SHAKESPEARE

Question 1

What was Shakespeare also known as?

Answer 1

Bard of Stratford-Upon-Avon

Question 2

When was Shakespeare born (assumed)?

Answer 2

April 23, 1564 —> St. George’s Day

Question 3

What was Shakespeares family like?

Answer 3

• Mother: Mary (Arden)
• Father: John Shakespeare, successful merchant
• Siblings: 3rd/8 children (3 dead in childhood)

Question 4

What was Shakepeares schooling like?

Answer 4

• He went to grammar school in Stratford.
• Lessons = some in English, mainly in Latin
• DID NOT attend university

Question 5

Who made up Shakespeares personal family?

Answer 5

• Anne Hathaway
• Married: November 1582
• Shakespeare = 17 Anne = 26
• 3 children: Suzanna, Hamnet + Judith
• Son = dead at 11 (AUG 11, 1596); no male heir

Question 6

Who made up Shakespeare’s personal family?

Answer 6

• Anne Hathaway
• Married: November 1582
• Shakespeare = 17 Anne = 26
• 3 children: Suzanna, Hamnet + Judith
• Son = dead at 11 (AUG 11, 1596); no male heir

Question 7

How many people lived in Shakespeare’s London? What was the environment like?

Answer 7

• Half a million
• narrow streets, clogged with carriages and human waste
• LONDON = biggest + richest city in England

Question 8

Who were the Monarchs in Shakespeare’s time?

Answer 8

• Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603)
  AKA The Elizabethan Era
• King James I (1566-1625)
  AKA The Jacobean Era

Question 9

Why did Shakespeare shift to poetry?

Answer 9

1593: the theatres were shut due to an outbreak of Bubonic Plague

• 154 sonnets
• Longer poems (Venus and Adonis)

Question 10

When did he return to theatre?

Answer 10

1594: leading member of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men
- he acted in his plays (for Queen Elizabeth I)
- he wrote Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, Love’s Labour’s Lost

Question 11

What was the primary home for Shakespeare’s acting company?

Answer 11

1599: Globe Theatre
- Southwark, outside of London proper, on the bank of the River Thames
- area known for its gambling and houses
of prostitution

Question 12

How did theatre goers get to the Globe?

Answer 12

• Walk across the River Thames on the Tower Bridge
• bridge was lined with the heads of traitors on sticks as a reminder to citizens not to commit treason or other crimes

Question 13

Describe the Globe

Answer 13

• 3 stories high
• no roof, made of thatch (replaced every 4y)
• capacity of 3000 people
• flags to indicate type of play being shown
• SHOWTIME = 2PM

Question 14

What was the pre-show entertainment?

Answer 14

Bear-Baiting: popular with working-class people, bet on who would die first
—> bear vs pack of dogs

Question 15

Who was the audience in the Globe?

Answer 15

• all members of society (more men)
• Royalty –> no public theatres, instead acting troupes were summoned to perform at the courts

Question 16

What was the seating like in the Globe?

Answer 16

• 1 PENNY = standing room, “Groundlings”, ash + sand + nutshells + poop
• 2 PENNIES = box seats
• 3 PENNIES = box seats + cushion
• Most expensive = Lord Rooms

Question 17

What was the audience like during plays at the Globe?

Answer 17

• If play was boring —> throw rotten eggs + vegetables
• Loud talking, played cards, pick fights

Question 18

How often were new plays presented?

Answer 18

Every 3 weeks

Question 19

What were the actors like in the plays?

Answer 19

• NO WOMEN (until 1660)
• young boys played female roles

Question 20

What was the stage environment like?

Answer 20

• little amount of furniture
• trapdoor (used for ghosts)
• bags of pigs blood and guts were used
• real swords used in battle scenes

Question 21

What was the first play at the Globe Theatre?

Answer 21

Julius Caesar (1599)

Question 22

How much was Shakespeare paid for a play?

Answer 22

• about 5 Pounds, the equivalent to a year’s wages for an average shopkeeper at the time

Question 23

What caused the Globe to burn down?

Answer 23

• A cannon shot during a performance of Henry VII in 1613, the thatched roof caught fire
• Rebuilt a year later
• ran until 1644: Puritans (sect of religious fanatics) burned it down for being immoral

Question 24

When did Shakespeare retire from theatre?

Answer 24

1611, return to Stratford-Upon-Avon

Question 25

When did Shakespeare die?

Answer 25

April 23, 1616 at the age of 52
- avg life expectancy = 35y
- church vicars diary claim: caught a virus after drinking with writers Drayton and Ben Jonson

Question 26

Where was he buried and baptised?

Answer 26

Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-Upon-Avon