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Introduction to Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is one of the most famous authors in English literature known for writing tragedies. Some consider Shakespeare's play Hamlet to be one of the best plays ever written. Some of the most popular tragedies written by William Shakespeare include Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and King Lear. All of these tragedies are widely studied and performed.

Elements of Shakespeare's Tragedies

Some of the most common elements in Shakespearean tragedies are:

The fatal flaw - all of the heroes in Shakespeare's tragedies have a weakness in personality that eventually leads to their downfall.

Fall of the nobleman - many of the men in Shakespeare's tragedies have extreme wealth and power, making their downfall more tragic.

External pressure - Shakespeare's tragic heroes often fall victim to external pressure from others, such as evil spirits and manipulative characters who play a role in their downfall.

Hero - The hero has opportunities for redemption but never takes advantage of these in time, which leads to death.

Shakespeare's tragedies usually share several features, including:

Shakespeare's tragedies begin in an ordered society but end with chaos.

Change is often reflected by changes in the environment, with storms or other happenings in the natural world.

The audience often develops sympathy for the hero.

The protagonist is usually a person of good character who is destroyed by his own ego or desire for self-advancement.

Two Types of Shakespeare's Tragedies

Shakespeare's tragedies were written throughout his career, starting with Titus Andronicus and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare's tragedies can be divided into two groups. Some of his tragedies focus on love, such as Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, and Othello. Each of these tragedies involve lovers who are torn apart for some reason. These tragedies involve characters who have no control over their fate and are separated by things beyond their control. They are informally known as the 'heart' tragedies.

Shakespeare's 'head' tragedies' bring to mind the Greek philosopher Aristotle's theories of dramatic tragedy. In a 'head' tragedy, the fatally flawed protagonist, or main character, is capable of free will but often has his positive traits overcome by ego. Othello and Troilus and Cressida are considered by some experts to be borderline heart/head tragedies, since they combine elements of love and drama.

Examples of Shakespeare's Tragedies

The tragedies written by William Shakespeare are:

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shakespeare's tragedy plays: elements & structure - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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Shakespeare's Tragedy Plays: Elements & Structure - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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William Shakespeare is one of the most famous authors in English literature known for writing tragedies. Some consider Shakespeare's play Hamlet to be one of the best plays ever written. Some of the most popular tragedies written by William Shakespeare include Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and King Lear.

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William Shakespeare Plays | Shakespeare Comedies & Tragedies

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Types of Shakespeare plays: comedies, tragedies, & histories. Learn the characteristics of Shakespeare comedies, Shakespeare tragedies, & Shakespeare histories

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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 masterful Bard would be 405 today, and his legacy lives in the myriad words and phrases he invented that he still uses today.

It was William Shakespeare's 450th birthday Wednesday and his influence hasn't diminished much in those long years since his popularity rose in the days of Queen Elizabeth. Becky, a Tumblr user from London, posted a doodle in 2011 that has since become the go-to screen grab to illustrate just how much modern language we owe to The Bard. Phrases like "full circle," "vanish into thin air" and "heart of gold." "Many people are put off by classic literature because the language is foreign to them," Becky wrote on her blog. "They can read the words, but they don't understand them. This might discourage them from pursuing it further." Alexandra Petri at the The Washington Post wrote a humorous happy birthday post about how Shakespeare is still relevant, yet his language has been destroyed by those who are convinced it is difficult to understand. "What is Shakespeare without the language?" Petri wrote. "A set of powerful stories, yes, but the telling makes a great deal of difference. Shakespeare quotations used to pepper everyone's conversation. These were comparatively all over the place in past centuries - our contemporaries 200 years ago could not get enough of 'the milk of human kindness.' But by the turn of the millennium, even the mainstream quotations - 'to be or not to (be),' 'Dogs of War' - huge in 1920 - seem to be slipping." Petri said there is a lot of pressure put on Shakespeare to entertain. He always makes us laugh or cry just like we expect. "The remarkable thing about Shakespeare," Robert Graves told Petri, "is that he is really very good in spite of all the people who say he is very good." The Oxford Dictionary has a delightful "How Shakespearean are you?" generator. Enter a block of text, and it will tell you how the language you use matches that of the language of Shakespeare himself. (This post is 77 percent Shakespearean - "a very palpable hit.") Mental Floss posted a list of 20 words invented by Shakespeare: 1. Addiction 2. Arch-villain 3. Assassination 4. Bedazzled 5. Belongings 6. Cold-blooded 7. Dishearten 8. Eventful 9. Eyeball 10. Fashionable 11. Hot-blooded 12. Inaudible 13. Ladybird 14. Manager 15. Multitudinous 16. New-fangled 17. Pageantry 18. Scuffle 19. Swagger 20. Uncomfortable%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A//beacon.deseretconnect.com/beacon.gif%3Fcid%3D164850%26pid%3D46%22%20/%3E

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Shakespeare turns 405, celebrate by using words he invented

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The masterful Bard would be 405 today, and his legacy lives in the myriad words and phrases he invented that he still uses today. It was William Shakespeare's 450th birthday Wednesday and his influence hasn't diminished much in those long years since his popularity rose in the days of Queen Elizabeth.

