SHAKESPEARE
TIMELINE
• 5th - 15th centuries = MIDDLE AGES
• 1085 - RECONQUEST begins in Spain
• 1095-1097 - FIRST CRUSADE
• 1330-1750 - RENAISSANCE spreads
• 1350 - BUBONIC PLAGUE hits
• 1450-1750 - ENGLISH RENAISSANCE (Early
Modern Period, Age of Discovery)
• 1478-1834(1968) - INQUISITION
• 1517 - REFORMATION begins
• 1588 - SPANISH ARMADA
THE MIDDLE AGES
• FEUDAL society
• KING = most important person
• PEASANTS gave taxes to LORD - lord
gave taxes to king
• Lords were the king’s VASSALS
• If the vassal was loyal, the king gave
him wealth and mini-kingdoms called
FIEFDOMS.
THE MIDDLE AGES
THE MIDDLE AGES
• Towns grew around the castle
• Castle life = difficult
• Large central fireplace was the heating system
- heat was used for the king and nobility
• TAPESTRIES were hung on the walls to help
keep the room warm
• No running water, bathrooms, etc
• The castle community had to be SELF-
SUFFICIENT
• The castle was the only safe place
THE MIDDLE AGES
• Peasants were not allowed to own property - they
worked for the king and paid taxes. If the king needed
more money, it came from the peasants.
• Peasants were uneducated.
• Peasants often considered their life a hell on earth so
had a fatalistic view of death.
• Very high mortality rate
• Church was very important - a place of beauty in a
very dreary life
• Stained glass windows told Bible stories to people
who could not read
THE MIDDLE AGES
• Church was very important - a place of beauty in a
very dreary life
THE MIDDLE AGES
• Stained glass windows told Bible stories to people
who could not read
TIMELINE OF TUDOR REIGN
DURING THE RENAISSANCE
• KING HENRY VIII -reigned from 1509-
1547 (C) (P)
KATHERINE OF ARAGON-a- 6 children/Mary I
ANNE BOLEYN-a/e- 3 children/Elizabeth I
JANE SEYMOUR-d- 1 child/Edward VI
ANNE OF CLEVES-a-
CATHERINE HOWARD-a/e
KATHERINE PARR-d-
TIMELINE OF TUDOR REIGN
DURING THE RENAISSANCE
• HENRY VIII
• EDWARD VI - reigned 1547-1553 (P)
• JANE GREY - reigned July 10-19, 1553 (e)
• MARY I - aka”BLOODY MARY” - reigned 1553-
1558 (C)
• ELIZABETH I - reigned 1558-1603 (P)
ENGLISH RENAISSANCE
• 1450-1750
• Rapid development of art, literature,
science, politics
• Growth of trade guilds and skilled
professions
• Very little chance for social mobility
• REBIRTH of classical Roman forms
A very different view
• Many concepts in science and medicine
were not yet understood.
• People were anxious for order in their
lives.
• Society began to change from feudalism
(community) to individuality.
ORDER IN THE UNIVERSE
COSMOLOGY
• PTOLEMY believed the earth was the center of
the universe with 9 concentric rings around it.
• Uranus, Neptune, Pluto had not yet been
discovered.
COSMOLOGY
• COPERNICUS discovered that the sun was
the center of the solar system. (1543)
• This was proved when GALILEO invented the
telescope in 1610.
People didn’t know who to
believe
• SHAKESPEARE’S plays reflect their
uncertainty.
• Look for references to the sun, moon,
stars, universe, etc.
THE UNIVERSE
• It was believed that 4 ELEMENTS composed
everything in the universe: EARTH, AIR,
WATER, FIRE
• The elements combined to create the
qualities of being: hot, cold, moist, dry
• AIR = hot and moist
• WATER = cold and moist
• EARTH = cold and dry
• FIRE = hot and dry
ORDER IN THE HUMAN
BODY
• It was believed that the body also contained
the 4 elements but in the body they were
called the 4
HUMORS: BLOOD, PHLEGM, YELLOW
BILE, BLACK BILE
• Each humor corresponded to an element.
