A&C: AO3 (Biographical)

Shakespeare and James I

• Initial rise to prominence is connected to 'The Lord Chamberlain's Men' a theatre group named after their aristocratic sponsor.

• After the accession of James I, they changed their name to the 'King's Men' as a tribute to the new monarch.

• The patronage of James was obviously valuable to Shakespeare, particularly as he was a man very interested in literature and the arts.

• Unusually for a royal at the time, James had also been published, with on of his books 'Basilikon Doron' looking at issues of kingship and governance. Within this he suggested that the ideal leader should be a man of spotless personal integrity who was willing to do his duty to God and country.

Shakespeare’s success

• Was v successful, popular w the working man and nobles alike. Some plays were written and performed for royal occasions, such as the marriage of James' daughter, Elizabeth.

• Shakespeare's company acquired interests in two theatres in the Southwark area of London near the banks of the Thames - the Globe and the Blackfriars.

• Stages of this era were relatively simple - little on-stage scenery and the possibilities for artificial lighting were limited.

• This meant that Shakespeare had to employ more primitive dramatic tools to engage the interest of the audience. Since the elements were still regarded by some as forces of Godly power, Shakespeare often used the weather as a simply method to develop a potent atmosphere on stage.

general

• Born in Stratford upon Avon 1564

• Son of relatively prosperous family, likely went to local grammar school (but didn't attend university)

• Little known about early years

• Married Anne Hathaway when he was 18

• Had 3 children, Susanna and Judith and Hamnet (who died in childhood)

early career

• Shakespeare's early career was interrupted by the Bubonic Plague - theatres were temporarily closed.

• Both medicine and medical knowledge was quite rudimentary, some believing the outbreak was a punishment from God.

• Audiences of this period would have been more religious than their contemporary counterparts, with scientific thought still developing.

• Records of Shakespeare's first plays appear in 1594, producing roughly 2 plays a year. They varied in subject matter and style, although those of the Jacobean era were influenced by the political unrest that marked this time.

• The first 6 years at the turn of the century saw Shakespeare at the peak of his creative power, writing Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth.

staging - location

• Records of 1669 'formerly acted at the Blackfriars'

  • A hall used for indoor performances, smaller and more intimate than the outdoor playhouses and used indoor lighting for audience and stage alike.

  • Most likely the play was also performed in the Globe playhouse, in daylight on the simple thrust stage. The lack of scenery was a help rather than a hindrance in keeping the focus on the players and the language, allowing the fast-paced, fluid action necessary to the success of the play

staging - craft

• Music (indolent (lazy) for Cleo's leisured scenes, and martial for more Roman excursions), flowing robes and cloaks (to suggest a classical style of costume) and a few props were all that were required.

• The balcony above the rear of the stage supplied Cleo's monument for the women to haul up the dying Antony

• The area underneath the stage concealed the musicians playing the mysterious music of the 'hautboyes' (an early version of the melancholy oboe) to mark the departure of Hercules from Antony.

• Shakespeare wrote his plays with the strengths and talents of his fellow players in mind and he was clearly fortunate in having a gifted boy in the company to whom he could entrust the role of Cleopatra, a heroine who survives the hero by a whole act