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Every day Shakespeare: phrases coined by the Bard still in use today

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While it is neither here nor there, nor the be-all and end-all, you probably use phrases coined or popularised by William Shakespeare every day, writes Charlotte Runcie

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21 Words Created by Shakespeare (And 4 That Weren’t)

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The Bard gave us ‘bedazzled’ and so many other words—but there are a few cases where words we thought he created actually originated earlier.

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'The Lost Years' refers to the period of Shakespeare's life between the baptism of his twins, Hamnet and Judith in 1585 and his apparent arrival on the London theatre scene in 1592. We do not know when or why William Shakespeare left Stratford-upon-Avon for London, or what he was doing before becoming a professional actor and dramatist in the capital. There are various traditions and stories about the so-called 'lost years'. There is no documentary evidence of his life during this period of time.

A type of mythology has developed around these mysterious years, and many people have their favourite version of the story.

A popular story revolves around Shakespeare's relationship with Sir Thomas Lucy, a local Stratford-upon-Avon landowner. By oral tradition, it was reported that Shakespeare poached deer from Sir Thomas Lucy's estate, the nearby Charlecote Park. It was said that he fled to London in order to escape punishment.

John Aubrey wrote in 1681 that William Shakespeare 'had been in his younger years a schoolmaster in the country' (which might well refer to Stratford, since Aubrey was writing from a London perspective). Others speculate that he was employed as a lawyer's clerk or became a soldier. It is also possible that he joined one of the companies of players which visited Stratford in the late 1580s. He may also have been living in Stratford, and helping out with the family business.

Gaps in the records of people's lives are not unusual, so the notion of 'lost years' might even be construed as being symptomatic of too much biographical expectation and entitlement. Regardless of what happened during these years, we do know that he found himself an established playwright in London by 1592, as his plays began to be produced.

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What was Shakespeare doing between 1585 and 1592?

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Interesting information about the life and times of William Shakespeare the Actor and the
Globe Theatre of Elizabethan London, England

Short Biography of the life of William Shakespeare the Actor and the Globe Theatre
The following biography information provides basic facts about the life William Shakespeare the Actor:

Lifespan - William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

Family - Father was John Shakespeare and mother was Mary Arden. He married Anne Hathaway and had three children - Susannah, Judith and Hamnet

Acting Troupes: From 1594 on, the plays of William Shakespeare were performed exclusively by the acting company known as the Lord Chamberlain's Men (1594-1603) and the King's Men

Career - Actor, theatrical entrepreneur and playwright

The reputation of the early Elizabethan Actors was not good and any were viewed as no better than rogues and vagabonds - actors were not trusted. The standing of actors improved when the purpose-built theatres were introduced and some Elizabethan actors became the equivalent of today's superstars.

Facts, Timeline & History of the life of William Shakespeare the Elizabethan Actor
The following are additional facts, in a timeline, about the life and history of William Shakespeare the Actor:

1564 April 23 William Shakespeare was born

1564 April 26,William Shakespeare's baptism

1582 November 28, A Marriage Bond on the episcopal register records issue to William Shagspeare and Anne Hathwey of Shottery, Stratford

1583 May 26, The baptism of Susanna Shakespear. Susanna was the Shakespeares' first child, born six months after the wedding of her parents

1585 William's twins, Hamnet and Judith Shakespeare, were born

1594 The Lord Chamberlain's Company (formally known as 'Lord Stranges Men' was formed

1598 Shakespeare and other members of the company financed the building of the Globe Theatre

1599 The Globe is built on Bankside

1603 James the VI of Scotland, the son of Mary Queen of Scots, became the new monarch, known in England as King James I

1603 May 19, The King's Men acting troupe forms

1608 Shakespeare is mentioned as one of "the mens' players" (The King's Men)

1608 King's Men buy the Blackfriars Theatre Shakespeare, became part owner in the theatre

1613 June 29, Fire at the Globe Theatre

1614 Globe Theatre was rebuilt

1614 Shakespeare wrote his final play - The Two Noble Kinsmen

1616 March 25, William Shakespeare signs his will

1616 April 23, William Shakespeare dies

1616 April 25, Burial of William Shakespeare in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford

1623 'The First Folio' is published

The Performances of William Shakespeare the Elizabethan Actor
It is not known exactly how many roles Shakespeare played himself but we do know that Shakespeare had began his career on the stage by 1592, because there is reference to this in Robert Greene's Groatsworth of Wit. It is probable that Shakespeare played the title role in Edward I (a play by Edward Peele) in 1593. It is also assumed that he played smaller roles in a variety of his own plays, including As You Like It (Adam), Macbeth (King Duncan), Henry IV (King Henry), and Hamlet (Hamlet's father). Shakespeare's first biographer, Nicholas Rowe, referred to a role by William Shakespeare as "the Ghost in his own Hamlet" and that he was "the top of his performance"

The Chamberlain's Men Acting Troupe
The Chamberlain's Men, of which William Shakespeare was a founder member, were the most important company of players in Elizabethan England and led by the Burbage family and William Shakespeare. Initially known as known as Hunsdon's Men, whose patron was Henry Carey the first Lord Hunsdon. Hunsdon then took office as the Lord Chamberlain. The Chamberlain's Men were taken under the royal patronage of James I in March 1603 and were then known as the King's Men. The main rivals of the Chamberlain's Men were the Admiral's Men Acting Troupe led by Edward Alleyn and Phillip Henslowe.