• BLOOD = air = hot and moist
• PHLEGM = water = cold and moist
• YELLOW BILE = fire = hot and dry
• BLACK BILE = earth = cold and dry
THE HUMAN BODY
• The 4 humors were believed to determine
personality.
• Blood = dominant = light-hearted
• Phlegm = dominant = dull and kind
• Yellow bile = dominant = irritable
• Black bile = dominant = sad
• SHAKESPEARE uses the humors to explain
emotional outbursts in his plays.
THE HUMAN BODY -
illness
• Illness was believed to be a result of the
imbalance of the 4 humors.
• Remedies were an attempt to restore
the balance of the humors. (too much
blood = blood letting, leeches, cutting,
etc)
ILLNESS
• Infant mortality rate was very high - 50% died
before 1st birthday
• Life expectancy for men = about 45 years old
(women a bit older)
• Didn’t realize need for antiseptics and sterile
equipment
• Barbers often served as doctors
• Monks and nuns took care of the sick
BUBONIC PLAGUE
• Began in China
• When shipping opened after the Reconquest
= more rats in on boats = spread of plague
• 2 major outbreaks - 1592-1594. 1613
• Believed to be God’s punishment
• Directly affected Shakespeare’s career
because theaters closed
16th CENTURY LONDON
• 200,000 people
• No sewer = plague
• High crime rate - no lights, little law
enforcement
• Cultural, political, social heart of
England
ORDER IN SOCIETY
THE GREAT CHAIN OF
BEING
• aka UNIVERSAL HIERARCHY
• Hierarchy of creation, human rights,
place in society
• Explained why
THE GREAT CHAIN OF
BEING
THE GREAT CHAIN OF
BEING
GOD
ANGELS
KINGS
NOBLES
SERFS
WOMEN
ANIMALS
PLANTS
ROCKS
Notice that there are different versions.
Queen Elizabeth was “out of order” as a woman.
SOCIETY
• 2 social classes
• ARISTOCRATS who had everything
• EVERYONE ELSE who had very little (actors
were definitely considered lower class)
• Nobility feared mobility so they created strict
laws to control the lower classes.
• Some mobility began late in the Renaissance
with the development of skilled professions.
WAYS OF REGULATING
LOWER CLASS
• SUMPTUARY law - regulated dress
• DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS - kings
believed they were given the right to
rule by God
MEN
• Society was a PATRIARCHY
• Men controlled family and society
• The husband was the “king” of the
family - by DIVINE RIGHT
WOMEN
• Women had almost no rights in society
• PRIMOGENITURE - all inheritance went to
the first-born MALE
• Any wealth a woman possessed went to her
husband when she married - she also lost her
rights to inherit, own property, sign contracts,
etc.
• Queen Elizabeth would have lost everything
to her husband had she married.
