William

Shakespeare
His Life and Works
Shakespeare’s Times

Early Life
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon
 A medieval market town in England’s West Midlands,
is the 16th-century birthplace of William
Shakespeare.  (1564 – 1626)
 Company performs his plays in the Royal
Shakespeare Theatre and adjacent Swan Theatre on the
banks of the River Avon.
Stratford-on-Avon
Shakespeare’s Times

His parents are:

 Mary Arden-Shakespeare – daughter of
Early Life
a wealthy land owner; (1564 – 1626)
 John Shakespeare – glovemaker and a
local politician.
 Education
Attended King’s New School in
Stratford
His school days was long and
rigorous.
He was educated in rhetoric, logic,
history and Latin.
Shakespeare dropped out of middle
King’s New School school when his father lost his
fortune.
Married Life 1582
Married to Anne Hathaway, who was pregnant at the
time with their first daughter.

1585
Had twins named Hamnet and Judith. However due to
a plague, Hamnet died at the age of 11.

Between 1583 – 1592

He moved to London and began working in theatre and
these years were known as
“The Lost Years”

“The Lost Years” are the times when

no one knows where Shakespeare
was or what he was doing.
 Theatre
Became a member and later a part-owner of
Career
the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later called the
King’s Men

Globe Theater
Built in 1599 with Shakespeare as the
primary investor. However, it burned
down in 1613 during one of
Shakespeare’s plays.
Interior of Globe Theater
Interior of Globe Theater
The Plays of 14 comedies
Shakespeare 10 histories
There are 38 plays firmly
attributed to Shakespeare 10 tragedies

4 romances

Although there might have been 3 others

written in collaboration with others.
Shakespeare’s Poetry
Shakespeare has two major poems:

Venus and Adonis

Rape of
Luvrece
Shakespeare also wrote
154 sonnets and
numerous other poems.

Shakespeare’s
Death
Shakespeare passed away on
April 23, 1616 and no one exactly
knew the cause of his death.
History says he drank too much wine
and ate too many pickled herrings.
In his will, he left money, horses,
stables, and many more to his two
sons-in-law.
However, the only thing he left his
wife is the “second-best bed.”
Specifically mentioning the second best bed where the couple
slept together, made love and where his children were born is
now seen by many scholars as a gift from the heart.
 Shakespeare is buried in the Holy Trinity
Church in his birth village in Stratford.

Shakespeare’s His grave is covered by flat stone that

Death bears an epitaph warning of a curse to

come upon anyone who moves his bones.
 Shakespeare’s Language
Remember!
Shakespeare Old English is the language of Beowulf:
did NOT Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum
write in “Old Þeodcyninga Þrym gefrunon
English” Hu ða æÞelingas ellen fremedon!

(Hey! We have heard of the glory of the Spear-

Danes in the old days, the kings of tribes, how
noble princes showed great courage!)
 Shakespeare’s Language
Remember!

Shakespeare
Middle English is the language of
did NOT write
Chaucer, the Gawain-poet, and Malory:
in “Middle
We redeth oft and findeth y-write—
English”
And this clerkes wele it wite—
Layes that ben in harping
Ben y-founde of ferli thing… (Sir Orfeo)
 Shakespeare’s Language
Remember!

Shakespeare EME was not very different from “Modern

wrote in English,” except that it had some old holdovers.
“Early Modern
Shakespeare single-handedly changed the
English”
English language, where there was a huge
change and addition to vocabulary, with an
estimation of 34,000 words and 2,000 new
words.
Shakespeare’s The language he
used was…
Language •A mix of old and very
Shakespeare coined many words new;
that we still use today. Some of • Rural and urban
them are as follows: words/images;
Critical • Understandable by the
 Majestic
 Dwindle lowest peasant and the

And quite a few phrases as well: highest noble.

 One fell swoop
 Flesh and blood
 Vanish into thin air
 Elizabethan Theatrical
e
h e at r Conventions
’s T
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