The
Tempest | William Shakespeare
(1564-1616)
Born Stratford-upon-Avon – christened April 26 – son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden
John was a glovemaker and a prominent local politician (bailiff, justice of the peace, etc.)
Attends local grammar school – Latin and some Greek
Married a local woman, Ann Hathaway, when he was 18 (1582) and she was 26
They had three children: Susanna (1583) and twins, Hamnet and Judith (1585)
1585-1592 – no record of Shakespeare’s life – a schoolmaster? – “lost years”
1592 – called an “upstart crow,” “jack-of-all-trades” in a London pamphlet
A few years later he leaves his wife and children and he goes to London to become an actor – maybe around 1587
Son Hamnet dies in August 1596
Joins Globe Theatre’s troop of actors – Globe Theatre opens in 1599 (first only in 1576) – Queen herself patronizes the arts
There was opposition from London city officials, and censorship rules were strict, but the theater flourishes
Shakespeare is part owner of the company (1/10 share), but also a writer, actor, director
When King James I came to the throne in 1603, Shakespeare and his fellow actors in coronation procession
About this time (1603) he ceases acting and begins writing and directing exclusively
Wrote at least 36 plays, plus 154 sonnets
1607 – daughter, Susanna, married well-known physician John Hall – first grandchild, Elizabeth, born early in 1608
So successful he bought the best house in Stratford – retires there in 1610, traveling to London on theatre business
The Tempest, a comedy, was written about 1611, one of his last plays
Daughter, Judith, marries in February 1616. March 25, 1616, he signs his will
Died on April 23, 1616
Long hair and earrings
Famous in his own time – people put his name on their inferior plays to boost sales!
After he dies, in 1642, the Puritan leadership in Parliament closes all the theatres (not opened until 1660 under King Charles II)
- Twilight of Elizabeth I’s long reign (1558-1603)
- Time of geographical, naval, commercial, and intellectual expansion
- Ideal role of humans was activity and not contemplation: switch from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, from God to the Creation
“The answer to the question ‘Why Shakespeare?’ must be ‘Who else is there’?’” – Harold Bloom
- Character development; the creation of so many separate selves – amazing student of human nature
- Insights into human nature – his universality and timelessness
- One author argues that Shakespeare has “invented” us
- His depth of thought, superiority of intellect
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Helped make the English language what it is today – invents
new words (handout)
- Many have asked that question
- Convinced he was a Christian, a homosexual, an atheist, a Roman Catholic, a pessimist, an optimist, a liberal, and a conservative
- He stubbornly refuses to be labeled, to be grasped; he’s the slipperiest of writers
- We’re forced to just stand in awe of his genius