A portrait of William Shakespeare by an unknown artist. It is a copy made in the early 19th century of a portrait that was in the Folio edition of the plays of Shakespeare, which was published in 1623. This copy is called the Flowers portrait because it was owned by a family called Flowers. The Life of William Shakespeare William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small town in central England. The exact date of his birth is not known, but many people like to believe that he was born on 23 April. This is St George s Day, the day of the patron saint of England. William Shakespeare s father made and sold gloves. 1 He was involved in local politics in Stratford-upon-Avon, and became the town mayor. 2 It is likely that William Shakespeare was educated at the grammar school in Stratford-upon- Avon, where boys were taught Latin and Roman history. When he was eighteen Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who was eight years older than himself. They had three children: a daughter, Susanna, and twins, Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died young, at the age of eleven. We do not know what Shakespeare did immediately after marriage, and there are a lot of stories about what have been called the missing years. It is known, 1. gloves : you wear these on your hands. 2. mayor [meaɾ] : the head of the government of a town or city. 4
however, that he later went to London, where he became one of the owners of a theatrical company called the Lord Chamberlain s 1 Men. It seems he was an actor before he began to write plays. He wrote thirty-eight plays, as well as poetry. After his death, some friends of Shakespeare collected his work and published it in 1623. In 1599, Shakespeare s company built one of the most famous theatres in London, the Globe Theatre. The company changed its name to the King s Men in 1603, when James I became king, and from 1609 its main theatre was the Blackfriars. Shakespeare became rich and successful and retired to Stratford-upon-Avon in 1613. He died there on 23 April 1616. Visitors to Stratford-upon-Avon today can see many of the buildings associated with Shakespeare s life, including the house where he was born and Anne Hathaway s cottage. They can also visit the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and go to performances of Shakespeare s plays. The modern reconstruction of the Globe Theatre in London, very near the site of Shakespeare s Globe, which was destroyed by fire in 1613. 1. Lord Chamberlain : a very important official at the royal court. 5
1 Comprehension check Answer the questions. 1 Why do people like to think that Shakespeare was born on 23 April? 2 What kind of school did Shakespeare go to? 3 What are the missing years? 4 Where did Shakespeare work when he went to London? 5 What did Shakespeare do before he started writing plays? 6 How many plays did Shakespeare write? 7 Who were the King s Men? 8 When and where did Shakespeare die? INTERNET PROJECT Go to the Internet and go to www.blackcat-cideb.com or www.cideb.it. Insert the title or part of the title of the book into our search engine. Open the page to Julius Caesar. Click on the Internet project link. Scroll down the page until you find the title of this book and click on the relevant link for this project. In pairs or small groups, plan a weekend in Stratford-upon-Avon, and then present your plans to the class. Download some pictures of places that interest you to include in your report. Say: where you are going to stay what historical places you are going to visit where you are going to eat what other things you are going to do 6
The Theatre in Shakespeare s Times Shakespeare went to London at an exciting time in the history of the theatre. In the recent past, plays had been performed by groups of travelling players. The life of these travelling players was hard. They moved from town to town, usually performing in the courtyards of inns 1. Theatre companies and actors were unpopular with the civil and church authorities: they were not seen as respectable people. Audiences at their performances did not behave with much respect, either. 1 courtyards of inns : inns were places to eat, drink and stay the night, and courtyards were the spaces in front of them or behind them. Kermesse at Audenarde by the Dutch artist David Vinckboons (about 1576-1632). The kermesse was the annual fair held at Oudenaarde in Belgium (called Audenarde in French). To the right of the centre you can see actors performing on a temporary stage. The audience is not watching in respectful silence! 37
Few new plays were written for these groups of actors, and they mostly used traditional plays. Even in Shakespeare s day the authorities in London did not have a very high opinion of the theatre and actors. But there were some professional theatre companies that were sponsored by important people. Shakespeare joined one of these companies, the Lord Chamberlain s Men (see page 5). Building theatres for the professional companies was a new activity. It is not surprising that the first theatres looked a little like the old courtyards where so many actors had performed for years. A map of London (1598) in Shakespeare s time. The theatres were in Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. There was only one bridge over the Thames, called London bridge. 38
One of the problems that the new theatres had in London was the health risk caused by large numbers of people being so close together in the audience, and in times of plague 1 the theatres were closed. There was also a risk of fire (as happened to the Globe in 1613) because all the buildings were made of wood. Because there was no artificial lighting, plays in Shakespeare s day were usually performed in the middle of the afternoon. Women were not allowed to act on stage, so female parts were played by boys. Costumes worn by the players could be very luxurious, and cost a lot of money, but they were always 16th-century 1 plague : a general name given for diseases that passed easily from person to person, and which usually killed. About 50 years after Shakespeare, the Great Plague of 1665 killed at least 70,000 people in London. The Globe Theatre before it burnt down in 1613. The flag, which could be seen from far away, was a sign that there was going to be a play that afternoon. A white flag meant there was going to be a comedy, a black flag meant a tragedy and a red flag meant a history play. 39
clothes: there was no attempt to create a historical feeling, so Shakespeare s Julius Caesar did not wear a toga. There was much less scenery 1 than in the theatre today: Shakespeare used his words to create a sense of place but some stage machinery was used to make special sound effects, and to make some characters such as witches or spirits fly over the stage. Special effects such as the noise of thunder could be made, too, but some spectacular effects were dangerous: a canon which exploded during a performance of Henry VIII caused the fire which burnt down the Globe. 1 scenery : objects and painting on stage which show where a play takes place. 1 Comprehension check Answer the following questions. 1 What was the attitude to actors in Shakespeare s time? 2 What did early theatres look like? 3 What two big problems did early theatres face? 4 When were plays in Shakespeare s time usually performed? Why? 5 Who played female parts? 6 What can you say about costumes, scenery and special effects? INTERNET PROJECT Go to the Internet and go to www.blackcat-cideb.com or www.cideb.it. Insert the title or part of the title of the book into our search engine. Open the page to Julius Caesar. Click on the Internet project link. Scroll down the page until you find the title of this book and click on the relevant link for this project. Find out about the building of the new Globe: whose idea was it, and what happened to him? Go on a virtual tour. Tell the class what you found interesting. 40