| when was William Shakespeare born | April 23 1564 |
| noble family | rich upper class family |
| limitations | barrier |
| limitations William Shakespeare faced | not born into a noble familynot a wealthy familydid not continue formal education at universityno mentorship of a senior artistdid not marry into wealth or prestige |
| talent as an actor | modest – no starry roles |
| William Shakespeare successful as | playwright |
| Shakespeare success depended on | royal patronage |
| William Shakespeare father | John Shakespeare |
| John Shakespeare profession | Glove maker and tradesman |
| Mary Arden | William Shakespeare motherdaughter of affluent farmer |
| when was William Shakespeare baptized | April 26, 1564 |
| where was William Shakespeare baptized | in a church in Stratford upon avon |
| Patronage | Funding, sponsorship |
| what school did Shakespeare attend since he could not attend a uninversity | King’s New England School |
| King’s New England school | Local grammar school |
| Subjects at King’s New England school | Roman Comedy, ancient history, rhetoric grammar, Latin, and maybe Greek |
| Anne Hathway | Shakespeare ended up marrying her at age of 18; she was 8 years older to Shakespeare and was 3 months pregnant |
| How many children did Shakespeare and Hathway have | 3; Susanna, Hamnet and Judith |
| When were the children born | Susanna- 1583; Hamnet & Judith- 1585 |
| Lost years | 7 years after children’s birth- historical record, little was known, but history could not be traced |
| Robert Greene | 1592- he calls Shakespeare “Upstart Crow” |
| Upstart | Person who rose economically or socially but lacks skills/appropriateness for position |
| Crow | to boast/scavenger who steals from others |
| Shakespeare’s plays between 1590 and 1592 | Henry VI series Richard III Comedy of Errors |
| 1593 | Black plague caused theatres to close |
| Effect of plague | Venus & Adonis, The Rape of Lucrece Shakespeare began writing sonnets |
| Result of Shakespeare’s works | Shakespeare earned reputation of gifted poet |
| Plays in 1594 | Taming of Shrew 2 gentlemen of Verona Love’s Labor lost |
| Shakespeare’s achievements in 1594 | shareholder in Lord Chamberlain’s Men remained member of company for rest of career |
| Lord Chamberlain’s Men | one of the most popular acting companies in London |
| 1595 | most prolific periods, plays written were Richard II, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Merchant of Venice |
| Effect of success | Shakespeare purchased second largest home in Stratford |
| Prolific | produced abundant/very fruitful |
| 1596 | Shakespeare’s only son Hamnet died |
| 1597 | Shakespeare joined other members from Lord Chamberlain’s Men to establish polygonal Globe Theatre |
| Polygonal | in shape of a polygon |
| 1603 | King James issued royal license and Shakespeare and other members were known as King’s Men |
| 1616 | Shakespeare’s health declined Shakespeare revised his will Shakespeare died at his birthplace in Stratford upon Avon |
| will | left bulk of estate to his 2 daughters, set monetary gifts aside for his sister, theater partners, friends, and poor of Stratford; left family’s second best bed to Anne |
| when did Shakespeare die | April 23 1616 |
| Shakespeare’s lasting legacy | 38 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 narrative poems |
| Today’s world | leaving a bed as a gift is kind of rude since it’s not very important |
| Beds back then | luxurious & expensive and kept in guest room as show off for status luxury wealth |
| Scholars’ Interpretation | Shakespeare did not love his wife |
| Bubonic plague | rare disease caused by bacteria occurred in 14th century worst disaster originated in China |
| Cause | started in 1300s- food shortage |
| effect | famine, starvation, low resistance to disease |
| Black sea | link to China & Italy had ships parked there hence many Italians got infected |
| Disease | caused by black rats & fleas effects were swelling or buboes dark spots |
| Dark spots | disease was named Black Death; disease is more deadly when carried by fleas |
| 1900s | scientists discovered disease was caused by rat came up with medicine (antibiotics)- cures 95% of cases |
| Disease or Medicine | People were not educated, thus they did not know much about disease or medicine |
| 1500s | doctors learned from experiments; ended up killing more patients than helping |
| Physicians | educated doctors but only had limited knowledge, and old equipment |
| surgeons | worked as both doctor and barber could end up causing more damage to patient |
| Herbalist | doctor who uses homemade mixtures to treat diseases |
| Mixtures | Most of ingredients were useless, but some helped |
| Setting of play | Verona, Italy |
| Verona | city built along Adige River |
| 1239 | flood took place & caused massive amount of damage |
| 1500s | city was rebuilt and new parts were added ruled by wealthy families |
| Verona, Italy | Verona was prized city hence protected by fortified walls |
| Montague & Capulet | adapted names from Montecchi and Capuleti families |
| Montecchi & Capuleti | had opposite beliefs |
| Romeo and Juliet Play in Verona | preserved building and specific area to give people opportunity to relive the play |
Romeo and Juliet – Intro
November 12, 2019