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wikimedia commons; public domain

Elizabethan Fashion

The Elizabethan period in costume design refers to that time encompassed by the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (from 1558-1603) during the Renaissance. Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn and became one of the world's most famous monarchs. The style of clothing and fashions of the Elizabethan era are distinctive and striking. They are easily recognizable today and popular with designers of historic costume.

As in the Middle Ages, the fabrics used to create garments of the Elizabethans were wool and linen. Clothing worn by the upper classes also included silk, cotton, and other imported fabrics. Fashions worn by the elite inspired the dress of lower classes and rural women, though the fabric, weave, and embellishments improved with economic status.

The clothing worn by Elizabethans looks heavy and overdone to many of us today. This is because the weather in England during that period was cool and wet. Northern Europe shivered in the grip of a mini-Ice Age, so the heaviness of Elizabethan fashion was out of necessity. The style is remembered as romantic and beautiful and is still popular as seen at the Renaissance Festivals of modern times.

Elizabethan Style Hallmarks

Elaborate styles included farthingales and ruffs

Stiff laced bodices created a flat bosom

Detachable sleeves made it easy to change the look of a dress

Use of cosmetics to create a pale face

A cool climate encouraged layering of heavy fabrics

Elizabethan England: Historical Background

Elizabeth Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn ascended to the throne of England after the death of her half-sister Mary (daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon). Henry VIII had assumed the role as the leader of the Church in England when the Catholic Pope refused to grant Henry an annulment from Catherine of Aragon. During those difficult times, the idea of freedom of religion was not on anyone's mind. Religion was a state establishment, so the fight was over which religion would be the state religion.

England, at the time, was still basically a feudal society. Most people lived in the country. In Elizabethan family-based culture, the nuclear family, servants, and apprentices lived and worked in close proximity. While women were subservient to men and performed the usual household chores, their work also included the care of livestock and kitchen garden; assistance at harvest; the making of cheese, butter, candles, and soap. Women commonly had basic medical skills, spun wool, and knit.

Employment opportunities included domestic service, laundry, and seamstress work. The wife of a craftsman might assist in the shop, the running of a business, or take over the business if widowed. Women earned money by selling produce, eggs, butter, spun wool, and other items made or produced at home.

The population exploded during Elizabeth's reign despite widespread disease, including several outbursts of plague. Irish rebellion, war with Spain, and a growing underclass of unemployed poor added to Elizabeth's challenges. But in a time when women were subservient to men, a woman ruled a great and powerful nation.

Elizabethan Clothing: Textiles

Linen and wool were the most common fabrics used during the Elizabethan era. As in the Middle Ages, people wore linen undergarments next to the skin. Linen, made from the flax plant, is comfortable, cool, and easy to launder. In a time when people rarely washed their clothes, linen could be washed and became softer with use.

Wool keeps the body warm in cold weather, and cool in warm weather. Wool produces long-lasting fabrics, takes dyes well, and does not absorb moisture.

Fulled wool, or heavily felted wool is tough and durable. Felted wool, that is wool that is washed to shrink, was often so dense that it did not need hemming as it would not unravel.

Both wool and linen appeared in finer weaves for the upper classes. Linen, imported from France and the Low Countries, appeared in heavy or finer weaves with Lawn being the finest weave.

Imported cotton was used to create fabrics and blended with linen to make Fustian.

For thick, dense fabrics, canvas was made of hemp.

Leather was used to make shoes, gloves, hats, belts, and men's doublets and breeches.

Colors came from natural dyes that often faded, so even richly colored garments became muted over time. Brown and gray, cheaper dyes, were the obvious choice of the lower classes. Blue, another somewhat inexpensive dye is associated with servants and apprentices. Blue fades easily, so a light shade was predominant.

Black, an expensive to make and very fashionable shade, popular in Spain, shows up often in royal portraits of Elizabethan England, especially for men.

Two shades of red frequently occur in Elizabethan clothing. A russet red, made from the plant called madder created a warm, homey hue, while a brighter crimson red, made from imported dyes was reserved for royalty.

The luxurious fashions depicted in Elizabethan artwork most often reflect the clothing worn by royalty, the nobility, and the elite. The upper classes wore garments made of silk, satin, velvet, damask, and taffeta, in addition to wool and linen. Finer linens were bleached in the sun, embroidered, or block printed. Fashionable embellishments included braiding, borders, embroidery, lace, guarding (ribbon trim), and gems or pearls sewn onto the fabric.

Elizabethan Style: The Layered Look

Undergarments made of linen were easy to wash, and often the only garments that were laundered. Both men and women wore similar undershirts, much like the under tunics of the Middles Ages. Women's under-gowns, or smocks, reached the knee or fell full length.

A kirtle was a long, slightly fitted dress without a defined waistline, a simple garment similar to those worn during the Middle Ages. On top of this, a woman wore a bodice, several layers of petticoats (or skirts), and a cloak.

wikimedia commons; public domain

Layers were needed for comfort in the chilly, damp climate of Elizabethan England.

