Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

English playwright

Birth date

April 23

Birthplace

Stratford-upon-Avon

Education

Attended local grammar school; studied Latin reading and writing; no university

Wife

Anne Hathaway

Children

Hamnet (died at 11) Susanna Judith

Career

Playwright poet and actor

Death

April 23

Number of plays

37–39

Number of sonnets

154

First Folio

Published in 1623 by two of his friends

Globe Theatre construction

Built in 1598 using reused materials carried across a frozen river

Globe Theatre location

Bankside London

Globe Theatre capacity

About 3000 people

Bankside

Sketchy dangerous district in London where the theatre was located

Flags at Globe Theatre

Different colored flags showed the type of play being performed

Trap doors

Openings in the floor and ceiling used for entrances and exits

Heavens

Painted ceiling above stage with zodiac signs

Galleries

Middle class seating areas

Balcony

Upper seating for wealthy people also used in plays

Groundlings

Poor audience members who stood on the ground

Groundling cost

About 6.60 dollars in today’s money

Sharer

Someone who owned part of the theatre and made money from it

Globe Theatre fire

Burned down in 1613 due to a cannon during a play

Theatre closure

In 1642 Puritans closed all theatres

Modern Globe reopening

Rebuilt starting in 1993 completed 1996 opened 1997

London in Shakespeare’s time

Crowded dirty and sometimes dangerous

Queen Elizabeth I

Queen who supported and enjoyed theatre

Lord Chamberlain’s Men

Acting company Shakespeare worked for

James I

King of England after Elizabeth I

Richard Burbage

Famous actor in Shakespeare’s company

Actor skills

Memorization voice projection sword fighting singing dancing playing multiple roles

1590s significance

Peak of Shakespeare’s writing career

Five Act Structure Act I

Introduction

Five Act Structure Act II

Rising Action

Five Act Structure Act III

Climax

Five Act Structure Act IV

Falling Action

Five Act Structure Act V

Resolution or catastrophe