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William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor. He was born on 26 April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. His father was a successful local businessman and his mother was the daughter of a landowner. Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and nicknamed the Bard of Avon. He wrote about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, of which the authorship of some is uncertain. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Marriage and career

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18. She was eight years older than him. They had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. After his marriage information about his life became very rare. But he is thought to have spent most of his time in London writing and performing in his plays. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men.

Retirement and death

Around 1613, at the age of 49, he retired to Stratford , where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive. He died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52. He died within a month of signing his will, a document which he begins by describing himself as being in "perfect health". In his will, Shakespeare left the bulk of his large estate to his elder daughter Susanna.

His work

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories and these works remain regarded as some of the best work produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights.

Shakespeare's plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed, and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.

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The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend. It could seat 3000 people and 1000 standing in the 'Yard'. The audience were a mixture of social classes, as Shakespeare tried to make his plays enjoyable for everyone, with the poorer people standing. It was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613. A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site by June 1614 and closed in 1642.

While there are drawings of the outside of the theatre, historians do not really know what the inside of the Globe looked like. They have had to use written descriptions, details from the building contracts, drawings of other theatres, and clues in the plays written to be performed in the Globe. In 1989 an archaeological dig at the site showed that the building was in the shape of a polygon, with 20 sides. They also discovered the building was 100 feet in diameter.

A modern reconstruction of the Globe, named "Shakespeare's Globe", opened in 1997 about 750 feet (230 m) from the site of the original theatre. The rebuilding was a project started by an American actor, director and producer, Sam Wanamaker. He set up the Globe Theatre Trust, and spent years raising money and researching so that the theatre could be built. He died before the new Globe was finished.

Taken from: https://kids.kiddle.co/Globe_Theatre

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Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District, in the county of Warwickshire, England, on the River Avon, 91 miles (146 km) north west of London, 22 miles (35 km) south east of Birmingham, and 8 miles (13 km) south west of Warwick. The estimated population is 27,445 at the 2011 Census.

Stratford was originally inhabited by Anglo-Saxons and later experienced an increase in trade and commerce as well as urban expansion.

The town is a popular tourist destination owing to its status as birthplace of English playwright and poet William Shakespeare, and receives approximately 2.5 million visitors a year. The Royal Shakespeare Company resides in Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

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QUOTES

Don’t waste your love on somebody who doesn’t value it.
The course of true love never did run smooth.
The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.
Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.
Hell is empty and all the devils are here.
With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.
Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.
In time we hate that which we often fear.

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Taming of the Shrew

Lucentio loves Bianca but cannot court her until her shrewish older sister Katherina marries. The eccentric Petruccio marries the reluctant Katherina and uses a number of tactics to render her an obedient wife. Lucentio marries Bianca and, in a contest at the end, Katherina proves to be the most obedient wife.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Four Athenians run away to the forest only to have Puck (the fairy helper of Oberon, king of fairies) make both of the boys fall in love with the same girl. The four run through the forest pursuing each other while Puck helps his master play a trick on the fairy queen, Titania. In the end, Puck reverses the magic, and the two couples reconcile and marry.

Much Ado About Nothing

Count Claudio falls in love with Hero, the daughter of his host. Hero's cousin Beatrice (a confirmed spinster) and Benedict (an eternal bachelor) are each duped into believing the other is in love with them. Claudio is deceived by a malicious plot and denounces Hero as unchaste before they marry. She faints and is believed dead, but recovers to be proved innocent by a chance discovery. Benedict wins Beatrice’s love defending her cousin’s honour, and to his surprise, Claudio is reunited with Hero, who he believed dead.

The Comedy of Errors

After both being separated from their twins in a shipwreck, Antipholus and his slave Dromio go to Ephesus to find them. The other set of twins lives in Ephesus, and the new arrivals cause a series of incidents of mistaken identity. At the end, the twins find each other and their parents and resolve all of the problems caused earlier.

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Summaries taken from: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/

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Macbeth

Three witches tell the Scottish general Macbeth that he will be King of Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth kills the king, becomes the new king, and kills more people out of paranoia. Civil war erupts to overthrow Macbeth, resulting in more death

Hamlet

The ghost of the King of Denmark tells his son Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death, and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also devises plots to kill Hamlet. The play ends with a duel, during which the King, Queen, Hamlet's opponent and Hamlet himself are all killed.

Othello

Iago is furious about being overlooked for promotion and plots to take revenge against his General, Othello, the Moor of Venice. Iago manipulates Othello into believing his wife Desdemona is unfaithful, stirring Othello's jealousy. Othello allows jealousy to consume him, murders Desdemona, and then kills himself.

Romeo and Juliet

The Capulets and the Montagues , two very rich and powerful families in Verona, Italy, have a vendetta. Romeo and his friend Benvolio go to their enemies’ party uninvited. Romeo falls in love with Juliet Capulet, who is going to marry her father’s choice, the Count Paris. With the help of Juliet’s nurse the couple marry secretly, but Romeo’s attempt to halt a street fight leads to the death of Juliet’s own cousin, Tybalt, for which Romeo is banished. In a desperate attempt to be reunited with Romeo, Juliet follows the Friar’s plot and fakes her own death. The message fails to reach Romeo, and believing Juliet dead, he takes his life in her tomb. Juliet wakes to find Romeo’s corpse beside her and kills herself. The grieving family agree to end their feud.

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...and here

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Summaries taken from: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/

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The impact of Romeo and Juliet in all art forms and creativity ...

In ballet ...

In art ...

In cinema ...

In cartoons !!!

Even with LEGO !!!

F. Zeffirelli (1968)

C. Carlei (2013)

With puppets!

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King John

King John goes to war against the French after claims that his nephew should be king instead. John has conflict with the church, orders his nephew's death, and turns the nobles against himself. In the end, John dies from poison, the French retreat, and his son becomes King.

Julius Caesar

Jealous conspirators convince Caesar's friend Brutus to join their assassination plot against Caesar. To stop Caesar from gaining too much power, Brutus and the conspirators kill him on the Ides of March. Mark Antony drives the conspirators out of Rome and fights them in a battle. Brutus and his friend Cassius lose and kill themselves, leaving Antony to rule in Rome.

King Richard III

Jealous and crippled, Richard of Gloucester wants to be King of England and uses manipulation and deceit to achieve his goal. He murders his brothers, nephews, and any opposition to become King Richard III. In the end, Henry of Richmond raises an army, kills Richard in battle, and becomes King Henry VII.

Antony and Cleopatra

Mark Antony, one of three rulers of Rome, is in love with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. Antony is summoned back to Rome, where he clashes with another ruler Octavius before returning to Cleopatra in Egypt. Now in battle with Octavius, Antony and Cleopatra suffer losses and miscommunication, and both eventually commit suicide.

Summaries taken from: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/

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Main characteristics of Shakespeare’s plays

Comedies

Tragedies

Histories

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Romeo and Juliet on the Balcony - Julius Kronberg, 1886

Romeo and Juliet,

Frank Bernard Dicksee, 1884

The Last Kiss of Romeo and Juliet, Francesco Hayez,

Romeo and Juliet

Jules Salles , 1898

Romeo and Juliet, Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale, 1863

Romeo and Juliet, Ford Madox Brown, 1867

Romeo e Giulietta, Gaetano Previati

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