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Facts About William Shakespeare's Life 

The Elizabethan Stage 

Common Stage Directions 

When Did Women Start to Act the Parts of Women in England? 

The History Behind Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar 

William Shakespeare and Life Long Learning 

Fact #2 

He was baptized on April 26, 1564. 

If he was born a few days before, we can assume his birth month and birth year were April of 1564. That’s all. 
 

He died on April 23, 1616. It is common for people to die on their birthdays (It has something to with reaching a personal goal.), so many people place his birthday on April 23. It is a guess only. (p. 762) 

Fact #3 

“William’s father sold gloves and other commodities and served as an alderman and “high bailiff” – the equivalent of a mayor today.” (p. 762) 
 

Fact #4 

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1582. Anne was eight years older than he. Susanna was born in 1583, twins Hamnet and Judith were born in 1585. (p. 763) 

Fact #5 

Shakespeare, the actor, became Shakespeare, the playwright. Actors had very little prestige among society and were considered no better than thieves or beggars. All actors were male because it would have been too disreputable for a woman to be seen with such low people. The theater was considered by most of the official society to be a place where clerks and apprentices wasted their time. Essentially, you could consider the theater as having the reputation of a video arcade. You could go there if you had free time, but if you were supposed to be at school or work, you were considered to be wasting your time. Today, schools take field trips to go to see Shakespeare played. Will schools take your children or grandchildren to a video arcade for a field trip? 

Fact #6 

Shakespeare became a member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. This group became known as the King’s Men in 1603 when King James became their patron. A patron is a person who gave his or her financial or political support to an artist or group of artists in order to promote their work. (p.764) 

Fact #7 

Shakespeare, who retired in 1612, wrote thirty-seven plays – comedies, histories, tragedies and romances. The names of the plays that you must remember and read or see are: Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and Julius Caesar. I strongly urge you to watch the Kenneth Branagh version of Henry V also. As a matter of fact, if you want to become a truly literate and wise person, you should not turn down the opportunity to see any play by Shakespeare. The more you watch and read, the easier his language will become and the more insight into human nature you will gather. It is simply not enough to have seen any of his works once. With each reading or viewing you will gain knowledge of psychology, philosophy, political science, history, language, humor, philology, love, life and nature. And more. There is always more. He is well worth your time and efforts. 

Fact #8 

In 1623 two men who were with Shakespeare in the King’s Men published what they called “True and Original Copies” (Do you like the oxymoron?) of all the plays. This is known in Shakespeare study as “The First Folio.” (p. 764) 

The Elizabethan Stage

The Elizabethan Theater: Most actors of Shakespeare’s time would have been traveling performers. The acting troop would travel from town to town and set up their stages, which would have been mere platforms, in the courtyards of inns. The innkeeper would gather some money for the use of the courtyard and the increased business that the play would bring in. The idea of a building devoted to a theater was new in Shakespeare’s day. James Burbage built the first permanent theater just outside the city of London. He imitated the space that an inn’s courtyard would have made. His concept was so new that the logical name for his building was “The Theater.” (p.765) 

When in 1599 the owner of the land on which “The Theater” was built decided to raise the rent, the Burbage family and friends decided to dismantle the building and rebuild across the river. The new name for this theater was “The Globe.” This is where Shakespeare’s greatest plays were performed. Circular in structure, the building was called in Henry V “this wooden O.”(p. 765) If you would like to take a virtual tour of the modern reconstruction of the Globe Theater in London, please click on the following web site and make sure you put your mouse over the words “Box Office” at the top of the Home Page and then click the “Virtual Tour.” http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/home.htm Another site will give you some information on the original theatre and the reconstruction: http://www.britishheritage.com/bhoglobe.htm . 

As for sets, the Elizabethan playwright had to trust that his audience would have the imagination to create the scenery. As you read the plays you will find that much of the material that the audience would have needed to imagine the setting was in the words of the play. If you need to see statues in the first scene of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare will mention them in the dialogue. There are very few stage directions. If one person leaves she exits, and if several leave, they exeunt. That is about all. 

Although there not many sets, the costumes were elaborate. The productions also made use of what special effects they could devise. Cannon balls rolled across the floor produced the sound of thunder, or a hammer on a sheet of metal. Gun powder could simulate lightening. “In 1613, during the battle scene of Henry VIII, a stagehand was lighting the fuse of a cannon. A spark flew up and started a fire in the thatched roof of the Heavens, and the theater burned down.” (p 767) 
 
 

Stage Directions:

The History Behind Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

How to explain Caesar’s power? In ancient Rome, armies were not in the control of the government, but in control of the generals. The army answered to the general only. This gave these generals enormous power. In 60 BCE, the government of Rome was weak and the Triumvirate (Three person government) of Pompey, Crassus and Caesar took control by supporting each other in ways that strengthened themselves. Eager for more power, Caesar left Rome seeking to gain lands and monies from other nations (what is now France, Belgium, parts of Holland, Germany and Switzerland). Caesar took these territories and the monies he gained from them and sent the riches back to Rome which gained him a great deal of political power at home. The riches also increased the size and strength of his army and that army’s loyalty to him. When, after eight years, Caesar decided to return home he was very popular with those who had benefited from his gifts. Pompey and other senators were afraid that when he returned home he would want more power than they were willing to share. He was ambitious. 

Pompey and the senators sent word that Caesar should come back to Rome, not with the great army, but as a private citizen. Otherwise it would appear as if Caesar were marching on Rome to conquer it. As Caesar camped on the banks of the Rubicon River, the Italian border, he had to consider his next move. Would he obey the Senate or move his troops into Rome? This moment of decision, where his next step would seal his fate forever, gave us the phrase “crossing the Rubicon.” This phrase is about any great decision where once the decision is made, one can never go back. Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his troops and took control. Civil war broke out and Caesar chased Pompey and his followers all the way to Egypt. Pompey was assassinated before Caesar could catch him. Caesar established power in Egypt by putting his lover Cleopatra on the throne and then defeated Pompey’s sons and their army in Spain. 
Caesar returned to Rome as a hero to the people. Life was profitable under Caesar’s rule, but more of the freedoms they once had were going away. People began to fear what would come next. Caesar was declared a god and dictator for life. Some men of power could not stand this. They decided to take action. This is when the play opens. 
 
 

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