Shakespeare Int

William Shakespeare: 

William Shakespeare International Man of Mystery

Shakespeare Dragnet: 

Shakespeare Dragnet “Just the facts, ma’am”

How we know what we know...: 

How we know what we know... Public records - baptism, death, marriage, business and legal transactions Theatrical Documents - payroll, lists, commissions Stories told by his contemporaries Allusions to Shakespeare made by other writers alive at the same time

Baptism: 

Baptism April 26, 1564 Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. Third of eight children born to John & Mary Shakespeare (first boy, first to survive) Source: Church’s baptismal records The entry is in Latin and reads, "Guiliamus filius Johannes Shakspere"; that is, "William son of John Shakspere." Assumption: Birth date - April 23, 1564

Death: 

Death April 23, 1616 Buried at Holy Trinity Church two days later Final will executed March 25, 1616 He left his wife the second best bed His death and burial as recorded in the church records

Family: 

Family November 27, 1582, granted a marriage license between “Wm Shaxpere et [and] Anne Whateley” November 28, 1582, posted a 40 pound bond for the legality of marriage between “William Shagspere and Anne Hathwey”

Family: 

Family May 26, 1583 - First child, Susanna, was christened. February 2, 1585 - Twins, Judith and Hamnet, were christened. At some point before 1592, he left his family in Stratford, went to London and became an actor. He did not return to Stratford to live until 1610 or 1611 when he semi-retired.

Career: 

Career Henry IV, Part 1 - first play thought to have been written no later than 1592, possibly as early as 1588. Semi-retired in 1610 or 1611, thought to have written three plays ( Henry VIII and Two Noble Kinsmen and possibly one lost play, Cardenio ) with John Fletcher during his retirement.

Career: 

Career Earliest official record of Shakespeare in the theater is dated March 15, 1595, in the Declared Accounts of the Treasurer of the Royal Chamber. To Will Kempe Will Shakespeare & Richarde Burbage servantes to the Lord Chamberleyne vpon the councelles warr[ant] dated at Whitehall XV to Martii 159[5] for twoe severall comedies of Enterludes shewed by them before her Ma[je y] in [Christ]mas tyme laste paste viz vpon St Stephens daye & Innocentes daye xiij vj viij and by waye of her Ma[je y's] Rewarde vj xiij iiij in all xx In total, the Queen paid 20 pounds for the whole show.

Career: 

Career 37 Plays - most as sole writer, some in collaboration Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, Romeo & Juliet Comedies: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, As You Like It Histories: Richard II, Richard III, Julius Caesar, Henry V And everything in between: The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale

Career: 

Career 150 poems - including sonnets longer works like Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece

Shakespeare in London: 

Shakespeare in London Elizabeth I and James I ruled England during his career London in the early 17th century, from a view by Claes Jansz Visscher. From Shakespeare's England (1917)

Shakespeare in London: 

Shakespeare in London The Plague hit London four times during Shakespeare’s career, closing the theaters each time. 1582, 1592 (15,000 deaths), 1603, 1607

Shakespeare Intrigue: 

Shakespeare Intrigue Who was he really? What did he really write?

Top 10 reasons people believe Shakespeare was someone else: 

Top 10 reasons people believe Shakespeare was someone else 10. Shakespeare made no mention of the disposition of his plays and books in his will. 9. He allowed his plays to be published without his name and pirated during his lifetime. 8. His name is often spelled differently, sometimes with a hyphen, in manuscripts. 7. There is very little information about him compared to other lesser poets of the time. 6. He never wrote a eulogy for Queen Elizabeth when almost every other poet of the time did.

Top 10 reasons people believe Shakespeare was someone else: 

Top 10 reasons people believe Shakespeare was someone else 5. Little notice seems to have been taken of his death, especially compared to that of Richard Burbage. 4. There is little evidence he went to school, yet his plays use an extraordinary vocabulary of 15,000 - 20,000 words. 3. His plays show a considerable knowledge of science, law, art, military matters, and literature of several languages. 2. He was a small-town boy who never traveled, yet his plays reflect an extensive knowledge of foreign countries. 1. He was a commoner, yet his plays show an intimate knowledge of court life, politics and intrigue.

