Shakespeare Background Questions Flashcards
When was Shakespeare born and where?
April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon on England’s Avon River
When was he married and to whom?
1582 (when he was 18) to Anne Hathaway
When did he die and where is he buried?
April 23, 1616 (when he was 52); Stratford in the Holy Trinity Church
What is the curse on his grave?
Shakespeare had a curse put on his grave slab so his bones wouldn’t be dug up.
What were his vocations?
Playwright, poet, actor, director, shareholder in the acting company and theater
What were the names of 3 prominent Elizabethan theaters?
The Globe, The Blackfriars, The Theatre, Curtain, Rose, Swan
With what acting troupes was Shakespeare associated and how?
Lord Chamberlain’s Men (later known as The King’s Men - called LCM during queen’s rule, renamed when king took over); first as an actor, later as a writer
When was The Globe Theater built and where? And by whom?
1598 on Bankside in London (outskirts b/c London was overcrowded); by Lord Chamberlain’s Men (Shakespeare’s playing company)
What were the principal audience areas of the globe theater called, and for whom were they designed?
The Pit/Yard - for commoners (people who stood in pit=groundlings), The Galleries - for slightly more well-to-do people
When was Hamlet written (as best we know)?
1599-1601
When was it published, and by whom?
1603; First Quarto
What problems exist in trying to determine THE authentic text for Hamlet?
There is no authentic text for hamlet because so many different versions exist
What is rhymed iambic pentameter?
10 syllable line consisting of 5 stress syllable (2 syllables, unstressed followed by stressed)
What is a “rhyming couplet”?
2 successive lines of verse that rhyme and are if the same meter
What is blank verse?
Unrhymed iambic pentameter
