1. What was Shakespeare’s father’s name and
what did he do for a living?
Shakespeare's father name is John
Shakespeare who was born in 1531. John Shakespeare actually held numerous
public offices including burgess, chamberlain, alderman and ultimately bailiff,
which was the rough equivalent of mayor.
So he was well connected, well liked and respected in his community to
keep moving up the political ladder.
There’s evidence that he was involved in
usury – lending money with interest
- something on which his son would have something to say later in
Merchant of Venice. He was
apparently good at it, as records have him associated with a loan of money that
would today be worth more than $50k. This, however, was highly illegal at the time, subject
to fines equal to all of the loaned money, plus interest, fines, and still
imprisonment on top of that. Risky business.
2. What was Shakespeare’s own theatre
called? What happened to it?
Shakespeare's own theatre called Globe
theatre. According to Shakespeare Online site,
"The Globe Theatre was constructed in
1599. It stood next to the Rose, on the south side of the Thames, and was the
most elaborate and attractive theatre yet built. The Globe was designed and
constructed for the Chamberlain's Men by Cuthbert Burbage, son of the Theatre's
creator, James Burbage. The lease for the land on which the Globe stood was
co-owned by Burbage and his brother Robert, and by a group of five actors --
Will Kempe, Augustine Phillips, John Heminge, Thomas Pope, and William
Shakespeare. Much of Shakespeare's wealth came from his holdings in the Globe.
The Globe was the primary home of
Shakespeare's acting company beginning in late 1599, and it is a possibility
that As You Like It was written especially for the occasion. On June 29, 1613,
during a performance of Henry VIII, a misfired canon ball set the Globe's thatched
roof on fire and the whole theatre was consumed. Swift reconstruction did take
place and the Globe reopened to the public within a year, with the addition of
a tiled roof. The new Globe theatre lasted until 1644, at which time it was
demolished, and housing was quickly built where it once stood. Recent attempts
have been made to re-create the Globe, and replicas have been built in Tokyo
and in London."
Reference: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/theatre/globe.html
3. At what time of day were plays usually
performed? Why?
Plays were performed at three o'clock in
the afternoon when they were performed in a circular open-air theater. There
was not sufficient lighting to hold plays for large audiences indoors at night
during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. They could and did perform for
smaller audiences at night indoors at court, at people's homes, at public
halls, and at indoor theatres like the Black friars. Because the audiences had
to be smaller, indoor theatres' ticket prices were much higher than those at
the large public outdoor theatres.
Reference: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_time_of_the_day_were_plays_performed_during_the_Elizabethan_Era
4. Name at least three of Shakespeare’s
plays.
-Hamlet: Written between 1599 and 1601,
this play is set in Denmark and recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on
his uncle Claudius, who murdered the King, takes the throne and marries Hamlet’s
mother. The play vividly charts the course of real and feigned madness — from
overwhelming grief to seething rage — and explores themes of treachery,
revenge, incest and moral corruption. “Hamlet” is Shakespeare’s longest play
and among the most powerful and influential tragedies in the English language.
During his lifetime the play was one of Shakespeare’s most popular works and it
still ranks high among his most performed, topping, for example, the Royal
Shakespeare Company’s list since 1879. It has inspired writers from Goethe and
Dickens to Joyce and Murdoch and has been described as “the world’s most filmed
story after ‘Cinderella.’” The title role was almost certainly created for
Richard Burbage, the leading tragedian of Shakespeare’s time. It’s arguably the
greatest drama ever written and in the four hundred years since, it has been
played by the greatest actors and sometimes actresses, of each successive age.
- Othello, The Moor of Venice: This tragedy
is believed to have been written in approximately 1603. The work revolves
around four central characters: Othello, his wife Desdemona, his lieutenant
Cassio and his trusted advisor Iago. Attesting to its enduring popularity, the
play appeared in seven editions between 1622 and 1705. Because of its varied
themes — racism, love, jealousy and betrayal — it remains relevant to the
present day and is often performed in professional and community theatres
alike. The play has also been the basis for numerous operatic, film and
literary adaptations.
-Macbeth: This is among the best-known of
Shakespeare’s plays and is his shortest tragedy, believed to have been written
between 1603 and 1606. It is frequently performed at both amateur and
professional levels and has been adapted for opera, film, books, stage and
screen. Often regarded as archetypal, the play tells of the dangers of the lust
for power and the betrayal of friends. For the plot Shakespeare drew loosely on
the historical account of “King Macbeth of Scotland” by Raphael Holinshed and
that by the Scottish philosopher Hector Boece. There are many superstitions
centred on the belief the play is somehow “cursed” and many actors will not
mention the name of the play aloud, referring to it instead as “The Scottish
Play.”
-Romeo and Juliet: This play is an early
tragedy (and likely Shakespeare’s first) about two teenage “star-cross’d
lovers” whose “untimely deaths” ultimately unite their feuding households. The
play has been highly praised by literary critics for its language and dramatic
effect. It was among Shakespeare’s most popular plays during his lifetime and,
along with “Hamlet” is one of his most frequently performed plays. Its
influence is still seen today, with the two main characters being widely
represented as archetypal young lovers. This is the singularly greatest romance
ever written and has been continuously adapted to each generation in musicals,
cinema and the theatre.
Reference: http://listverse.com/2008/07/10/top-10-greatest-shakespeare-plays/
5. How did the plague affect the theatres
in Shakespeare’s time?
In the Elizabethan era, medical technology
of the twenty-first century did not exist. One of the most known affects of the
bubonic plague in the Elizabethan era is the closure of theaters, specifically
the Globe Theater. This affected Shakespeare severely, because since he had to
close down his theaters, he never made any money. Because people were too sick
and afraid to go see plays and operas, the theaters had to close down from lack
of money. There wasn’t enough money to pay the actors with, sending them out
into the cold. Also, the queen of the time, Queen Elizabeth, was terrified of
catching the disease; in fact, she was so terrified that she went to what some
would call extreme measures.
6. Who was the Queen who reigned during
Shakespeare’s time? Describe her.
William Shakespeare, the great English
playwright, poet and actor, was born in April 1564, and died on 23 April 1616.
The two monarchs whose lives coincided with
his were: Queen Elizabeth I reigned from 17th November 1558 until her death on
24th March 1603. This was the Elizabethan Era, sometimes known as The Golden
Age. King James I (who was also King James VI of Scotland) reigned in England
from 24th March 1603 until his death on 27th March 1625. His reign is known as
the Jacobean era, Jacob being an alternative forms of James.
Elizabeth I picture: http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz1-scrots.jpg&imgrefurl=http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz1.html&h=495&w=370&sz=60&tbnid=zczSzuz-snRAiM:&tbnh=97&tbnw=73&zoom=1&usg=__IFuX2uNYttstNg3iaoKV5IPRiD0=&docid=bAkhxCYxuOrSFM&sa=X&ei=9QPbUZT2O4bcyQHcj4GQCg&ved=0CEIQ9QEwBg&dur=1472
Describe of Elizabeth’s life
Food: Varied according to status and
wealth. It was prepared through spit roasting, baking, boiling, smoking,
salting, and frying.
Socialization: Big cities where a lot of
people lived. Suburbs of London had a lot of theaters and attracted people from
all places.
City life, hygiene, and crime: Hygiene was
bad because bathing was not simple; crimes were frequent, like high treason,
spying, murder, and witchcraft. Houses were crammed together and streets were
narrow.
Homes: High chimneys, thatched roofs, glass
windows, symmetrical facades
Clothing: Clothes were dictated by wealthy.
There were underclothes and over clothes.
7. What was Shakespeare’s wife’s name? What
did he leave her in his will?
Shakespeare’s wife’s name is Anne Hathaway
Facts. Anne was born in 1555 and lived in Shottery and Stratford-upon-Avon. In
addition, she married November 1582 to William Shakespeare aged 26 and has
three children (two daughters, one son) William.
Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway’s
picture: http://love-of-history.tumblr.com/post/32352502943/this-is-anne-hathaway-the-wife-of-william
Shakespeare's will is famous because the
only mention that Shakespeare specifically makes of his wife was to leave her
his "second best bed"
"Second best bed" picture:http://www.literarygenius.info/william-shakespeare-last-will-testament.htm
This sounds terrible but is, however,
understood that she would have had the right, through English Common Law, to
one-third of his estate as well as residence for life at New Place.
Reference:
http://www.literarygenius.info/william-shakespeare-last-will-testament.htm
8. What happened to Shakespeare’s son?
William Shakespeare’s son name is Hamnet.
Little is known about the life of William Shakespeare's son Hamnet. He was
raised in his grandfather's house predominantly by his mother Anne as his
father's work in the theatre was based in London. There are no records that
show that Hamnet Shakespeare ever attended a school although it was customary
for a boy from Hamnet's background to have had an education. Neither of
Hamnet's sisters had an education and neither of them were able to read or
write. There were constant outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as
the Black Death or the Black Plague, during Elizabethan times and in 1596
Hamnet contracted the deadly disease and died at the age of eleven.
Shakespeare's son Hamnet was buried in Stratford on August 11, 1596.
William Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet picture
(middle of the picture): http://dingeengoete.blogspot.ca/2012/04/this-day-in-history-apr-23-1564-william.html
Reference: http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-children-and-grandchildren.htm
9. Shakespeare also wrote hundreds of
sonnets. For what two people is he believed to have written them?
Not all of the sonnets that follow are
written to the man, but it could be argued that, without the original impulse
to write the first ones, no others would have been written. Sonnets 1-126 are
addressed to the youth, if not directly so, at least by implication. Of the 28
that follow to the mistress, in three of them the youth is deeply implicated,
so that only 25 out of more than 150 are addressed to the 'Dark Lady'. Even
these could be regarded as supplementary to the main body, as they depict a
less than ideal love in contrast to that which has already been amply shown to
be divine in the preceding 126.
Reference: http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/dedication
10. Who compiled Shakespeare’s plays into
the collection known as the First Folio after his death? What plays are missing
form the First Folio?
Shakespeare’s genius was not full
appreciated until after his death in 1616. Seven years later, two of his fellow
actors and closest friends, John Heminge and Henry Condell, decided to produce
an authoritative collection of 36 of his plays. This was the First Folio.
For 10 years, Interpol had been watching
for the reappearance of one of Britain's great literary treasures, a First Folio
of Shakespeare's complete plays, printed soon after his death, worth around
£15m.
Part of a Durham University collection, the
work had been stolen in 1998, along with early handwritten manuscripts bearing
an English translation of the New Testament and a fragment of a poem by
Chaucer, from a public display charting the progress of English literature from
the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
Backstory
The First Folio is the first published
edition of the collected works of Shakespeare. It was published in 1623, seven
years after the playwright's death. The folio includes 36 plays, 18 of which,
including Macbeth, had never been printed before. Without the First Folio many
of Shakespeare's plays would probably have been lost forever, earning it the
title of, "the most important work in the English language". The
plays were collected by Shakespeare's friends and fellow actors John Heminge
and Henry Condell, and were printed by Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount. About
1,000 copies of the First Folio were published, roughly a quarter of which have
survived into the present day. On its publication, the folio sold for £1. It
now has an estimated value of £15m.
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