Transcript The Seven Ages of Shakespeare - Anoka

The Seven Ages of Shakespeare
Purposes of Presentation:
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Examine “The Seven
Ages of Man Speech”
from As You Like It
Introduce
Shakespeare’s life by
making connections to
the speech.
“The Seven Ages of Man Speech”
from As You Like It
Jacques:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking* in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard*,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the canon's mouth.
“The Seven Ages of Man Speech”
from As You Like It Cont’d
And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon* lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws* and modern instances;
And so he plays his part.
The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon*
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his* sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans* teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans
everything
A Man of Mystery
Although little is known about Shakespeare the
man, there is in fact much more known about him
than about many of his contemporaries.
Public records enable us to reconstruct the
framework of his life, such as his baptism, death,
marriage and many business and legal transactions.
There are also a number of specifically theatrical
documents that record facts about him.
Shakespeare's Childhood
“At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in
the nurse's arms…”
Shakespeare's Childhood
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Born to John and Mary
Shakespeare and baptized
on 26 April 1564
The custom of baptizing
children soon after birth
makes April 23rd a likely date.
It is also Saint George’s
day—the day of the patron
saint of England.
It is also the day on which
Shakespeare died in 1616,
giving a pleasing, though
possibly artificial, symmetry to
his life.
“Sweet Swan of Avon”
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Shakespeare grew up in
the small, rural town of
Stratford near the Avon
River.
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He is famous for his
work as a playwright in
London, England near
the Thames River.
Shakespeare's Schooling
“Then the whining
schoolboy, with his
satchel and shining
morning face, creeping
like snail unwillingly to
school.”
Shakespeare's Schooling
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Shakespeare would have attended the King's New
School at Stratford, established in 1553. The
standards at the Stratford grammar school seem to
have been higher than average; existing records
indicate that all the schoolmasters during the time
Shakespeare would have been attending held
university degrees.
There he would have learned to read and write, and
would perhaps have been introduced to some
elementary arithmetic.
Shakespeare's Youth
“And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with
a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress'
eyebrow.”
Shakespeare's In Love
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After Shakespeare's baptism, there are no public records of him
until his marriage in 1582.
On November 28, 1582, a 40 pound bond was posted by two
Warwickshire farmers for the legality of a marriage between
"William Shagspere" and "Anne Hathwey."
Shakespeare and his wife lived together in Stratford long enough
after the birth of Susanna to give occasion for an entry in the
parish register recording the christening of twin children on
February 2 1585, Hamnet and Judith, "sonne and daughter to
William Shakspeare."
Was Shakespeare a sailor, a soldier, a law clerk or a country
school teacher? Did he go to one of the larger towns nearby ?
Another theory has him beginning his theatrical career minding
horses before the playhouses
The Plays of Shakespeare’s Youth
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Before about 1594, Shakespeare experimented with a wide
variety of dramatic and literary forms:
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Four history plays (Henry VI, Parts One, Two, and Three;
Richard III)
A severely moral narrative poem (The Rape of Lucrece)
A comedy in the style of Plautus (The Comedy of Errors)
A farcical comedy which today we might call a problem
comedy (The Taming of the Shrew)
A tragedy of blood in the style of Kyd (Titus Andronicus)
Possibly some sonnets
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“Greene” with Envy
Robert Greene, has the dubious distinction of being best
remembered as the first negative critic of Shakespeare.
Greene was a member of the “University Wits” and his attack on
Shakespeare seems to be motivated by snobbery (Shakespeare
comes from a poorer family and did not receive a university
education) and perhaps jealousy.
“Those puppets (I mean) that spake from our mouths, those antics
garnished in our colours. . . Yes, trust them not: for there is an
upstart crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his tiger's heart
wrapped in a player's hide supposes he is as well able to bombast
out a blank verse as the best of you; and, being an absolute
Johannes Factotum is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a
country.”
Success in London
“Then a soldier
Full of strange oaths, and
bearded like the pard
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the canon's mouth. “
Plays from about 1595 to 1600
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Two profoundly original comedies (Love's Labours Lost, A
Midsummer Night's Dream)
A tragedy of youth, love and fate (Romeo and Juliet)
A comedy that seems at times more like the tragedy of its supposed
villain (The Merchant of Venice)
Four histories, written over several years (Richard II, Henry IV, Parts
One and Two, Henry V)
A tragedy set in Roman times (Julius Caesar)
A comedy of the fat knight, Falstaff, originally created in the history
plays (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
One of Shakespeare's (or anyone's) finest tragedies (Hamlet)
Lord Chamberlain’s Men
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Lord Chamberlain’s Men The company was originally formed
under the patronage of Lord Strange, but when he died in 1594,
the players found a patron in Henry Carey, the Lord Chamberlain.
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The reorganized company performed at the Theatre and the
Curtain; in 1599 they moved to the newly built Globe. By 1600
they had emerged as the leading theatrical company in London,
and in 1603 became the King's Men under a royal patent from
James I. The company continued successfully until the closing of
the theatres in 1642.
Richard Burbage
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Richard Burbage (15681619) was the leading actor in
the Lord Chamberlain's King's Men, playing the
dramatic leads, including
Richard III, Hamlet, Lear and
Othello.
He may have begun his
career as early as 1584; ten
years later he rivaled Edward
Alleyn as the greatest English
tragedian. He continued to
perform until his death in
1619.
The Edict
In September of 1602 the puritan parliament by edict
forbade all stage plays and closed the theatres.
“Whereas. . . the distracted estate of England,
threatened with a cloud of blood by a civil war, calls
for all pallible means go appease and avert the
wrath of God, . . . it is therefore thought fit and
ordained by the Lords and Commons in this
Parliament assembled, that . . . public stage plays
shall cease and be forborne.”
Shakespeare's Maturity
“And then the justice,
In fair round belly with
good capon lined. . .”
Shakespeare and the Queen
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According to Ben Jonson,
Shakespeare's plays were
admired by Elizabeth.
Indeed, during the last ten
years of her reign, the Lord
Chamberlain's Men
performed at court thirtytwo times, compared to
thirty-seven performances
by all other companies
combined.
All the King’s Men
King James I renames
Shakespeare’s company
the King’s Men.
Shakespeare’s company
becomes the official theater
company of the King.
Later, James would have
the Bible translated into
English (King James Bible)
Last years in London
“The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and
slippered pantaloon
With spectacles on nose,
and pouch on side. . . “
Shakespeare the Businessman
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Unlike many artists, Shakespeare enjoyed prosperity during his
own lifetime. It is impossible to calculate his income with any
certainty, although as playwright, sharer in the Lord
Chamberlain's company, and partner in the Globe and
Blackfriars theatres/
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Shakespeare invested his money effectively, purchasing several
properties in and around Stratford, including a major investment
in farm revenues.
One record shows "William Shakespere Lykewise holdeth one cottage
and one garden by estimation a quarter of one acre and payeth rent
yearly.
Shakespeare in Retirement
“Last scene of all,
That ends this strange
eventful history,
Is second childishness
and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes,
sans taste, sans
everything. “
Shakespeare’s Death
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Shakespeare's burial is recorded in the
Stratford Parish Register as occurring on 25
April, 1616; he died on April 23.
Shakespeare was buried on April 25, 1616 in
Holy Trinity Church, Stratford, where he had
been baptized just over 52 years earlier. His
tomb, which lies beneath the floor of the church
inside the chancel rail, is covered by a stone
inscribed with a curse:
Shakespeare’s Tomb
Good friend for Jesus sake forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here!
Blest be the man that spares these stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones.