👑 WHO WAS WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE?
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hakespeare this, Shakespeare that...It seems thewhole world is talking about William Shakespeare.
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So, what's all the fuss about?
ho is this man and why can’t we seem to get enough of him?
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William Shakespeare was apoet and playwrightwholived inEngland during the 16th and 17th
centuries.
He is consideredone of the most important writersof all time, and his38 playshave beentranslated
into many languages.
His work has had aprofound impacton literature andculture.
His writing helpedshape the English languagewe usetoday, and his plays areessential reading
worldwide.
According to Hamlet, plays“hold as ’twere the mirrorup to nature”— and Shakespeare’s do exactly
that.
Hisuniversal themes,complex plots, andthree-dimensionalcharactersallow us to explorehuman
naturedeeply.
This is the secret to Shakespeare’senduring appeal..
📜 WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: A LIFE IN FACTS
While we know a lot about Shakespeare's works, we know less about his personal life.
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Date of Birth
We don't actually know.
He wasbaptised on 26 April 1564.
Since children were typically baptisedthree daysafter birth, we celebrate hisbirthday on 23 April.
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Place of Birth
Stratford-upon-Avon, a small town in England,now apopular tourist destination.
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Education
This may surprise you, but Shakespeare probably didn't stay in school for as long as most of you will have
to. He likelystarted school at 7 years oldandfinishedat 15.
School started at6 a.m.and finished at6 p.m.,focusingmainly onLatin.
Girls werenot allowedto attend school at the time.
👨👩👧 Family
isparentswereJohn Shakespeare, a glove maker,andMary Arden, the daughter of a local landowner.
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At age 18, hemarried Anne Hathawayin 1582; she was26 at the time.
Together they hadthree children: Susanna, and twinsHamnet and Judith.
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Career
Shakespeare’s careerbegan as an actor.
He later joined atheatre troupeand moved toLondon,becoming aplaywrightandsuccessful
businessman. By the end of the1500s, he wasquiterich..
Throughout his career, he wrote around 38 plays and 154 sonnets.
He also invented or popularized about 3,000 new English words still in use today! Words like bedroom,
eyeball and gossip were created by him.
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Death
Hedied on 23 April 1616at his home,New Place, the second biggest house in Stratford.
In 1759, the ownerdemolished the housebecause therewere too many visitors!
🎭 DID YOU KNOW...
bardwas aprofessional storytellerin medievaltimes.
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Because of Shakespeare’s huge contribution to English literature, he’s often called“The Bard”.
🧠 ARE YOU A SHAKESPEARE BUFF?
Let’s find out!
1. When was Shakespeare born?
2. Where was he born?
3. Do we know where Shakespeare went to school?
4. What were his parents' names?
5. In 1582 Shakespeare was married, but to whom?
6. Shakespeare had three children. What were their names?
7. Shakespeare died on his birthday in what year?
8. How many plays did Shakespeare write?
9. How many sonnets is he believed to have written?
10.Approximately how many new words is Shakespeare supposed to have created?
● a) 150
● b) 1,000
● c) 3,000
● d) 10,000
🎬 WAS SHAKESPEARE A POET OR A PLAYWRIGHT?
WHAT IS A PLAY?
e often think of Shakespeare’splays:Romeo and Juliet,Hamlet, etc.
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Aplayis aliterary textwritten by aplaywright(the word'wright'means'maker', so a playwrightis
literally amaker of plays) where a story unfoldsthroughaction and dialogue.
Plays are meant to beperformed liveon stage.
The plot is divided intoacts and scenes, andcharactersdrive the story with their dialogue, actions and
relationships.
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Similar to a film script — but with one big difference:
On stage, there’sno room for mistakes. On a filmset, where a single scene can be shot several times
over, you may be forgiven for forgetting your lines now and then; however, on stage, in front of a living,
breathing audience, an actor has no choice but to get it right first time.
Every performance isunique, influenced byaudienceenergyandactors’ improvisations—
and that’s what makes Shakespeare’s playsmagical.
But we mustn't forget that he was also apoet, anda pretty good one too.
MAKING SENSE OF SHAKESPEARE: IAMBIC PENTAMETER
hen you begin to read Shakespeare's writing out loud, you can't miss the fact there is often arhythmto
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his words.
In fact, a large proportion of his plays are written inverse. He was, after all, apoet at heart.
Shakespeare alternates betweenprose and poetryinhis plays for a number of reasons.
One reason is to help us, as the audience, toidentifythe social classof the characters in a play:
● Upper-class or royalcharacters →verse
Commoners(such as people of the working classes or peasants) →prose
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When Shakespeare did write in verse, his preferred rhythm wasiambic pentameter.
But what exactly is this?
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Watch the short videoto find out what iambic pentameteris and to develop an understanding of why it
is used:
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As you watch, answer the following questions:
1️⃣
Identifythree effectsof iambic pentameter andwrite them down.
2️⃣
According to the video, what aretwo easy waysto help you remember what iambic pentameter is?
Now let's see if we can identify the rhythm ourselves.
Read'Sonnet 18'on page 131, and highlight thestressedbeats.
Remember, there areten beats to a linein iambicpentameter.
Have some fun performing the poem to other members of your group.
After all,poetry was written to be recited.
As you watch:
● Identifythree effectsof iambic pentameter.
● Notetwo waysto remember what it is.
hen, read“Sonnet 18”below andhighlight the stressedbeats.
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Tryperformingit — poetry was made to be spoken!
💘 WHAT IS A SONNET?
lthough well known for his plays, Shakespeare was ultimately apoetand wrote an incredible154 sonnets
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during his lifetime.
Asonnetis a14-line poem, which has a very specificrhythm and rhyme,often aboutlove.
The form, which originated inItaly, was adapted byShakespeare. He created his own version and so the
Shakespearean (or Elizabethan) sonnetwas born.
Here's one for us to explore.
🌞 SONNET 18
hall I compare thee to a summer'sday?
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Thou art more lovely and moretemperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds ofMay,
And summer's lease hath all too short adate.
ometime too hot the eye of heavenshines,
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And often is his gold complexiondimmed;
And every fair from fair sometimedeclines,
By chance, or nature's changing course,untrimmed;
ut thy eternal summer shall notfade,
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Nor lose possession of that fair thouow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wand'rest in hisshade,
When in eternal lines to time thougrow’st.
o long as men can breathe, or eyes cansee,
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So long lives this, and this gives life tothee.
STRUCTURE OF A SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET
● ritten iniambic pentameter:
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● Begins withthree quatrains(4-line stanzas)
● Alternate rhyme scheme:abab cdcd efef
● Ends with arhyming couplet (gg)
● Includes avolta(changein tone or idea), often aroundline 9 or 13