Documented facts about William Shakespeare - Elizabethan actor
The following documented facts are related to William Shakespeare and his life as an Elizabethan actor together with details of his relationship with fellow actors.

The Lord Chamberlain's Men were licensed as the King's Men on 19 May 1603. The document lists "Lawrence Fletcher, William Shakespeare, Richard Burbage, Augustyne Phillippes, Iohn Heninges, Henrie Condell, William Sly, Robert Armyn, Richard Cowly" as members of the troupe.

On 15 March 1604 King James, Queen Anne, and Prince Henry rode through the City of London in a royal entry postponed from the previous summer because of the plague. An account by Sir George Home, who was Master of the Great Wardrobe, lists the names of "Players" who were each given four yards of red cloth apiece for the investiture of King James in London on 15 March 1604. The actors who were named were "William Shakespeare, Augustine Phillipps, Lawrence Fletcher, John Hemminges, Richard Burbidge, William Slye, Robert Armyn, Henry Cundell, and Richard Cowley."

On 15 March 1595,the Treasurer of the Queen's Chamber paid "William Kempe William Shakespeare & Richarde Burbage servants to the Lord Chamberleyne" for their performances at court in Greenwich on 26th and 27th December 1594

The cast list for Jonson's Sejanus, performed in 1603, includes "Ric. Burbadge, Aug. Philips, Will. Sly, Ioh. Lowin, Will. Shake-Speare, Ioh. Hemings, Hen. Condel, and Alex. Cooke."

The will of Augustine Phillips who died on 4 May 1605 bequeathed "to my Fellowe William Shakespeare a thirty shillings peece in gould, To my Fellowe Henry Condell one other thirty shillinge peece in gould..."

The 1616 Folio of Ben Jonson's Works contained cast lists for his plays. The cast list for Jonson's Every Man in His Humor, which was performed in 1598, includes "Will Shakespeare, Aug. Philips, Hen. Condel, Will. Slye, Will. Kempe, Ric. Burbadge, Ioh. Hemings, Tho. Pope, Chr. Beeston, and Ioh. Duke.". The cast list for Jonson's Sejanus, performed in 1603, includes "Ric. Burbadge, Aug. Philips, Will. Sly, Ioh. Lowin, Will. Shake-Speare, Ioh. Hemings, Hen. Condel, and Alex. Cooke."

The account of Sir George Home, Master of the Great Wardrobe, lists the names of "Players" who were given four yards of red cloth apiece for the investiture of King James in London on 15 March 1604. They are "William Shakespeare, Augustine Phillipps, Lawrence Fletcher, John Hemminges, Richard Burbidge, William Slye, Robert Armyn, Henry Cundell, and Richard Cowley." Here Shakespeare appears first among his fellows.

In his will, William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon left a bequest "to my ffellowes John Hemynge Richard Burbage & Henry Cundell a peece to buy them Ringes."

William Shakespeare the Actor Interesting Facts and information about the History, Life & Times of the famous Elizabethan actor, William Shakespeare the Actor. Additional details, facts and information about the Globe Theatre and other actors can be accessed via the Globe Theatre Sitemap.

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Interesting information about the life and times of William Shakespeare the Actor and theGlobe Theatre of Elizabethan London, England Short Biography of the life of William Shakespeare the Actor and the Globe Theatre The following biography information provides basic facts about the life William Shakespeare the Actor: Lifespan - William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) Family - Father was John Shakespeare and mother was Mary Arden.

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Globe Theatre, famous London theatre in which after 1599 the plays of William Shakespeare were performed.

Early in 1599 Shakespeare, who had been acting with the Lord Chamberlain's Men since 1594, paid into the coffers of the company a sum of money amounting to 12.5 percent of the cost of building the Globe. He did so as a chief shareholder in the company, and by doing so he helped to establish a uniquely successful form of commercial operation for the actors of the time. This investment gave Shakespeare and the other leading actors both a share in the company's profits and a share in their playhouse.

At this time, officially approved playhouses and officially approved acting companies had been in existence in London for only five years. The Lord Chamberlain's Men was one of only two companies licensed to perform within the London city limits. (For more on this subject, see Sidebar: Shakespeare and the Liberties.) The other company used the Rose playhouse, owned by an impresario and his ex-actor son-in-law.

The second best playhouse

Shakespeare's company built the Globe only because it could not use the special roofed facility, Blackfriars Theatre, that James Burbage (the father of their leading actor, Richard Burbage) had built in 1596 for it inside the city. The elder Burbage had a long history as a theatrical entrepreneur. In 1576 he had built the first successful amphitheatre, known as The Theatre, in a London suburb. Twenty years later, when the lease on The Theatre's land was about to expire, he built the theatre in Blackfriars as its replacement. But the wealthy residents of Blackfriars persuaded the government to block its use for plays, so Burbage's capital was locked up. He died early in 1597, his plans for the future of theatre in London frustrated.