Prime Suspects: 

Prime Suspects Sir Francis Bacon A court insider with the knowledge and skill to do it, ...but did he have the time? He wrote 58 essays, and 30 philosophical works, and that’s not all.

Prime Suspects: 

Christopher Marlowe Had the talent and the writing style, …but he was slain in a duel in 1593 in front of about 16 witnesses. Still, he could have faked his own death to avoid being tried for atheism. Prime Suspects

Prime Suspects: 

Edward de Vere (Earl of Oxford) A court insider with superior education and a penchant for poetry and the theater, …but he died in 1604. Still, his coat of arms is a lion shaking a spear, and there are other weird parallels. Prime Suspects

Prime Suspects: 

Queen Elizabeth I No doubt about it, she was a court insider and an intelligent woman, …but she probably had less time (and perhaps less talent) than Bacon. Okay, far-fetched, but fun to ponder. Prime Suspects

The Plot Thickens: 

The Plot Thickens No manuscripts of Shakespeare’s plays exist in Shakespeare’s own handwriting. Some of the work attributed to Shakespeare is believed to have been written by others. Some of what Shakespeare wrote is likely to have been lost or attributed to others.

Why the Confusion?: 

Why the Confusion? The Influence of old attitudes The theater was a popular pastime, but a disreputable business. Plays were not considered worthy of the expense of publication. They were often written quickly. They were often written collaboratively. They were not written to be read.

From Page to Stage: 

From Page to Stage

From Page to Stage: 

From Page to Stage Step 1 The play had to be allowed by the Master of the Revels, appointed by the Queen or King to censor inappropriate material. Censored

From Page to Stage: 

From Page to Stage Step 2 The theater’s bookkeeper (not to be confused with accountant), or prompter, prepared the script for production. A process that included: Fixing whatever he thought to be a mistake; Rewriting passages where the handwriting wasn’t clear; Marking passages that could be cut if the play needed to be shortened;

From Page to Stage: 

From Page to Stage Adding indications of what music and sound effects would be needed; Revising and adding stage directions, actor business and cues; Making notes on when certain props would be needed.

From Page to Stage: 

From Page to Stage Step 3 The company scrivener copied out the actor’s parts, or asides. These asides contain only the lines, cues and stage directions for each individual actor--not the entire text of the play. Sounds like a great system. What could possibly go wrong?

What Could Possibly Go Wrong: 

What Could Possibly Go Wrong A playwright’s original manuscript could be lost, forcing the company to reconstruct it from the actors’ asides. Actors often added their own lines or standard business to their asides. It can be difficult to tell what is originally written by the playwright and what was added by the company prompter. Scriveners make mistakes.

No Respect: 

No Respect Copyrights to published plays belonged to the publisher, not the writer. Publishers didn’t need permission from the playwrights to publish their plays. There wasn’t much a playwright could do to get restitution if a play was stolen and published.

Piracy Abounds (Aye, matey): 

Piracy Abounds (Aye, matey) Say you give a copy of your play to a friend, and he gives it to another friend… Tinker, Tailor, Actor, Spy… Bootleggers (caught limp-handed): Stage directions would be an observer’s Handwriting would visibly tire Inaccuracies caused by the peculiarities of performance

Don’t believe everything you hear:: 

Don’t believe everything you hear: Most scholars believe that William Shakespeare, the man from Stratford, is responsible for the plays attributed to him. Debate tends to center on which version of his plays is closest to what he intended. His public life, business, legal matters, and the like, is better documented than most people in his station. His personal life remains largely a mystery.

For More Info…: 

For More Info… Check out the University of Victoria’s Internet Shakespeare website. http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/index.html