William Shakespeare PDF

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) England’s genius Compact Performer - Culture & Literature Marina Spiazzi, Marina Tavella, Margaret Layton © 2015 1. Shakespeare’s life: he was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, on 23rd Apri...

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) England’s genius Compact Performer - Culture & Literature Marina Spiazzi, Marina Tavella, Margaret Layton © 2015 1. Shakespeare’s life: he was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, on 23rd April 1564;his father was a glove- maker, and his mother came from a wealthy country family. His father was a successful tradesman, but had a period of financial difficulties. Shakespeare’s house at Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare was educated at the local grammar school, from the age of 7 to 13. He studied the classics. When he was 18 he married Anne Hathaway, eight years older than him, who belonged to a country family, and they had 3 children. This is her cottage, just outside Stratford:  William Shakespeare 2. Shakespeare’s life In 1584 he went to London; he was actor and playwright. Between 1592 and 1594 theatres were closed because of the plague. In this period he wrote sonnets; his patron was the Earl of Southampton. He became a shareholder and the main playwright of the most successful company of actors in London, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, which later became The King’s Men His company built the Globe Theatre. He was recognised as a genius in his own time. Compact Performer - Culture & Literature  William Shakespeare 2. Shakespeare’s life In 1610 he retired from the theatre. In 1613 the Globe theatre Shakespeare lost burnt down. much money but was still wealthy; he helped rebuild He died in 1616, near his birthday, April the Globe theatre. 23rd, at the age of 52. He spent the last part of his life in Stratford, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church. Seven years after his death some of his friends published the first collection of his plays, called the First Folio. Compact Performer - Culture & Literature  William Shakespeare 3. The language genius He created visual worlds for theatre audiences through language; new words and phrases we still use today. He employed irony, imagery, rhythm and other literary devices. He established atmosphere, character, and intrigue. Compact Performer - Culture & Literature  William Shakespeare 4. The historian (He wrote history plays mainly between 1590 and 1596) Shakespeare’s history plays 1. based on serious records like the Tudors’ chronicles, and the civil wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster; 2. gave a portrait of the nation as a whole; 3. were part of a process by which people came to see themselves as belonging to ‘England’ rather than to families, households or local lords. Compact Performer - Culture & Literature  William Shakespeare 4. The historian Shakespeare’s history plays are divided into two ‘tetralogies’ (= a group of four plays). 1. Henry VI, Parts One, Two and Three (1590-1592), and Richard III (1592-1593). 2. Richard II (1595-1596), Henry IV, Parts One and Two (1597-1598), and Henry V (1598-1599). Compact Performer - Culture & Literature  William Shakespeare 5. The comedian (He wrote many comedies between 1593 and 1600) disguise; Shakespeare’s frustrated love; comedies include mistaken identity; marital and romantic misunderstandings. They end in multiple marriages. They trace the passage of young people out of their parents’ control and into marriage. Compact Performer - Culture & Literature  William Shakespeare 5. The comedian Shakespeare’s comedies 1592 The Comedy of Errors; The Two Gentlemen of Verona 1593 Love’s Labour’s Lost 1593-1594 The Taming of the Shrew 1595 A Midsummer Night's Dream 1596 The Merchant of Venice 1598 Much Ado About Nothing 1599 The Merry Wives of Windsor; As you like it 1601 Twelfth Night 1602 Troilus and Cressida; All’s Well that Ends Well 1604 Measure for Measure 1608 Pericles 1610 Cymbeline 1611 The Winter’s Tale; The Tempest Compact Performer - Culture & Literature  William Shakespeare 6. The tragic playwright (He wrote the great tragedies between 1595 and 1605) In Greek and Latin In Shakespeare classical tragedies the protagonist acts real balance between fate and human choices, against inexorable based on characters’ flaws. destiny; Human beings in control of their own destiny; Shakespeare freely breaks the rule of place and the action is limited to time unities; one place and one day; at the end the tragic hero is responsible for his the turning point is where own fall, although his plan was noble. the goals of the tragic hero seem within reach. Shakespeare considered many aspects of human life, but especially the nature of political power and the problems of powerful people. Compact Performer - Culture & Literature  William Shakespeare 6. The tragic playwright Shakespeare’s tragedies 1593 Titus Andronicus 1595 Romeo and Juliet 1599 Julius Caesar 1601 Hamlet 1604 Othello 1605 King Lear 1606 Macbeth 1606 Antony and Cleopatra 1607 Timon of Athens 1609 Coriolanus Compact Performer - Culture & Literature