User:Andydilan2004/sandbox

Shakespeare's Personal Life:

Facts:

*He most likely attended the King's New School taught reading, writing and the classics.

*William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway

*Baptised on April 26th ,1564

* Believed he was born on or near April 23, 1564

*Their first child, a daughter named Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583. Two years later, on February 2, 1585, twins Hamnet and Judith were born. Hamnet later died of unknown causes at age 11.

*Across his life, Shakespeare’s wife have birth to three children, two of which were twins. Though one of the twins, Hammer, does died of an unknown disease at the age of 11.                               *By 1592 Shakespeare earned a living as an actor and a playwright. Made several plays

*His father, John Shakespeare, worked as a successful leather-man, who prospered in business.

*In his lifetime, William Shakespeare was thought to have added approximately 1700-3000 words to the English Language.

*When writing scripts, William Shakespeare would take other books as inspiration or reference. This showed that he must’ve read a lot of books in his pastime.

*‘William Shakespeare’ is an anagram of ‘I am a weakish speller’

*Writing with equipment from 1604 was not a fast process, since the primary tools were a quill ( often made with a goose feather and some ink to dip in. With over 25 years of writing experience, Shakespeare has created his own legacy, amounting to 37 plays and 154 sonnets, 900000 words in total.

His Early Life:

Shakespeare was born in on or near April 23,1564  and was thought to be baptised on the 26th of April but much information has been lost due to the course of time.He was born on the in Stratford-upon-Avon, England and was the third child of the family and it is believed that he was fortunate enough to have a good education.Scholars say that he most probably was educated in King's New School which where he was taught reading writing and the classics.

Marriage/Life:

William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on November 28th 1582 in a place called Worcester.His wife was from a small village west of Stratford.At the time of the marriage William was 18 and Anne was 18 who was also pregnant. Their first child was a daughter who they named Susana and was born on May 26 th ,1583.Two years later they then had twins whom they named Hamnet and Judith but unfortunately ,Hamnet died at the age of 11.

The Lost Years:

The lost year were a collection of seven years of his life and has been question by scholars of what he was during the time.During many years many theories have been made to explain the lost records of these years and one that scholars have devised is that he went into hiding from the local landlord.Most of these explanations are only theories so may not be true but it is normally believed that William Shakespeare arrived in London in the late 1500’s and found work as a horse attendant.Scholars can only comprise theories of the lost year but all they know is that the series of seven years was after William’s birth of twins.

Theatrical Beginnings

In 1592, there was already evidence that Shakespeare was already involving in playwriting in London and possibly already some plays made. On September 20, 1592, a London playwright by the name of Robert Greene wrote an article criticising another person. Through the text, it showed that Robert was inferring to Shakespeare. By the early 1590s, documents showed that William Shakespeare was a management partner in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, an acting company at the time. Early in his career, Shakespeare managed to catch the attention of Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton, writing two poems just for him His hard work will cause his popularity to spike.

Establishing Himself:Eventually, William Shakespeare and his business partners built themselves a theatre on the south bank of the Thames River, called the Globe. Shakespeare was also into investing, buying real estate and then leasing or selling back, who amounted to huge profits.

He also bought the second largest house in Stratford, called New House, for his family

Diet/Daily Life:

For breakfast, Shakespeare would most likely have a morning beer with his family, since drinking ale was quite common in his time, instead of water to rehydrate. Water back then could be contaminated, so beer was actually a safer option.

Lunch was often homemade for Shakespeare, usually by his servants or family. Milk was often accompanied and Shakespeare stockpiled malt (a type of wheat) can be sold in emergency situations.

Shakespeare was very well-off, as of such he had access to luxuries that only the rich could afford. Meat and other fruits and vegetables were common dinners.

Contribution to English Language:

William Shakespeare has helped expanding the English language, making it more colourful and expressive. Shakespeare has created new words by slightly changing currently existing words at the time and just outright creating original words. Today many of Shakespeare’s words and phrases are integrated into the English vocabulary. Even though the English language has shaped so much compared to Shakespeare’s time( in the rule of Queen Elizabeth I), some of Shakespeare’s words and phrases are still commonly used or known today.

Legacy:

William Shakespeare was one of the most famous and influential people in the history of English.He has produced many famous tragedies and comedic plays that are now famous now and in now a part of his legacy he left behind after dying on April 23 rd ,1616.Some tragedies that he wrote that he left behind include “Romeo and Juliet” and also “Macbeth”.There are many that he has written but these two are the most famous of the lot.Some comedies that he has written include “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Measure and Measure”.He has also recorded about history informing us of the time of some kings and queens.He also invented a number of english words and wrote many poems.Shakespeare was and still is one of the most influential playwrights that has influenced modern english.

Shakespeare's Work and the Conventions of Comedy and Tragedy:

Shakespeare’s works can usually be separated into three categories: comedy, tragedy and history. History-

These plays focus on the English monarch and the propaganda behind Elizabethan rule, focusing on the dangers of civil conflict and focused on Queen Elizabeth’s Tudor ancestors. Modern research shows that depictions of these historical figures were often inaccurate but it showed that plays were an effective method to pass on information to people in an age where historical information was hard to pass down.

Historical plays by Shakepeare includes: King John, Richard II, Henry V etc.Tragedy-

These plays were considered as tragedies if the plays involved a heavy plot with more dramatic antics and resulting in the death of the main character. The main features of an Shakespearean tragedy includes:

• Ends in death
• Character experiences mental stress and trauma
• A character that is usually noble but due to a character flaw, it leads to his/ her eventual downfall

Tragedies by Shakespeare  include: Romeo and Juliet, hamlet, macbeth, julius caesar etc.