Thus, the members of the Lord Chamberlain's Men were forced to rent a playhouse. At the end of 1598, they decided to build one for themselves. Because the inheritance of Burbage's sons, Cuthbert and Richard, was tied up in the Blackfriars, they formed a consortium with Shakespeare and four other actors, who became co-owners of the new Globe. The same shortage of cash made the consortium reluctant traditionalists; they gave up the idea of an indoor theatre in the city. The old playhouse was one of their few remaining resources, but they could not use it in situ because the lease had expired, so they dismantled it, took the timbers (illegally) to make the skeleton of their new amphitheatre, and kept the basic auditorium shape of The Theatre for the new building.

The success of the Globe

For all its hurried construction in 1599, the Globe proved a triumph. Its first decade of use made it a favourite not just with subsequent generations of theatregoers but with the company itself. In later years the troupe paid a lot to keep it going. At least two circumstances provide evidence for this statement. In 1608, when the company could finally fulfill James Burbage's original plan for the Blackfriars, the members chose, extravagantly, to operate the two theatres together, using the open-air Globe in the summer and the roofed Blackfriars in the winter. Had they chosen to, they easily could have rented one of the buildings to another company, since there was a shortage of playhouses in London in this period. But they kept both for themselves. They were given a second chance to transfer full-time to the Blackfriars in 1613, when the Globe burned to the ground, its thatch accidentally set alight by a cannon during a performance of Henry VIII. By then the Blackfriars was already beginning to bring better profits than the Globe, since the smaller house size was more than compensated by its higher prices. Instead, bearing the cost out of sentiment and traditional loyalty, the company members dug deep into their own pockets and rebuilt the Globe more splendidly than before.

Technically, the 1599 Globe and its 1614 replacement span an era in the history of theatre design. The first Globe, based on the skeleton of the original Theatre of 1576, was unique not just as the most famous example of that peculiar and short-lived form of theatre design but because it was actually the first to be built specifically for an existing acting company and financed by the company itself. Shakespeare designed As You Like It, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Othello, All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Pericles, and The Winter's Tale, not to mention Troilus and Cressida and Timon of Athens, for performance there.

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Globe Theatre | Definition, History, & Facts

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Globe Theatre, famous London theater in which after 1599 the plays of William Shakespeare were performed. The Globe was pulled down in 1644, two years after the Puritans closed all theaters. A reconstructed Globe opened at the original's location in 1997.

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Shakespeare's comedy plays have stood the test of time. Works such as "The Merchant of Venice." "As You Like It" and "Much Ado About Nothing" are among the Bard's most popular and most often performed plays.

However, even though we refer to about a dozen or so of Shakespeare's plays as comedies, they're not comedies in the modern sense of the word. Characters and plots are rarely laugh-out-loud funny, and not everything that occurs in a Shakespearean comedy is happy or light-hearted.

Indeed, the comedy of Shakespeare's time was very different to our modern comedy. The style and key characteristics of a Shakespeare comedy are not as distinct as the other Shakespearean genres and sometimes determining whether one of his plays is a comedy can be a challenge.

Common Features of a Shakespearean Comedy

What makes a Shakespeare comedy identifiable if the genre is not distinct from the Shakespeare tragedies and histories? This is an ongoing area of debate, but many believe that the comedies share certain characteristics, as described below:

Comedy through language: Shakespeare's comedies are peppered with clever word play, metaphors and insults.

Love: The theme of love is prevalent in every Shakespeare comedy. Often, we are presented with sets of lovers who, through the course of the play, overcome the obstacles in their relationship and unite. Of course that measure isn't always foolproof; love is the central theme of "Romeo and Juliet" but few people would regard that play as a comedy.

Complex plots: The plots of Shakespeare comedies have more twists and turns than his tragedies and histories. Although the plots are convoluted, they do follow similar patterns. For example, the climax of the play always occurs in the third act and the final scene has a celebratory feel when the lovers finally declare their feelings for each other.

Mistaken identities: The plot of a Shakespearean comedy is often driven by mistaken identity. Sometimes this is an intentional part of a villain's plot, as in "Much Ado About Nothing" when Don John tricks Claudio into believing that his fiance has been unfaithful through mistaken identity. Characters also play scenes in disguise and it is not uncommon for female characters to disguise themselves as male characters.

Shakespeare's comedies are the most difficult to classify because they overlap in style with other genres. Critics often describe some plays as tragic-comedies because they mix equal measures of tragedy and comedy.

For example, "Much Ado About Nothing" starts as a comedy, but takes on some of the characteristics of a tragedy when Hero is disgraced and fakes her own death. At this point, the play has more in common with "Romeo and Juliet," one of Shakespeare's key tragedies.

The Shakespearean plays generally classified as comedy are as follows:

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Shakespeare's comedy plays have stood the test of time. Works such as "The Merchant of Venice." "As You Like It" and "Much Ado About Nothing" are among the Bard's most popular and most often performed plays. However, even though we refer to about a dozen or so of Shakespeare's plays as comedies, they're not comedies in the modern sense of the word.