WOMEN
• Seldom educated
• Couldn’t enter most professions
(including acting)
• They could be housewives - their job
was to keep the husband happy,
manage the servants, entertain well,
look good
SERVANTS AND
APPRENTICES
• Were considered part of the family
• Often closer to the children than the
parents (notice the relationship between
Juliet and her nurse, and between
Romeo and his servant)
THEATER
• Plays were not considered literature
• Written very quickly, performed 10-12 times
• Discarded
• Published in quartos = folded 4x, 17cm x
21cm or folios = folded 1x, more prestigious,
21cm x 34cm
• More widely read and preserved after
Gutenburg invented printing press
THEATER
• Plays often outside of town until
Elizabeth and less threat of Plague
• Actors mistrusted - not respected
• Puritans considered drama immoral
• Aristocrats thought actors might use
costumes to disguise social status on
streets
THEATER
• GROUNDLINGS paid lowest price (1
penny =$ .60)- stood in the “pit” (
ground in front of stage) =open air = 70’
diameter = very rowdy
• Aristocrats paid more - sat in seats above pit
= 3 tiers around walls = under cover
• Best seats cost 1 schilling (&7) - highest tiers
• Nobility sat in box seats or on the stage
THEATER
• Traditional theater could hold 800
groundlings, 1500 in the galleries, 12
exclusive seats on the stage
THEATERS
• Originally outside city limits
• A. To avoid conflict with authorities
• B. Considered immoral
• C. Afraid of riots
• D. Afraid the Plague would spread in large
groups
• Moved into playhouses in town at time of
Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth
THEATER
• 2 hours long because of light
• No costumes (what if actors went out on the
street dressed as someone they
weren’t???:<:<:<) or scenery
• No female actors
• Announced from town square - flew flag if
play was on for the day
• No breaks between scenes
• 3 trumpet blasts or 3 knocks signaled
beginning of play
• No curtain - every entrance had
corresponding exit
PARTS OF THE
THEATER/STAGE
• Rectangular stage extended into “pit”
• Stage raised 5’ above the “pit”
• Covered part of stage = “heavens”
• Trapdoor used for graves and ghosts
• Equipment used to raise and lower
actors
MORE PARTS
• Above the stage = gallery - used for
wealthy patrons or balcony scenes
• Tiring house = dressing rooms
(costumes gradually became more
lavish)
SHAKESPEARE’S LIFE
THE BASICS
• Born April 23, 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon
Gulielmus filius Johannes Shakespeare (no
wonder he went by William!!)
• Died April 23, 1616 in Stratford-on-Avon
• Parents were John Shakespeare and Mary
Arden Shakespeare
• Father was a tanner and held civic positions -
became alderman in 1565 which was a
position that came with free education for his
children.
CHILDHOOD AND
EDUCATION
• Began education at age 6 or 7 - subjects
taught were entirely dictated by the beliefs of
the reigning king - but included the alphabet,
the Lord’s Prayer, a catechism, Latin, some
English some math
• Removed from school at age 13 because
father lost alderman position
• May have worked for a butcher, a lawyer, or a
glover, or as a schoolteacher - little is known
for certain for about 10 years after left school.
AND THEN…..
• Married Anne Hathaway when he was 18 and
she was 26
• First child, Susanna, christened on May 26th
1583
• Twins, Hamnet and Judith, christened
February 2, 1585
• Shakespeare moved to London - established
as actor by 1592
• Hamnet died of an unknown cause August
11, 1595 - age 11
????????
• Two periods of life known as “lost
years”:
• *1578-1582 = after left grammar school
until marriage to Anne Hathaway
• *1585-1592 = when he must have been
perfecting his dramatic skills
ACTOR AND PLAYWRIGHT
• Writer/actor for Pembroke’s Men before 1592
• Theaters closed in 1592 due to Plague -
Shakespeare probablyleft theater to work on
non-dramatic poetry
• 1593 - Earl of Southampton became
Shakespeare’s patron
NOT ONLY THAT BUT…
• 1594 - became member of Lord
Chamberlain’s Men - performed before
Queen Ellizabeth - earned 10 pounds
as actor
• While with LCM - wrote Romeo and
Juliet, King John, Love’s Labour’s Lost
!!!!!!!!!!
• Only Elizabethan dramatist to write, act
in, share profits, and own the theater
building (Globe - 1598 and Blackfriars)
• After Hamnet’s death - Shakespeare
retired and purchased the second
largest house in Stratford for 60 pounds.
SO WHY IS HE SUCH A BIG
DEAL????
• Largest vocabulary of any author before
or since
• Used 17,677 words in his writings
• Created 1,700 words
• Themes, motifs, characters =
prototypes for modern literature, drama,
etc
• Unrivaled use of imagery
LANGUAGE - Can you guess
how the phrases we use today
originated?