Shakespeare’s Life

William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, and is considered one of the greatest English playwrights of the Elizabethan era. Raised in Stratford-upon-Avon where he was the third child born of eight, his father’s glove-making business did well, and he attended school until he was 14. At the age of 18, he married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway with whom he had 3 children: a daughter and twins, a boy and girl. He died on April 23, 1616, supposedly on his 52th birthday, by a fever. He wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets in the course of his career. While most of Shakespeare and Hathaway’s marriage was long distance, he didn’t spend any quality time with his family as he was working in London. His only son, Hamnet, died of unknown causes in 1596 at age 11, leaving no real heir to Shakespeare’s family. Shakespeare’s work got more attention after his death, and he rose to be an inspiration to young writers all around the world.

By:Julissa Trujillo

Most people know Shakespeare as a great playwright, but he was also an incredible actor and poet. Known now as the greatest English writer and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist, Shakespeare’s plays are still performed today. Shakespeare’s surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems embedded into the plays themselves. Most people know shakespeare as a great playwright but he was also an incredible actor and poet writer. Shakespeare’s Professional Life

Most people know shakespeare as a great playwright but he was also an incredible actor and

poet writer. Shakespeare is known now for the greatest English writer and the world’s pre-eminent

dramatist. He has written the most famous plays that are still acted out today. Around 1590,

Shakespeare’s first play was made called the Henry VI, Part One. Later on, Shakespeare left to

London to become a actor and playwright. In total, Shakespeare's surviving works consist of 38

plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems embedded into the plays

themselves.

Elizabeth Cazares

William Shakespeare’s Influences

-Shakespeare was inspired by many other great authors and historians, including Ovid & Seneca.

-Ovid was a great Roman poet, known for his mythological narratives-Seneca, also known as “Seneca the Younger,” was a Roman stoic philosopher,

dramatist, statesman, and author in the silver age of Latin Literature.-Most of Shakespeare’s inspiration came from history itself, as he based many of his

plays on historical Kings and Queens.

Ovid & Seneca

By - Berenice Morales:

Controversy in Shakespeare’s Life

Many controversial topics surround William Shakespeare, one being his authorship controversy.

People seem to believe that Shakespeare didn’t have enough education to write his brilliant

plays, or because he came from a rural town, he could not have written so well on so many

subjects. One of the men said to have been the mastermind behind Shakespeare's plays was

Edward de Vere. Acording to shakespeare.about.com "When De Vere stopped writing under his

own name, Shakespeare’s texts soon appeared in print.“ Two other suspects are Christopher

Marlowe and Sir Francis Bacon. Marlowe was considered the greatest playwright in

England up until the point when he was killed in a bar fight, after which Shakespeare

took over. Francis Bacon was a cryptic cipher and suspected that Shakespeare left hints

in his writing that would lead to his true identity.

Jack Voigt

FRAUD

Shakespeare’s Professional Life

William Shakespeare in his professional life was an actor, a poet, and a playwright. He had many different plays produced like Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer’s Night Dream, and Much Ado about Nothing. He built his own theatre called The Globe Theatre, in London, in 1599. In 1613, the theatre burned down during a performance of Henry VIII. Shakespeare earned most of his wealth while owning the Globe Theatre. Though he wasn’t as popular as he was after his death, he was well-known to people in this time era.

By: Michelle Ayala

What was Britain like during Shakespeare's time?

Just Before 30 years before

Shakespeare was born King Henry VIII nationalized the property of the Roman Catholic Church and created the Protestant Church of England

Six years before Shakespeare’s birth Elizabeth I became the queen of England

DuringChurch was made mandatory by

Queen Elizabeth Education for boys was a

priority, but not for girlsThe British Peerage in

Shakespeare’s time determined your position in society

AfterThere were violent clashes

throughout Europe between Protestant and Catholic leaders and their followers

Spain wanted to control England to make it an all Catholic country Stephanie Gutierrez

Who were the rulers?

Queen Elizabeth I 1558-1603Ruled for forty-five years

Transformed London into a cultural and commercial center

William Shakespeare based many of his writings on the Elizabethan Era

The Elizabethan Era was also called the Golden Age because of how greatly the country was changed

King James I 1603-1625James was a lover of the theater

and writing

He wanted people who were not able to read Latin to understand the Bible, so he himself translated the Bible to English

King James requested that the name of Shakespeare’s theater group be altered from Lord Chamberlain’s Men to the King’s Men

Caroline Martinez

How People Lived (1550-1650)

Between 1550-1650, people lived in unsanitary conditions and rarely survived past their thirties. People bathed, on average, three or four times in their entire lives. Soot and sewage would be dumped from windows and reside at the edges of streets until more was dumped to flush it away or it rained. While most people’s clothes were filthy and their hair matted and greasy, the wealthy could afford an extensive amount of expensive fabric for a single attire. While most men worked as blacksmiths or with other skills such as work in a stable or in the tanning trade, women would clean, cook, and take care of the children, if there were any.

Hannah Stuercke Per.4

How did the people live?

● There was a big difference between rural areas and cities.● In the city it was dirty, harder to live in, it was just very brutal.

● In the country, people lived much like people did a hundred years before.● They grew food to support their families and sold what they grew to traders from the

cities.

● Life span was an average of 30-40 years.● People would go months without bathing.● Women worked from home cleaning and doing chores.● Most men worked in trades: blacksmiths, silversmiths, barbers,

and leather workers, etc.● They lived in towns and villages where garbage and sewage were

routinely dumped into streets.

Amanda Godinez

What were the people concerned about?

- Bubonic plague that suddenly appeared and spread quickly; spread by flea bites, it caused painful swelling under the armpits and groin, bleeding in the lungs, and

killed untreated victims within two-to-four days.

● Riots- During the late 1500’s and early 1600’s specifically

(1590-1610) riots occurred in many lands and in closed properties.

- Kett’s rebellion which 16,000 people had participated in.

● Spanish Armada- 1588 Armada’s task was to overthrow Protestant

England.- There were many problems before the actual attack

and the Spanish lost, costing them a lot of money. Amanda Godinez

What is Romeo and Juliet about?

Romeo and Juliet is a play by William Shakespeare written in 1595. This tragedy is about two adolescent star-crossed lovers whose love was forbidden by their feuding families. As a result of their doomed love, they take their own lives, and the rival families are forced to reconcile for the sake of their children.

Mackenzie Brazier

What Do Critics say about Romeo and Juliet?

The earliest critic, Samuel Pepys, said “It is a play of itself the worst that I ever heard in my life.” Another critics argued that the play was a failure in that it didn’t follow the classical rules of drama and that the tragedy must occur because of some character flaw, not an accident of fate.

By Uriel Cruz

What difficulties are there performing this play?

Some difficulties in performing a play may be the use of old English; the dialect and pronunciation of old English may cause confusion about the meaning of the monologues for actors. Another complication in performing this work was that in Shakespeare’s time women weren’t allowed to act, therefore boys had to play all the female roles. Another difficulty that may occur is that plays are performed live and any mistakes are witnessed by the audience and can’t be corrected. Also the amount of time and effort that it takes to produce a play is greater than to make a movie.

Teagan Soares