2. About Shakespeare
l William Shakespeare:
l Believed to have been born April 23,1564
l Died April 23, 1616
l Father was a glove maker, tradesman,
and bailiff (a mayor in today s time)
l Mother came from a
prosperous farming family
3. More about Shakespeare
l At age 18 he married Anne Hathaway
l They had a daughter, Susanna, and twins Judith
and Hamnet
Not this -----à
Anne Hathaway
4. More about Shakespeare
l By 1594, Shakespeare had joined Lord
Chamberlain s Men
l Later renamed The King s Men after James I
came to power
l Shakespeare owned a share of Lord
Chamberlain s Men.
He was very successful;
therefore, he should have
made a good living for his day.
5. More about Shakespeare
l During his time, Shakespeare produced and
wrote thirty-seven (37) plays.
6. William Shakespeare -
Man of Mystery
l We have only fourteen words in his own
hands.
l His name signed six times
l The words by me on his will
7. William Shakespeare -
Man of Mystery
l No written description of him penned in his
own lifetime!
l First textual portrait he was a handsome, well-
shap t man: very good company, and of a very
readie and pleasant smooth witt
l This was written 64 years after his
death by a man who was born 10
years after that death.
8. William Shakespeare -
Man of Mystery
l The best spelling of his name is not certain
l He spelled his name differently in all six
signatures that survived.
l Willm Shaksp
l William Shakespe
l Wm Shakspe
l William Shakespere
l Willm Shakspere
l William Shakspeare
l None of this are the spelling we use today!
9. William Shakespeare -
Man of Mystery
l Only three images of Shakespeare exists
1. The Chandos portrait
l Artist unknown
l Subject unknown
l Origin unknown
l Not positive this is
Shakespeare
10. William Shakespeare -
Man of Mystery
l Copperplate Engraving
l Painted 7 years AFTER
Shakespeare s death
- Very poorly painted
- One eye bigger
- Mouth is mispositioned
- Hair is longer on one side
- Head is out of proportion
- Head seems to float off
the shoulders like a balloon
11. William Shakespeare -
Man of Mystery
l Statue
l Painted and life-sized
l Carved 7 years after
Shakespeare s death
- Was repainted, then
Mistakenly white-washed
then repainted again with
no idea of original colors
- Original colors would have
given the statue detail
not carved
13. Why was the Globe built?
The Lord Chamberlain s
Men (Shakespeare s
acting troupe) needed a
place to perform their
plays so they could
compete with other
acting troupes.
14. History of the Globe Theatre
l Built in 1598 and opened in 1599
l Burned down in1613 from a cannon blast
during the play Henry VIII
l Rebuilt and reopened in 1614
l Closed down by Puritans in 1642 and was
torn down in 1644
l In 1996 a replica was built on the original site
15. Facts about the Globe Theatre
l Original Globe was 3 stories and held about
3000 people.
l Although most of Shakespeare s plays were
held there, he only owned 12% of the
theatre.
l Located in Southwark
near the Thames River
(just outside of London).
16. More Globe Facts
l All classes of people attended plays there.
l No roof so that they had sunlight.
l Thus, plays had to be during the day.
l People often skipped work to go.
l Was not allowed to be built in the city of
London because crowds often became
rowdy.
17. Problems at the Theatre
l Fights
l Spread of disease (the plague)
l Drug dealing
l Prostitution
l Theft
18. Entrance View
l Everybody entered at
the same place
regardless of where
you paid to sit or stand.
l The stage juts out onto
the floor, so some
people would view from
the side.
19. Floor View
l Poor people could get into
plays for little money, but
had to stand. They were
known as Groundlings.
l It would be very difficult to
see unless you were right
next to the stage.
l Plays often lasted 4-6 hours
and the Groundlings would
stand the whole time.
20. Second Floor View
l The middle to upper
class people could
afford to sit on the
second level.
l The second level
wrapped around both
sides of the stage.
21. Third Floor View
l Only the upper class
could afford seats on
the third level.
l For extra money they
could get a padded
seat.
22. Stage View
l The actors had to deal
with many distractions:
l Weather (no roof)
l Rowdy Audience
l Fruits and Veggies
thrown at them if the play
or the acting was bad.
