2. The Life of Bill
William Shakespeare
April 23, 1564 - April 23, 161
3. The Life of
Bill:FamilyPARENTS:
Understood all walks of life and social
classes - Father was a glover and a leather
merchant, mother was a land heiress, which put
them in the working class, but with benefits and
respect.
FAMILY:
Married Anne Hathaway in 1582. (He was 18
while she was 26 and pregnant)
3 kids: Susanna, Twins – Hamnet and Judith
4. The Life of Bill:
Career
ACTING CAREER:
1594 – actor, writer, and a
managing partner for the Lord
Chamberlain’s Men’s Company
LCM Company – acting
company patronized by royalty
and popular by the public
5. The Life of Bill:
CareerWrote 154 sonnets, 2 epic narratives, and
38 plays including:
Comedies: 12th
Night,
Measure for Measure,
Taming of the Shrew
Histories: Henry’s and
Richard’s
Tragedies: Hamlet, King
Lear, Othello
Late Romances:
Tempest
6. The Life of Bill:
Career
Known for prose, witty poetry, and
blank verse (unrhymed iambic
pentameter).
No dictionaries or grammar books =
learned from other educated writers
Credited with introducing 3,000+
words/phrases into the language:
Bedroom, dawn, gossip, gloomy,
fashionable, bump, cold-blooded, Break
the ice, breathed his last, dog will have
his day, good-riddance, sent packing, seen
better days, heart of gold
7. The Life of Bill:
Language
Only one generation from what we speak
today
Reading Hints:
Thou = you
T’is = it is
Don’t pronounce the apostrophe at the end of
words; apostrophes are for other vowels
(Ex. cat I’ th’ adage = cat in the adage)
8. The Life of Bill:
Language
The only thing that is different from modern time is the
WORD ORDER in which the characters speak.
For example:
Thou = For Thou art nigh (For you are close)
9. The Life of Bill:
WorksElizabethan Drama – turn away from
religious subjects and began more
sophisticated plays drawing from the
ancient Romans and Greek
Many Tragedies – hero hit with
disaster
Carefully crafted, unrhymed, rich
language, vivid imagery
10. Time Period:
Renaissance
QUEEN ELIZABETH (1558-1603)
England emerges as naval and
commercial power of Western world after
defeating the Spanish armada
England firmly established the Church
of England, which attacks Catholics and
witches.
The C.O.E. begun with her father,
Henry VIII, after a disagreement
with the pope over whether or not he
could be granted a divorce.
11. Time Period:
Renaissance
QUEEN ELIZABETH (1558-1603)
There were Catholic plots to
kill Queen Elizabeth since she
was from her father’s second
marriage. Catholics wished to
crown Mary Scot, her cousin
instead.
Mary Scot was eventually
imprisoned for 19 years and
then beheaded.England vs Scotland
12. Time Period:
RenaissanceJAMES VI OF SCOTLAND (Mary Scot’s
son!!!)
is crowned as JAMES I OF ENGLAND
1605 – Gun Powder Plot: Catholics
plot to blow up king and Parliament
Guy Fawkes rented a cellar
under the House of Lords, where
he stored 36 barrels of gun-
powder. This unsuccessful act
increased Catholic persecution.
Until this day in England, Nov. 5th
is
known as Guy Fawkes Day. The
English burn dummies of Guy and
set off fireworks to celebrate.
14. The Globe Theater:
History 1576 – Known as “The
Theater” (1594 – closed
briefly for the plague).
1599 – Tore down and
drug across the Thames
river after a legal dispute.
1613 – Burnt down from
a fire started by a canon
shot during a Henry VIII
performance.
15. The Globe Theater:
History 1642 – Officially closed by Puritan regime
Run predominately by the Lord Chamberlain’s
Men Company
16. The Globe Theater:
ConstructionOpen octagon, 3 stories high,
100 ft in diameter
Fits 3,000 spectators
Microcosm of London
Pit– (1 pence)
Groundlings/Peasants;
standing room only, fruit and
nuts sold
3 tiers – (2 pence) upper class
seating
Behind stage – royalty (so
everyone could see them )
17. The Globe Theater:
Construction
No real scenery:
audience goes off of
exaggerated language
and movement
Effects:
Trap doors, balcony
entrances, rope
riggings, etc.
Fireworks (lightning),
rolled canon balls
(thunder)
18. The Globe Theater:
Plays
Plays performed during
the day for lighting (2-
5pm)
Actors were only men.
