WEEK 2 - SHAKESPEARE’S LIFE AND BIOGRAPHY

Shakespeare's Life & Biography

Origins & Final Days

  • William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in a timber-framed house on Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon. His father, John Shakespeare, a glove maker and wool dealer, and his mother, Mary Arden, daughter of a farmer from Wilmcote.
  • William attended Stratford Grammar School from the age of 7 until he was 14. The grammar school was held on the upper floor of the old Guildhall, and here the classes were held in Latin, concentrating on grammar and the ancient classics of Greece and Rome.
  • When he turned 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, daughter of a yeoman farmer from Shottery, close to Stratford. The marriage may have been forced, as Anne was already 3 months pregnant with a daughter, Susanna. This first child was followed by twins Hamnet and Judith in 1585.
  • The next 7 years of Shakespeare's life are unknown, though he is rumoured to have worked as a school teacher. Sometime before 1592 Shakespeare left his home and family to follow the life of an actor in London.
  • Shakespeare preferred to stay in London, and it was during this time of plague that he began to gain recognition as a writer, notably of long poems, such as Venus and Adonis, and Rape of Lucrece.He was fortunate to find a patron, Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, to support him in his writing. Venus and Adonis was wildly successful, and it was this work that first brought the young writer widespread recognition. 
  • The early plays were held at The Theatre, to the north of the city. In 1597 the company's lease on The Theatre expired, and negotiations with the landlord proved fruitless. Taking advantage of a clause in the lease that allowed them to dismantle the building, the company took apart the place board by board and transported the material across the Thames to Bankside. 
  • Shakespeare held a share in the profits from the Globe, which netted him a princely yearly income of GBP200-250. His financial success enabled Shakespeare to purchase New Place, the second largest house in Stratford. It was here that he retired around 1611. 
  • When he died in 1616, William Shakespeare divided up his considerable property amongst his daughters (his son Hamnet had died in childhood), but left only his second best bed to his wife, Anne. Shakespeare was buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity church. 
Image result for portrait shakespeare

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WEEK 3 - SHAKESPEARE’S LONDON AND ELIZABETHAN AUDIENCES

What was London like in Elizabethan times and who were the people attending the theater? Audience Members Most of the poorer audience members, referred to as groundlings, would pay one penny (which was almost an entire day's wage) to stand in front of the stage, while the richer patrons would sit in the covered galleries, paying as much as half a crown each for their seats. In 1599, Thomas Platter, a Swiss doctor visiting London from Basel, reported the cost of admission in his diary: "There are separate galleries and there one stands more comfortably and moreover can sit, but one pays more for it. Thus anyone who remains on the level standing pays only one English penny: but if he wants to sit, he is let in at a farther door, and there he gives another penny. If he desires to sit on a cushion in the most comfortable place of all, where he not only sees everything well, but can also be seen then he gives yet another English penny at another door. And in the pauses of the...
Read more

WEEK 6 – YOUR PRODUCTION

Image
Week 6 - Your Production Research your own Shakespeare play: Hamlet, Richard III, Macbeth, Measure for Measure. What is the play about? When was it first performed? Find a contemporary production of the play you can get an idea of and research it in terms of concept, style, design, casting. Give some attention to your own character and their role in the play. Measure for Measure was written between 1603 and 1604 is seen as one of Shakespeare’s problem plays due to its shift in mood.  Measure for Measure was performed by Shakespeare's company at the Court of James I on December 26, 1604. The piece takes place in Vienna which is filled with brothels and the city's population lacks morality, but despite this the Duke isn't willing to use his authority to fix the city and instead chooses to leave, dressed as a Friar, leaving Angelo in charge who begins to make his own changes.  The play was first published in 1623 in the First Folio. Contemporary  ...
Read more