Shakespeare

1
Shakespeare

• A look at the Bard and his times

2
Henry VIII

• Henry VIII was king of England.
• Married 6 times.
• Killed two of his wives.
• Created his own church
• Church of England

3
Six Wives of Henry VIII

• Catherine of Aragon () Divorced
• Marys mother
• Anne Boleyn () Executed
• Elizabeths mother
• Jane Seymour () Died in childbirth
• Edward VIs mother
• Anne of Cleeves ()
• Catherine Howard ()
• Catherine Parr

4
After Henry VIII

• Henry dies, Edward VI becomes king
• Edward VI sickly and dies, which makes Mary the
  first queen of England (not received well)
• Mary brings back Catholicism
• Elizabeth (her half-sister) imprisoned
• Mary dies (gets her own nursery rhyme)
• Elizabeth becomes queen
• It is during this time Shakespeare is born

5
London

• London is the center of the world during Elizabeth

6
East Side

• (Think St. Paul)
• Rich
• Churches
• Older population

7
West Side

• (Think Minneapolis)
• Predominantly poor
• Had all the fun stuff
• Theatres
• Brothels
• Gambling parlors
• Young

8
And now, some trivia

• So who owned the gambling parlors and brothels?

9
The Church

• The church owned the brothels and the gambling
  parlors and made people pay for sinning.
• Outside of a place of sin was a black box with
  a cross. If money was placed in the box, it meant
  your sin was absolved
• Using modern monetary terms if you won 100, you
  gave 10 to the box to absolve your sin. This is
  how the churches made so much money.

10
The Three Classes

• The Poor (50)
• The Middle (35)
• The Rich (15)

11
The Poor

• Lived a very difficult life.
• Average age was 30.
• Married at 11-12, first child at 12-13
• Death came from starvation, sickness, childbirth,
  and fighting
• Could be servants
• Ate what could be found (often the reason why the
  Plague came back)

12
The Middle Class

• Worked in a trade (blacksmith, glovemaker, etc.)
• Lived in better housing than the poor
• Could easily become poor, but had a harder time
  becoming rich
• Average age was about 40

13
The Rich

• Nobles and clergy
• Lived in better housing away from the sickness
  and the filth of the poor
• Wore a great deal of clothing
• Had chamber pots which were emptied into the
  streets (contributing cause of the Plagues
  return)
• Given best seats at theatres, churches, and
  sporting events
• Average age was about 55

14
The Bard

• Born on 4/23/1564. Died on 4/23/1616 (He
  was 52)
• Father was a glovemaker (making Shakespeare
  middle class)
• William decided to become an actor
• At 18, he married Anne Hathaway (Shes 26).
• They had 3 kids
• Susannah (has Elizabeth, who dies)
• Hamnet (dies at 11)
• Judith (has Shakespeare, Thomas, and Richardall
  die young)

15
Shakespeares Work

• 38 plays
• 154 Sonnets
• Many, many poems
• Not a single one of his works is considered a
  failure.

16
The Shakespeare Conspiracy

• The Oxford Group believes that Shakespeare was
  actually a group of people including
• Sir Francis Bacon
• Christopher Marlowe
• Edward De Vere
• Elizabeth I

17
The Globe Theater

• After becoming Queen Elizabeths personal
  playwright, Shakespeare is given the money to
  build his own theatre.
• The Globe is his design.
• Its a circlelike a globe.
• Open at top for light
• Three levels (by socio-economic
• level)
• The theatre burns down in 1613,
• but is rebuilt

18
The Globe The Poor

• The Poor sat on the ground, hence their name
  Groundlings
• To get in, the poor paid 10 of whatever they
  normally made. If they did not have enough money,
  they could work during the show. (Cleaning)
• One ticket allowed all day entrance (this meant
  several shows)
• Could be sitting with between 400 to 1,000 people
  on any given day.
• The Poor could buy several items

19
The Globe Poor continued

• So what could the Poor purchase?
• 1. Garlic
• For your mouth (breath)
• 2. Oranges
• If you hate the actors
• 3. The people selling the items
• If you get bored

20
The Globe The Middle Class

• The Middle Class got seats above the people.
  Often reserved
• They could purchase the same items as the poor
• You could dump the chamberpots on the poor if you
  wished
• The Middle Class had to pay more to get in.

21
The Globe The Rich

• Had the highest seats in the theatre. You could
  see everything
• The actors played to you (this is why actors are
  supposed to act up
• Had privacy (curtains) for their bathrooms and
  servants to clean for them
• Could buy the same thing as the Poor and Middle
  Class, but could also buy mint leaves to chew
  like gum
• Elizabeths box was dead center

22
The Globe The Rich Continued

• The Rich decided if they liked the play based on
  the hierarchy if the Queen liked it, so did
  youeven if you didnt
• You paid the most to get in, but you didnt have
  to deal with the issues the Poor and Middle Class
  (the smell, etc)
• There was a fainting station for ladies who were
  overcome

23
Romeo and Juliet

• Its a real love story
• Its based on a Greek tale of a woman from Athens
  and man from Sparta who killed each other to be
  together
• Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet also lived in
  Verona in the 1300s (Roughly 1303).
• Shakespeare is said to have discovered this love
  in Arthur Brookes 1592 poem The Tragical
  Historeye of Romeus and Juliet.