Young boys played
the roles of women.
19. Macbeth: Writing
Patronage
THE PLAY MACBETH WAS
WRITTEN
SPECIFICIALLY FOR KING JAMES I:
(1) He was obsessed with
demonology, the idea of magic
and witches.
(2) Experienced the Gun Powder
Plot, an assassination attempt.
20. Macbeth: Writing
Patronage
3) Scottish History: It is loosely based
on the career of King Macbeth of
Scotland. Macbeth, a commander under
King Duncan I, murdered Duncan in 1040
and claimed the kingdom for himself.
After a rule of 17 years, Macbeth was
killed by Duncan’s son Malcolm, who
later became King Malcolm III. Banquo
was written as a good guy since King
James I was one of his descendents.
(4) Short because the King liked short
plays
(The real Macbeth, King Duncan, Malcolm, Banquo and Lady
Macbeth all lived in the 1000s Beowulf’s times!)
21. Macbeth: The Curse
THE CURSE:
Supposedly, saying the name
"Macbeth" inside a theater will
bring bad luck to the play and
anyone acting in it.
The only exception is when the
word is spoken as a line in the
play. People actually refer to the
play as “The Scottish Play” or
“MacB” when at the theater.
22. Macbeth: The Curse
The ritual's practitioners were not
amused by this detailed public exposure
of their witchcraft. Iit is said that as
punishment they cast an everlasting
spell
on the play, turning it into the most
ill
starred of all theatrical productions.
WHY IT STARTED: In order to please King James I,
Shakespeare casted his imagination aside and used a real 17th
century black-magic ritual for the opening scene of Macbeth's Act
IV (a sort of “how-to” for budding witches.) Without changing an
ingredient, he provided his audience with step-by-step instructions
of how to create a real spell!
23. HOW TO AVOID THE CURSE:
In order to reverse the bad luck, the person who
uttered the word must:
1) Exit the theater,
2) Spin around three times saying a profanity
3) And then ask for permission to return inside
*OR
4) Some believe that you can repeat the words "Thrice
around the circle bound, Evil sink into the ground,"
Macbeth: The
Curse
24. First Macbeth Performance Ever: Beginning with its first performance,
in 1606, Dear Will himself was forced to play Lady Macbeth when Hal
Berridge, the boy designated to play the lady, became inexplicably feverish
and died. Moreover, the bloody play so displeased King James I that he
banned it for five years.
Amsterdam, 1672: The actor playing Macbeth substituted a real dagger for
the blunted stage one and with it killed Duncan in full view of the entranced
audience.
Lady Macbeth incidents: Sarah Siddons was nearly ravaged by a
disapproving audience in 1775; Sybil Thorndike was almost strangled by a
burly actor in 1926; Diana Wynyard sleepwalked off the rostrum in 1948,
falling down 15 feet.
New York, 1849: During its performance at New York's Astor Place, a riot
broke out in which 31 people were trampled to death. Macduff, was mugged
soon after the play's opening.
Macbeth: Proof of
the Curse
25. USA, 1937: When Laurence Olivier took on the role of Macbeth, a 25 pound
stage weight crashed within an inch of him, and his sword which broke onstage
flew into the audience and hit a man who later suffered a heart attack.
1934: British actor Malcolm Keen turned mute onstage, and his replacement,
Alister Sim, like Hal Berridge before him, developed a high fever and had to be
hospitalized.
1942: The Macbeth production headed by John Gielgud, three actors -- Duncan
and two witches -- died, and the costume and set designer committed suicide
amidst his devilish Macbeth creations.
Bermuda, 1952: Charlton Heston, in an outdoor production, suffered severe
burns in his groin and leg area from tights that were accidentally soaked in
kerosene.
Recent Years: An actor's strike felled Rip Torn's 1970 production in New York
City. Two fires and seven robberies plagued the 1971 version starring David
Leary.
Macbeth: Proof of
The Curse
26. ACT I: i-iii
TERMS
Elizabethan Drama: Plays that turn away from religious
subjects and begins to model ancient Greek and Roman plays
with sophisticated plots
Tragedy: serious play in which the chief figures, through
peculiarity of character, pass through a serious of misfortunes,
eventually leading to a catastrophe and downfall
– Act I (happiness)
– Act II (conflict begins)
– Shakespearean Climax
– Act III (conflict could’ve been avoided but isn’t)
– Act IV (downfall/catastrophe)
– Act V (consequences/aftermath)
27. ACT I: i-iii
TERMS
Aside – a convention in drama whereby a character onstage
addresses the audience to reveal some inner thought or feeling,
inaudible to other characters onstage
– MACBETH: The greatest is behind us. Thanks for
your pains [Aside to Banquo] Do you not hope your
children will be kings…?
