WEEK 2 - Who was Shakepeare?

William Shakespeare was born sometime around the 26^th of April 1564 (as this is when he was baptised  although we don’t know the exact date of his birth). He was born in Stratford- upon- Avon, into a wealthy family. His father was called John and his mother was called Mary. Mary was the daughter of a local farmer and John was a glove-maker and a wool trader. They had a large family house. John was elected Bailiff (basically the mayor) of Stratford- upon- Avon when William was four years old.

                                          William Shakepeare's birthplace.

William’s early life was hard. He was the third of eight children but both of his older sisters died at a very young age, therefore William was the oldest of his surviving siblings. William was very lucky to survive because when he was a baby (in 1564) the plague killed 200 people from Stratford- upon- Avon (20% of the population).

Stratford- upon- Avon was a market town in the Midlands. It was based in a farming area in which approximately 1000 people lived.

From the age of seven, Shakespeare probably went to grammar school. This is because there was one in Stratford (which is still there today) and most middle class children went to grammar school from the age of seven. However, school was quite different in those days, children were expected to read, speak and write in Latin. Another thing which they were expected to do was perform stories from history, this would’ve been a very useful skill for Shakespeare to learn for his later life as an actor/ writer. He probably left school at the age of 15.

In 1582 Shakespeare got married to a local farmer’s daughter called Anne Hathaway. He was only 18 at the time, whereas the average man got married in their mid- to late- 20’s. The reason he married so young was because he got Anne pregnant and so six months after they got married, their daughter, Susanna, was baptised.

                                                           A sketch of Anne Hathaway.

Unfortunately, we don’t know very much about Shakespeare’s family life. We know that William went on to have two more children with Anne. They were twins, called Hamnet and Judith, they were born in 1585. It would’ve been a strange family life for Anne and the three kids because they lived in a large house in Stratford, whilst William spent most of his time 100 miles away, in London.

Shakespeare mainly lived in London between 1590 and 1613. He was a well-known actor in London. His first play, Henry VI, was performed in 1592 at the Rose theatre. After that he went on to write about 40 plays and in 1609 he published a book of 154 sonnets. He was also a part-owner of the Globe Theatre (from 1599) and of a theatre company called The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. Therefore, he would’ve been very wealthy because, for about twenty years he made money from writing, acting, co-running a theatre and co-running a theatre company.

Shakespeare moved back to Stratford- upon- Avon in 1613. He sadly died three years later on the 23^rd of April 1616 (which is also St Georges Day). He was buried in the Holy Trinity Church. However, although his skeleton still remains, his skull is missing, and rumor has it that it was stolen.

WEEK 1 - Life in Elizabethan England

WEEK ONE – SETTING THE SCENE

Life In Elizabethan England

Elizabethan Population and Entertainment

Life for the poor in Elizabethan England does not seem like an easy one. This is because the poor did not share the wealth or the luxurious lifestyles of the rich. This wasn’t made any easier by the sudden increase in population, which doubled between the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Of that growing population only 10% lived in towns. Therefore the lives of Elizabethans were very hard and so entertainment was extremely popular whenever there was something to celebrate for example, weddings, days of religious importance etc. The rich were able to regularly enjoy court entertainment, which included feasts, jousts and banquets. However the poor people enjoyed the entertainment of going to plays, dancing, and animal sports (which included bear and bull baiting, and dog and cock fighting).

Elizabeth Religion and Superstition Catholicism and Protestantism were the two major religions in Elizabethan England. Both of sets of believers held very strong views and so they persecuted each other. The official religion of Elizabethan England was Anglicanism and Elizabeth was the head of the church of England, she however thought strongly that other religions shouldn’t be prosecuted against as long as they didn’t interfere with the state or cause harm to others. In Elizabethan times there was great ignorance and fear of the unknown, the supernatural, the forces of nature and God. This resulted in many different forms of superstition. Many superstitions were based on trust in magic or chance. The Elizabethans often believed that an object, action, or circumstance (which are not related to a course of events) can influence the outcome. Elizabethan Money and Wages •           A nobleman - £1500 to £3000 per annum •           A merchant - £100 per annum •           A parson - £20 per annum •           A carpenter - £13 per annum •           A labourer - £1500 to £3000 per annum •           A nobleman - £5 per annum As can be seen from above. Wages were dependent on the job that each person had. The lower class would only trade with pennies, as a pound would have been a fortune to them. The Elizabethan pound is roughly the same as 280 pounds nowadays. Elizabethan Medicine and Illnesses The cause of most illnesses in Elizabethan times was a lack of sanitation. There were open sewers in the streets and the waste was only occasionally thrown away into the nearest river. There was no running water and instead water was obtained from water pumps, this was a main cause of the spread of typhoid. Unlike today the medical knowledge of doctors was extremely basic and so was the medicine that they used. Fleas, lice and rats all flourished in this unsanitary environment. The Black Death was a disease that was present during the Elizabethan era, it killed nearly one third of the population. Elizabethan Theatres In the Elizabethan era, theatre was an increasingly popular and exiting form of entertainment. There were many theatres that were being built around London at this time. Many Elizabethan entrepreneurs and actors were attracted by the money and fame provided by this growing industry. Amongst some of the most famous theatres were; the Globe, the Rose Theatre, the Swan Theatre, the Boars Head and the Bear Garden. The Elizabethans were lucky to have such playwrights as Shakespeare and Marlow amongst others.