Comedy:

The definition of “comedy” may not necessarily be what modern comedy is but in Shakespeare’s comedy plays it normally results in a happy ending or marriage. The main features of a comedy includes:

• use of puns
• conflicts that are resolved in the end

   - lovers that overcome problems, usually caused by the elders

Comedies by Shakespeare include: Midsummer’s night dream, All’s well that ends well, The tempest etc.

Shakespearean Language

Back in 1590, english language was only 100 years, old, as such Vocabulary was limited and earlier documents were still written in Latin. Throughout his life, shakespeare has contributed to approximately 3000 new english words to the English language. In around 1450, middle english, which would be unrecognisable today, was replaced with Early Modern English, which Shakespeare uses, is nearly identical to today’s english. Shakespeare has created many popular phrases such as “good riddance”, “seen better days” , “break the ice”.

Elizabeth England

The Great Chain of Being

In Elizabethan times, there was a different way of looking at life. People, including Shakespeare believed in a Divine Order, or A Great Chain of Being. The Great Chain of Being was the belief that everything in the universe has a specific place and rank in order of their perceived importance and the amount of “spirit” a person or object which would depend their power.

The more spirit an object was thought to have, the higher in rank they would be in Divine Order. An example of the Great Chain of Being would be:

Most Amount of Spirit/Highest on the Divine Order:

File:The Great Chain of Being- May.jpg

The image above displays rankings of certain living and non living things in "The Great Chain of Being", depending on their level of spirit.

-God

-Angels(Seraphim, cherubim)

-Human(e.g Kings,merchants, men, women)

-Animals(eg dogs,lions)

-Plants (Grass, trees)

Least Amount of Spirit/Lowest on the Divine Order

-Non Living Objects (e.g rocks, metals)

Within eac category they were more specific ordering depending on the amounts of spirit/power

Below is an example of The Great Chain of Being for humans in Shakespeare time:

Most Amount of Spirit/Highest on the Greatest Chain of Being:

-Kings

-Queen

-Nobles

-Merchants

Least ranking:

-Peasants

Within families there were even specific ordering , Fathers and Mothers being at the tip and Daughters and Servants being at the bottom.

The more “spirit” the person or object, the more power it had in its interactions with people or things below in the order. People is Elizabethan England believed that God set up this Great Chain of Being and wanted it to be followed. If someone were to break the “Great Chain of Being” by being disrespectful to those above them in ranking they person or thing that went against the God’s will would be punished. Bigger betrayals were believed to bring bigger punishments by God, while smaller betrayals would bring smaller punishment. Concepts of the Great Chain of Being also include, “everything in the world has its own place”, No matter what you do, you cannot make your way up in the chain and you are that you are born with for the rest of your life and it is impossible to change your ranking. The lower classes were to submit to the upper classes. The upper classes, in turn, were responsible for the welfare and upkeep of the lower classes.This was a very convenient way for people higher in the “Great Chain of Being” in order to maintain their power.

Shakespeare sincerely believed in the Divine Order and many of the plays he made revolved around this belief. Some of the plays that reflect the Great Chin of Being include Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet in order to maintain God’s order. Below is an example of the "Great Chain of Being" in William Shakespeare's King Lear.

Presented in William Shakespeare's King Lear Play:

• Lear is the King he is, a man of great power
• Relinquishes the kingdom to his daughters, as a reward, to test their love for him
• Lear surrounds himself with people who use him (i.e his daughters (except Cordelia) )
• Edmund is considered low on the chain because of the circumstances that surrounds his birth
• Father treats him poorly because of his illegitimacy
  • i.e.: King acknowledges his intent to abdicate his thrown

• By surrendering the throne to fuel his ego he disrupts the Great Chain of Being because he is challenging the position that God has given him
• Chaos occurs later in the play
• Lear banishes those around him that genuinely care for him.

Divine Right of Kings

The divine right of Kings refers to the saying that the monarch must not rule by human influence but under the command of god. In one of shakespeare’s most famous play, Macbeth, it follows the story of Macbeth, who was told to be the next king by three witches, and in order to do that, he must overthrow the current king, Duncan, who was chosen to be king by God, and when Macbeth killed Duncan and became king, he defied the divine right of kings, and thus defied God.

Religion

William Shakespeare was born under the rule of Elizabeth I, who was Protestant and outlawed Catholicism. Shakespeare’s public faith would have been Protestant. Shakespeare's, parents were very likely covert Catholics and Shakespeare’s father , John, was close friends with William Catesby, the father of the head planning to plow the Protestant monarchy.

Like other English subjects whole lived through Reformation Shakespeare was obliged to attend Church of England services. He is classified as A Protestant however many scholars have argued that there is evidence that he has connection with Catholicism, which had been been illegal in England through the banning of its priest.

With-craft & Superstition

*During the Renaissance times people believed they were witches either good or bad

*They were found in Eastern and Central Europe

*Bathing wasn’t popular, so they were many diseases spread around and people believed that being sick was a sin so they would go to the church to get blessed, which did not help the lack of hygiene back then.

*Some of the superstitions that people believed in include:

-Black cat walking you path ( which represented bad luck)

-An eclipse

-Spilling salt ( salt was extremely expensive in Elizabethan Times so spilling it was bad luck)

- walking under a ladder ( means bad luck since ladders represent the gallows, which were places for hanging people)

- The main religion back in Shakespearean times were Roman Catholic, of which some people opposed to their practices which began the Protestant Reformation, which spread Protestant Practices quickly into a large community and quickly gained popularity.

- Medical sciences in Shakespearean times followed the theory of “humours”, where the human body is composed of four different liquids: blood, yellow bile, black bile,phlegm; releasing vapours into the brain and altering the state of mind.