Shakespeare: His Life and Times

Early Life

• Believed to be born on April 23, 1564. • Died on April 23, 1616.• Lived in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.• Parents were John Shakespeare and Mary

Arden• Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner.• John—glovemaker, local politician.

(alderman)

Location of Stratford-upon-Avon

Stratford-upon-Avon in Shakespeare’s Time

Stratford-upon-Avon Today

Shakespeare’s Birthplace

• Scholars ascertained that he attended King’s New School in Stratford.

• Shakespeare would have studied reading, writing, and the classics like Latin and Greek (evidenced in his writings.)• Because of the uncertainty in his educational background, there are questionsconcerning his work and whether he existed or not.

Education

King’s New School

• Married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, who was pregnant out of wedlock. (He was 18 and she was 8 yrs his elder.)

• Had a daughter prior to 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 known as ‘The Lost Years’• No one knew where he was or what he

was doing during those years.

Married Life

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage

• In 1594, he was the principal playwright of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, an acting company.

• The company’s name later changed to The King’s Men.

• He was an actor, playwright, and producer.• Globe Theater was built in 1599 with

Shakespeare as a primary investor.

• Burned down in 1613 during one of Shakespeare’s plays.

Theatre Career

The Rebuilt Globe Theater, London

The Globe Theater

The Plays

• 37 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare.

• 14 comedies• 10 histories• 10 tragedies• 4 romances

• 154 sonnets.• May have written three other plays, butrecords do not exist.

Shakespeare’s Language

• Shakespeare did NOT write in “Old English.”

• Old English is the language of Beowulf:Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum Þeodcyninga Þrym gefrunonHu 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 harpingBen y-founde of ferli thing… (Sir Orfeo)

Shakespeare’s Language

• Shakespeare wrote in “Early Modern English.”

• EME was not very different from “Modern English,” except that it had some old holdovers.