William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare He was not of an age, but for all time! Ben Jonson

What made Elizabethan and Jacobean theater possible? • Support of the Crown - Elizabeth enjoyed the theater - James loved the theater • Licensure from the Master of the Revels - all public entertainments required a license - M of the R was the official censor - had the authority to jail offenders

What made Elizabethan and Jacobean theater possible? • The support/protection of a wealthy benefactor - Lord Chamberlain - Lord Howard, England’s Admiral - Earl of Leicester • A London populace with an insatiable appetite for public theater - waited out year-long closures due to plague - found the time and money to attend

So. . . what makes Shakespeare “the best”? • Universality - appeal to all social classes - uninhibited by nationality - universal themes transcend time According to Bill Bryson, depending on what you choose to read, Shakespeare, the writer, could be “a frothy soul. . . a man of dark passions. . . variously courtly, cerebral, metaphysical, melancholic, Machiavellian, neurotic, lighthearted, loving, and much more” (19).

So. . . what makes Shakespeare “the best”? 2) Knowledge of Human Behavior - Variety of characters - Singularly gifted at portraying a variety of emotions: love, envy, pride, self-doubt, grief, ambition, depression, humor, pettiness, fear, joy, dutifulness, and so on

So. . . what makes Shakespeare “the best”? 3) Mastery of Language - Added over 2000 words, phrases, and quotes to the English lexicon. Words: upstairs, antipathy, critical, excellent, frugal, dwindle, extract, horrid, vast, hereditary, leapfrog, well-read, indistinguishable, zany, assassination, vast, and countless others (including countless)

So. . . what makes Shakespeare “the best”? 3) Mastery of Language - Added over 2000 words, phrases, and quotes to the English lexicon. Phrases: vanish into thin air, be in a pickle, play fast and loose, go down the primrose path, pomp and circumstance, cold comfort, foul play, tower of strength, blinking idiot, with bated breath, to thine own self be true, parting is such sweet sorrow, milk of human kindness, budge an inch, for ever and a day, slept not a wink, too much of a good thing, in my mind’s eye, it’s Greek to me, we have seen better days

Now is the winter of our discontent. Brevity is the soul of wit. Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears. Cowards die many times before their death. The valiant never taste of death but once. Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. All the world 's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts. What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. The better part of valor is discretion. Quotes

What do we know? Legends of Shakespeare: • He hastily left the city of his birth, Stratford-upon-Avon, when caught poaching deer. • He was a school teacher. • Joined the Lord Chamberlain’s Men after one of its members was killed in a bar fight. • He was a sailor and spend years abroad. • He was a recusant Catholic • He is not the actual author of his works

What do we know? Legends of Shakespeare: • Each of these are theories that various amateur or renowned scholars have put forth over the last 200 years or so. • Each of them cannot be proven. • There exists no evidence to support any of them, but they have been repeated enough to become engrained our public consciousness.

What do we really know? Actually very little. • Born on April 23 (we think), 1564 • Father was an alderman who was, at one time, quite successful, but eventually fell into a financial discord from which he never recovered. • Entered the London theater scene sometime between 1585 and 1592 where he derived a modest income as an actor, playwright, and poet. • Was well-known, respected, and admired by his contemporaries.

What do we really know? Actually very little. • Made several successful investments, including the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, the Globe Theater, and the Blackfriar’s Theater, from which her derived a more than modest income. • Wrote and/or collaborated between 39 and 44 plays. • Penned 154 sonnets and three longer narrative poems. • Was married and had three children. • Died on April 23, 1616,

What did he do between 1585-1592 (The Lost Years)? What books did he read/own? Did he ever leave England? How and when did he enter the theater? What did his handwriting look like? How often did he return to Stratford? Was his relationship with his wife a loving one? Who is the “fair youth,” the “dark lady,” and the “rival poet” in his sonnets. Or, for that matter, whois the speaker? How did he feel about the reproductions of his poems during his lifetime? One pastime, diversion, interest, habit, vice, or any other distinguishing mark of one’s personality. What do we not know? OrWhat do we wish we knew.

But we do have the plays. . . • Henry Condell and John Heminges published the “First Folio,” a collection of Shakespeare’s plays seven years after his death. • This seemingly simple act by a couple of friends has been called “the greatest act of literary heroism in history.”

William Shakespeare