* Plays translated into all languages, musicals, ballets.
* Born Stratford- upon- Avon
* Well- to- do, affluent (rich) while alive.
* Most quoted, other than the bible.
* Deadbeat Dad: left wife and children for London stage career
* Father of twins
* Elizabethan rapper: uses rhythm and rhyme.
* Poverty
* Thames river polluted with raw sewage
* Races
* Gambling
* Music
* Drinking/Socializing
* Prostitution
* Public executions
* Body odor strong
* Childhood diseases
* Children often died before 5 years
* Small pox
* Bubonic plague
* chamber pots
* open sewers
* crowded
* underclothing slept in, infrequently changed
* clothes handed down from rich to poor.
* “Rebirth” of arts, culture, science.
* Discovering of “New World’
* Copernicus: Sun- centered Universe (1543)
* King Henry the 5th = renaissance man.
* Reformation of Catholic Church
* Henry had Ann beheaded for “treason”
* Younger sister of “Bloody Mary”
* Nickname, “Virgin Queen”
* The Theater- first public theater- 1576
* Daytime/ open air (no umbrellas allowed in theater)
* Limited set design
* Relied on music, sound, costumes, props, and great description.
* Across the Thames – ” Wrong side of town”
* King’s Players – Shakespears company.
* Penny admission
* Female parts were played by young boys.
* No actual kissing or hugging on stage
* stood around stage in ” the pit ”
* Women not allowed (had to dress up as men to attend)
* Threw rotten vegetables at bad performances.
* Written in 1595
* Set in Verona, Italy
* Themes
* Parental control/ rebellious teens
* fate/ freewill
* impulsive behavior/ self- control
* Poem found in French translation by Brooke
* Shakespeare gave story view life and beauty