 1598 and opened in 1599

Burned down in1613 from a cannon blast
during the play Henry VIII
Rebuilt and reopened in 1614
Closed down by Puritans in 1642 and was
torn down in 1644
In 1996 a replica was built on the original site

Facts about the Globe Theatre

Original Globe was 3 stories and held about
3000 people.
Although most of Shakespeares plays were
held there, he only owned 12% of the
theatre.
Located in Southwark
near the Thames River
(just outside of London).

More Globe Facts

All classes of people attended plays there.

No roof so that they had sunlight.
Thus, plays had to be during the day.
People often skipped work to go.
Was not allowed to be built in the city of
London because crowds often became
rowdy.

Problems at the Theatre

Fights
Spread of disease (the plague)
Drug dealing
Prostitution
Theft

Entrance View

Everybody entered at
the same place
regardless of where
you paid to sit or stand.
The stage juts out onto
the floor, so some
people would view from
the side.

Floor View

Poor people could get into

plays for little money, but
had to stand. They were
known as Groundlings.
It would be very difficult to
see unless you were right
next to the stage.
Plays often lasted 4-6 hours
and the Groundlings would
stand the whole time.

Second Floor View

The middle to upper

class people could
afford to sit on the
second level.
The second level
wrapped around both
sides of the stage.

Third Floor View

Only the upper class

could afford seats on
the third level.
For extra money they
could get a padded
seat.

Stage View

The actors had to deal

with many distractions:

Weather (no roof)

Rowdy Audience
Fruits and Veggies
thrown at them if the play
or the acting was bad.