17.2 Lesson 1_ William Shakespeare [45 mins]_ Who was William Shakespeare_ _ UCT OHS.pdf

25/09/2024, 10:29 17.2 Lesson 1: William Shakespeare [45 mins]: Who was William Shakespeare? | UCT OHS 17.2 Lesson 1: William Shakespeare [45 mins] G11ENG1101-UCTOHS-2024-01-F / TERM 2 MODULE 17: Welcome to the world of Macbeth / 17.2 Les...

25/09/2024, 10:29 17.2 Lesson 1: William Shakespeare [45 mins]: Who was William Shakespeare? | UCT OHS 17.2 Lesson 1: William Shakespeare [45 mins] G11ENG1101-UCTOHS-2024-01-F / TERM 2 MODULE 17: Welcome to the world of Macbeth / 17.2 Lesson 1: William Shakespeare [45 mins] 17.2 Lesson 1: William Shakespeare [45 mins]  Done: View 598 Learners have completed this Listen to this lesson Click on the three dots on the audio block to download. 0:00 / 17:43 2. Who was William Shakespeare? William Shakespeare is undeniably one of the most famous English writers of all time. He was a poet, a playwright and an actor, and is largely considered to be the greatest dramatist of all time. 2.1 Family life Shakespeare was born into a poor, uneducated family. His father was a glove maker who was involved in the town council for a number of years and his mother was the daughter of an affluent farmer. William was one of eight children and the eldest of four boys. He attended the local school to learn to read and write but never attended university. At the age of 18, Shakespeare married a woman eight years older than him, named Anne Hathaway (not the actress you may be thinking of). Together they had three children: Susanna, born in May 1583; and twins Judith and Hamnet, born in February 1585. Unfortunately, Hamnet died at the age of 11. The exact cause of Shakespeare’s death is unknown, but he died on his 52nd birthday in 1616. Figure 1: Some details about William Shakespeare. 2.2 The start of Shakespeare's theatre career https://campus.uctonlinehighschool.com/mod/book/view.php?id=144155&chapterid=123843 1/4 25/09/2024, 10:29 17.2 Lesson 1: William Shakespeare [45 mins]: Who was William Shakespeare? | UCT OHS The details of Shakespeare’s life between the birth of his children and his theatre career are quite vague and sometimes referred to as 'The Lost Years'. However, he entered the London theatre scene in 1592 as an actor and then a playwright. The first reference to William Shakespeare in the literary world of London was in 1592. Unfortunately, in 1593 the Black Death (bubonic plague) forced theatres to close in London, but during this time, Shakespeare wrote poetry and some of his early plays like Titus Andronicus, Henry VI (Parts I, II and III) and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. It is unclear how Shakespeare became involved in theatre, but from 1594, he was a founding member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men – a prominent theatre company. He was an actor, a playwright and a shareholder in the company. 2.3 Lord Chamberlain's Men The theatre scene of London consisted of different theatre troupes or companies that competed with each other while performing plays for their patrons. According to records of performances, Lord Chamberlain’s Men was the most popular theatrical company, rivalled only by a company called the Admiral’s Men during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign. Lord Chamberlain’s Men emerged in 1594 after the plague, with Shakespeare as the company’s principal dramatist. He also acted sometimes; however, the most famous actor in the company was a man named Richard Burbage, who played the leading roles in most plays. The company presented a different play every single day, rehearsing it only in the morning before performing it that afternoon. Because there wasn’t much time for group rehearsals, actors were given the words of only their own parts and crucial scenes in Shakespeare’s plays were always only between two or three characters. The quick change in the company’s repertoire meant that theatre was produced in a very different way to today. Fun fact Women were not actually allowed to act in Elizabethan and Jacobean times. Theatre troupes consisted entirely of men and most female parts were written for young male actors or boys whose voices hadn’t yet broken! It was for this reason that Shakespeare didn't often write large roles for women. Figure 2: A modern-day theatre performance. 2.4 The Globe Theatre In 1599, Lord Chamberlain's Men was housed at a theatre built along the bank of the Thames River, near London, named the Globe Theatre. Apparently, the name comes from Shakespeare’s line: All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. Attending the theatre was a normal part of daily life in society and all levels of society shared the experiences of the theatre. Remember that 400 years ago, they didn’t have technology to entertain them like we do now! 2.4.1 Structure of the Globe https://campus.uctonlinehighschool.com/mod/book/view.php?id=144155&chapterid=123843 2/4 25/09/2024, 10:29 17.2 Lesson 1: William Shakespeare [45 mins]: Who was William Shakespeare? | UCT OHS The Globe was a round building designed for its acoustics so that everyone in the audience could hear the actors. The Globe had three sections and could hold an audience of up to 3 000 people. There were different sections where you could sit or stand, and the better the seats, the more expensive the tickets. The area next to the stage was called 'the pit'. These were the cheapest tickets and the people who stood here were referred to as the 'groundlings'. The groundlings were right at the foot of the stage and could almost touch the actors, which meant that they really interacted with them. Shakespeare’s actors had to compete against the noise of the crowd, who shouted or hurled fruit at them sometimes and even tried to join in with their performance on the stage. The stage was a rectangular platform that thrust out into the audience. There were two trap doors on the stage. The one in the ceiling was considered to be heaven, and the one on the ground was considered to be hell. Stop and think Keep in mind that plays were performed during the day as the theatre was not lit, so it was up to the audience to use their imagination a lot of the time. However, Shakespeare’s plays were designed to be performed in this way and not in a dark theatre that you may be familiar with. What do you think it would’ve been like to experience a performance in this way? 2.4.2 Rebuilding the Globe Theatre The Globe burned down in 1613 when a cannon used in a performance misfired and set the building alight, but it was rebuilt the following year. And around 30 years later, the rebuilt Globe was torn down when the Puritans banned theatre in England. There is a replica of the original Globe Theatre in London now, and audiences still watch performances of Shakespeare’s plays there! Macbeth was recently shown at the restored Globe. Watch the video below to learn more about performances during Shakespeare's time at the Globe Theatre: Globe Theatre: Performance during Shakespeare's time Video 1: Performances at the Globe Theatre during Shakespeare's time. ◄ 17.1 Signposting video: Welcome to the world of Macbeth [5 mins] Jump to... https://campus.uctonlinehighschool.com/mod/book/view.php?id=144155&chapterid=123843 3/4 25/09/2024, 10:29 17.2 Lesson 1: William Shakespeare [45 mins]: Who was William Shakespeare? | UCT OHS 17.3 Lesson 2: A closer look at Shakespeare's plays [45 mins] ► Fees Handbook FAQs Contact Careers Terms & Conditions Rewards Store Terms & Conditions G11ENG1101-UCTOHS-2024-01-F Policies You are logged in as Reitumetse Seetsi (Log out) https://campus.uctonlinehighschool.com/mod/book/view.php?id=144155&chapterid=123843 4/4