Shakespeare context

Question 1

Where and when was Shakespeare born?

Answer 1

• Born in 1564
• Born in Stratford-Upon Avon

Question 2

Who did Shakespeare marry and how do critics say this affects his characters?

Answer 2

• He married Anne Hathaway at 18
• 6 months later giving birth to his daughter
• Critics say that Shakespeares wife may be the influence for his characters who are female, older and more experienced than the usual male romantic lead.

Question 3

What and when are ‘the lost years’?

Answer 3

• 1585-1592 are the ‘lost years’
• The years which Shakespeare stopped writing for some time, and any part of his life is completely unknown.

Question 4

What was the company which Shakespeare started writing for?

Answer 4

The Lord Chamberlain’s Men in which he was a shareholder.

Question 5

What was the theatre that Shakespeares company owned?

Answer 5

The Globe

Question 6

When did Shakespeares writing shift and what did it shift to?

Answer 6

• Shifted away from histories and comedies into tragedies like Hamlet and Macbeth

Question 7

Why do people theorise as to why Shakespeare shifted his genre of writing?

Answer 7

• The earlier loss of son possible caused his change in writing

Question 8

What happened to the Globe Theatre in 1613?

Answer 8

The Globe Theatre broke fire, in 1614 it was rebuilt before becoming demolished again in 1644

Question 9

What are the characteristics of Shakespeares tragedies?

Answer 9

• Characters become isolated or there is a social breakdown
• Ends in death
• A sense that events are inescapable or inevitable
• Usually a central figure who is noble but with a character flaw which leads them towards their eventual downfall

Question 10

What are the characteristics of Shakespeares comedies?

Answer 10

• A struggle of young lovers to overcome problems, often the result of the interference of their elders
• Some element of separation and reunification
• Mistaken identities, often disguises
• A clever servant
• Family tensions which are resolved at the end
• Complex, interwoven plot lines
• Frequent use of puns and other styles of comedy

Question 11

What are the characteristics of Shakespeares histories?

Answer 11

• Focus on English monarchs
• Play upon Elizabethan propaganda, showing the dangers of civil war and glorifying the Queens Tudor ancestors
• The depictations of monarchs have been influential in creating a perception of these Kings
• Many historians point to the inaccuracies in the depictations but the plays have been very powerful in presenting a particular image which is hard for many people to see past