Early Shakespeare: Crash Course Theater and Drama #14

Available at https://youtu.be/FS2ndY5WJXA or just youtube/google “Crash Course Theater and Drama 14”
1. What did you find most interesting about William Shakespeare’s
background/biography/upbringing? Explain why.

2. Writing plays were often a __________________________,

and works from the beginning and end of Shakespeare’s career
were written this way—more _______________________.

a. Many playwrights often depended on side jobs or __________________.

Shakespeare made his money not so much as a writer, but as a ________________
in the company.

b. What was a quarto?

3. In 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death, two fell actors in the ________________,

John Heminges and Henry Condell, decided to ______________ and ______________

Shakespeare’s works in an authoritative edition, to honor their friend. Their luxury
volume, known as the _______________________, included 36 plays organized as
________________, ________________, and _________________.

a. With the exception of King John and Edward III, the rest of Shakespeare’s
“History” plays describe the rise of the ______________, the royal house of
Elizabeth I, queen during the early years of Shakespeare’s career.

i. What was the point of history plays?

ii. Based on the events of “Richard III”, do you think Shakespeare was
upholding the “Tudor myth” or being more subversive? Explain.

1. While we don’t know all the circumstances of where and when and
how Shakespeare became a writer, his early work shows him taking
the straightforward form of the _____________________________
and molding it into something more _________________ and
________________.