Soliloquy – monologue delivered by a character while alone
onstage revealing inner thoughts, emotions, or some other
information the audience needs to know
Prophesy – predicted occurrence, Fate
Paradox – a statement which reveals a kind of truth which at
first seems contradictory
– “Foul is fair and fair is foul”
28. Macbeth: SettingScotland
Inverness (Macbeth’s Castle near Dunsinane
and Birnahm Woods)
Fife (MacDuff’s Castle)
Cawdor & Glamis (territories in Scotland)
England
Ireland
Norway
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
30. ACT I: i-iii
CHARACTERS
Weird Sisters (1st
, 2nd
,and 3rd
witch)
supernatural entities
wyrd (Old English) = weird (Scottish) = FATE
Duncan – King of Scotland
Malcom – Duncan’s oldest son
Macbeth – Thane of Glamis
Thane - feudal lord
Banquo – commander with Macbeth
Captain – Captain of Scotland’s army
Angus, Lennox, & Ross – Scottish nobles
31. ACT II TERMS
Hamaratia: tragic flaw that leads to a characters
downfall
Hubris: having excessive pride
– Example of a tragic flaw
Divine Right of Rule: God appoints/chooses a
person to reign as king
Internal Conflict: Inside/Personal forces
– Macbeth: ? ? ?
– Lady Macbeth: ? ? ?
External Conflict: External or outside forces
– Macbeth: ? ? ?
32. ACT II TERMS
Comic Relief: humorous scene or passage inserted
into an otherwise serious work (emotional outlet
for audience to contrast seriousness of work)
Anadiplosis (Greek for “doubling”): Repeating
the last word of a clause at the beginning of the
next clause
– Ex. Yoda - "Fear leads to anger; anger leads
to hatred; hatred leads to conflict; conflict
leads to suffering."
34. • Our levels of hell would
be looked at differently
today because of how
our priorities have
changed.
• However, it is important
to understand how
people of the time
ranked “evils.” Put in
modern day people
where they would fit for
each level of hell.
DANTE’S HELLDANTE’S HELL
37. DANTE’S HELLDANTE’S HELL
•9th
Ring: Traitors
– To kin (family) –
– To politics (party/king/country) –
– To guests –
– To lords or benefactors –
38. MACBETH THEMES
• WEATHER/SUPERNATURAL
– Witches & Deaths
• APPEARANCE vs. REALITY
– People look and pretend to be different than their inner
emotions/motives
• ___________: “There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face”
• ___________: “Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under ‘t”
• ___________: “Be innocent of the knowledge dearest chuck”
• ___________: “I put myself to thy direction, and unspeak my own
detraction… this was my first false speaking.”
• MANHOOD/MASCULINITY
– Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, Macduff
39. MACBETH THEMES
• FATE vs. FREE WILL
– Predestination or choice… Did Macbeth speed up
process in kiling Duncan or will it happen anyway?
Was it in the cards for Macbeth to kill him?
• Fate: Macbeth was fated to kill Duncan regardless of what
the witches said. It was all part of the plan/predestination.
• Free Will: Macbeth made the decision to kill Duncan and
take things into his own hands. He would’ve gotten the throne
sometime anyway.
• AMBITION
– Macbeth’s Hamaratia - leads to his downfall
40. MACBETH REVIEW
• SCOTLAND
King Duncan
• Malcolm &
Donalbain
Macbeth
Banquo
Nobles:
• Lennox, Ross,
Angus, Menteith
•ENGLAND
King Edward
Siward
Young Siward
*Malcolm
*Macduff
SUPERNATURAL
Witches
CHARACTER LIST
41. MACBETH REVIEW
• THEMES:
Appearances can be deceiving
• Witches Paradox: “Foul is fair and fair is foul”
Fate vs. Free Will
Ambition
• Macbeth’s Hamaratia (ambition) drives him to his downfall
• TERMS TO KNOW (not already mentioned):
Elizabethan Drama
Shakespearean Tragedy
Comic Relief
Soliloquy
Internal/External Conflict
Background Information on Shakespeare & his time