Shakespeare Notes English 1 April, 2011
The Life and Times of William Shakespeare
1.Since the plots are so varied and deal with manysocial and political issues, Shakespeare’s actual views remain mysterious.
- Shakespeare’s actual birthday is recognized as April 23, 1564.
- He was born in the small English town of Stratford-upon-Avon.
- He married Anne Hathaway in 1582; he was 18, and she was 26.
- They had three children together: Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet.
- Even as Shakespeare became a successful playwright, he continued to act with a small company of players.
- Elizabeth 1 was the queen when Shakespeare began his career; unfortunately, in the early 1590’s, the plague in London led to the closing of all theatres.
- Shakespeare wrote poetry at this time, including his famous sonnets.
- When the theatres reopened in 1594, Shakespeare helped
form the acting company called Lord Chamberlain’s Men;
the company started its own theatre—the Globe.
10.The Globe was popular with the wealthy and common
folks.
11.On April 23, 1616, Shakespeare died at age 52; this
was also his birthday. Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, 154
sonnets, and two narrative poems. His plays fall into
three categories: tragedies, comedies, and histories.
The Elizabethan Stage
- The Elizabethan Stage was round, so the audience was highly involved in the performance; actors often spoke to the audience through soliloquies and asides.
- During the Elizabethan period, politicians and clergy were opposed to the theatre, claiming it was a dangerous diversion from religion.
- When a play was about to begin, it was announced with a raised flag and a trumpeted fanfare; the flag indicated the theme of that day’s play: black for tragedy, white for comedy, and red for history.
- Groundlings sat in the penny seats, in a type of mob atmosphere.
- The theatre could hold close to 3,000 people.
- The stage consisted of three tiers or levels: heaven earth, and hell.
- A trapdoor in the main stage was used to lower actors into and out of hell.
- Unlike today’s movies and plays, scenery and props were limited; actors described the time of day or night.
- Women were not allowed to act on stage so young boys played female roles.
- Actors only had about a week to learn their parts—up to 800 lines a day for leading roles!