THE WORLD OF SHAKESPEARE

LIFE
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, in
England, on 23 April 1564. He was the third of seven
children born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden.
Shakespeares father was a tanner and glovemaker. He was a
fairly prominent political figure as well, being an alderman
of Stratford for years and serving a term as high bailiff, the
equivalent of a mayor today.
William Shakespeare attended King Edward VI school, a
good
grammar
school
in
Stratford--upon-Avon.
his
instructors were all Oxford graduates, and his studies were
probably in Latin, Logic, Rhetoric and History.
In 1582, at the age of 18, Shakespeare married Anne
Hathaway. She, eight years his senior, was already expecting
their first child. Suzanna was duly born in 1583, and was
soon followed by the twins Hamnet and Judith, in 1585. By
1592, Shakespeare was an established playwright in London;
however, the plague kept the theatres closed most of the
time. It was during this period that Shakespeare wrote his
earliest sonnets and poems.
Shakespeare did most of his early theatre work in two
London theatres owned by James Burbage called The
Theatre and The Curtain. Despite the personal tragedy of
losing his son, Hamnet, to the plague in 1596, Shakespeare
prospered in this period. He was able to buy New Place, one
of the finest houses in Stratford, in 1597.
In the following year The Lord Chamberlains Men - the
theatre group in which he worked - relocated to bankside
and the newly built Globe Theatre. Shakespeare owned
stock in the theatre and made decent money from the
productions. Around this time, Shakespeare applied for, and
got, a coat of arms with the motto: non sanz droict (not
without right). This gave him the standing of a gentleman,
something that was generally associated with actors, who
were considered to be in the same class as vagrants and
criminals.
In 1603 Shakespeares theatrical company was taken under
the patronage of James I and became known as the Kings
Company. In 1609, the company began performing at the
Blackfriars Theatre. Around this time, Shakespeare joined a
group of writers who gathered at the Mermaid Tavern in

Cheapside, Their number included Sir Walter Raleigh - the

founder - and Ben Johnson.
Shakespeare retired from theatre in 1610 and returned to
Stratford. He lost much money in 1613 when the Globe
theatre burned down, but remained wuite wealthy and
contributed to the building of the new Globe Theatre.
Shakespeare died on hid birthday, 23 April, in 1616 and was
buried in the chancel of the Church of the Holy Trinity in
Stratford-upon-Avon. Shakespeares relationship with his
daughter Judith had soured when she married Thomas
Quiney, a disreputable figure. As a result his will left almost
his entire estate to Suzanna, except for his second-best bed,
which he left to his wife.
UNDERSTANDING SHAKESPEARE
TYPES OF SHAKESPEREAN PLAYS
People often divide Shakespeares plays into three groups.
These are Histories, Comedies and Tragedies.
Shakespeares career began with History plays. He produced
a trilogy of works about Henry VI and followed this with
Richard III and Titus Andronicus. By 1594 he had written
The comedy of Errors, the first of the Comedies. The tragedy
Romeo and Juliet arrived a year later. Shakespeare
proceeded to produce a mixture of Histories and Comedies
until 1600, when he wrote Hamlet. From this point on his
work became increasingly serious. Further great tragedies
such as Othello (1603), King Lear (1605) and Macbeth
(1606) came soon afterwards.
Some argue that the pattern of Shakespeares work reflect
broad changes in English society. The end of the Elizabethan
era was an optimistic time, with England developing a new
sense of being a world power. Most of the Histories and
Comedies were written during this period. After Jamess I
accession to the throne, in 1603, the nation became less
confident and more introspective. This is the time at which
the tragedies came to dominate Shakespeares output.
THE HISTORIES
Shakespeare used his knowledge of English history,
especially of the great civil wars and political figures, to give
his audience stirring tales which bring out the best aspects
of English bravery, good humour and triumphs over other

countries. They allow a mix of heroic deeds and comic

insights into the characters of the Welsh, the Scots and the
Irish. In the Histories, England is the hero.
The Histories are: Henry VI (part 1), Henry VI (part 2), Henry
VI (part 3), Richard III, Titus Andronicus, Richard II, King
John, Henry IV (part 1), Henry IV (part II), Henry V, Julius
Cesar, Timon of Athens and Antony and Cleopatra.
THE COMEDIES
Theatre in Shakespeares time had to operate in a
commercial environment, just the same as it has now.
Understanding this, Shakespeare employed his consummate
skills to please audiences with jokes, comic characters and
situations in the Comedies. They are a light-hearted display
of the things that go wrong between friends, between lovers
and between families. Whatever the dilemma, problem or
confusion, in the comedies there is a happy outcome, and
human faults and follies are seen as amusing rather than
something to fear.
The comedies are: The Taming of the Shrew, Two Gentlemen
of Verona, The Comedy of Errors, Loves Labours Lost, A
Midsummer Nights Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor,
Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night.

THE TRAGEDIES
The Tragedies find Shakespeare in more probing and
philosophical mode. He looks at jealousy, ambition, selfdoubt and passion as parts of human nature that can be
inspiring but also dangerous. In these plays the faults and
follies of human beings have serious consequences and cause
real, and irreparable damage.
The Tragedies are: Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of
Venice, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth.
WHAT DO ALL SHAKESPEARES PLAYS HAVE IN COMMON?
All Shakespearean plays follow the classic plot framework of:
SITUATION: The first stage of a Shakesperean play
introduces the characters and the situation they find
themselves in. Usually in the first scene Shakespeare
introduces an apparently ordered society where peoples

lives are about to be disrupted by an agent (or agents) of

change. The play might begin with minor characters
discussing the instability of society or plotting to overthrow
the natural order. the established order then comes under
threat, usually by the end of the very first scene. This is
rarely apparent to the characters involved, but almost always
obvious to the audience.
COMPLICATION: The situation is followed by the longest
section of the plot, often referred to as Complication. In it a
problem intensifies the gradual deterioration of society from
order into disorder. The agent of change might encourage a
character to behave in a way which creates confusion and
chaos. Passions, instincts and desires which are basic to all
humans are released in and uncontrolled way. The problem
often reaches a climax where it appears to the audience that
order can never be restored and the society will en in chaos.
RESOLUTION: The final section of the play will ideally end
with some return to stability and order. The character whose
actions triggered the disorder, possibly because they allowed
an agent of change to alter their behaviour, either returns to
a socially acceptable role or, in the case of Tragedies like
Macbeth, is punished with death.