The Elizabethan Bodice

A bodice is a close-fitting garment for the upper body. Elizabethan bodices were quite stiff, severe, and almost masculine in a shape that presented wide shoulders, and a small waist like an inverted triangle. Some bodices drew into a narrow V shape at the waist as pictured on the right.

Necklines changed over the years. While low necklines were popular at the beginning and toward the end of Elizabeth's reign, necklines were high in the middle years.

Young, unmarried women wore lower bodice necklines. Often, a high necked smock, worn with a low necked bodice, created an interesting contrast between the heavy bodice fabric and the lighter muslin or linen of the smock.

Bodices often featured decorative tabs called pickadills at the waist. Also, with embellishment by rolls or wings at the armholes, the same bodice could appear quite different with detachable sleeves for variety.

The fashionable elite used whalebone (baleen) stiffening, willow wood, or steel in their bodices. A busk was an extra piece used for stiffening and was made from wood, bone, or ivory, and attached by a ribbon at the top. The tiny ribbon often seen today at the top center of a bra is a last reminder of the busk.

The flattened bosom and stiffened upper torso restricted upper body movement, so it was limited to the idle elite. Working women and commoners would have been unable to function with such restriction. Front laced bodices (so popular with Renaissance Fair attendees) were worn by working and common women. Back laced bodices were limited to women with servants. Bodices were fastened by lacing or with hook and eye.

Detachable sleeves added variety to a bodice (as mentioned above). The wide, cuffed trumpet shaped sleeves of the 1540s-1550s gave way to a narrower Spanish style sleeve. A high, wide appearance with slashed upper sleeves evolved int shoulder loops, pads, and the elaborate shoulder rolls of the 1580s.

False sleeves created an elegant style when elongated at the back to drape down to the floor.

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Renaissance Fashion: Women's Clothing in Elizabethan England

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The Elizabethan period in costume design refers to that time encompassed by the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (from 1558-1603) during the Renaissance. Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn and became one of the world's most famous monarchs. The style of clothing and fashions of the Elizabethan era are distinctive and striking.

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Watch as you learn more and more about Shakespeare every second.

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William Shakespeare Biography - TeacherTube

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The life of William Shakespeare suitable for Junior School children

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William Shakespeare (1564-1616). English poet and playwright - Shakespeare is widely considered to be the greatest writer in the English language. He wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets.
Short bio of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon on 23rd April 1564.

His father William was a successful local businessman, and his mother Mary was the daughter of a landowner. Relatively prosperous, it is likely the family paid for Williams education, although there is no evidence he attended university.

In 1582 William, aged only 18, married an older woman named Anne Hathaway. They had three children, Susanna, Hamnet and Juliet. Their only son Hamnet died aged just 11.

After his marriage, information about the life of Shakespeare is sketchy, but it seems he spent most of his time in London - writing and acting in his plays.

Due to some well-timed investments, Shakespeare was able to secure a firm financial background, leaving time for writing and acting. The best of these investments was buying some real estate near Stratford in 1605, which soon doubled in value.

It seemed Shakespeare didn't mind being absent from his family - he only returned home during Lent when all the theatres were closed. It is thought that during the 1590s he wrote the majority of his sonnets. This was a time of prolific writing and his plays developed a good deal of interest and controversy. His early plays were mainly comedies (e.g. Much Ado about Nothing, A Midsummer's Night Dream) and histories (e.g. Henry V)

By the early Seventeenth Century, Shakespeare had begun to write plays in the genre of tragedy. These plays, such as Hamlet, Othello and King Lear, often hinge on some fatal error or flaw in the lead character and provide fascinating insights into the darker aspects of human nature. These later plays are considered Shakespeare's finest achievements.

Some academics, known as the "Oxfords," claim that Shakespeare never actually wrote any plays. They contend Shakespeare was actually just a successful businessman, and for authorship suggest names such as Edward de Vere. Nevertheless, there is evidence of Shakespeare in theatres as he received a variety of criticism from people such as Ben Johnson and Robert Greene. When writing an introduction to Shakespeare's First Folio of published plays in 1623, Johnson wrote of Shakespeare:

"not of an age, but for all time"

Shakespeare the Poet

William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets mostly in the 1590s. These short poems, deal with issues such as lost love. His sonnets have an enduring appeal due to his formidable skill with language and words.

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:"

- Sonnet CXVI

The Plays of Shakespeare

The plays of Shakespeare have been studied more than any other writing in the English language and have been translated into numerous languages. He was rare as a play-write for excelling in tragedies, comedies and histories. He deftly combined popular entertainment with an extraordinary poetic capacity for expression which is almost mantric in quality.

"This above all: to thine ownself be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!"

- Lord Polonius, Hamlet Act I, Scene 3

During his lifetime, Shakespeare was not without controversy, but he also received lavish praise for his plays which were very popular and commercially successful.

His plays have retained an enduring appeal throughout history and the world. Some of his most popular plays include:

Twelfth Night

Henry V

Romeo and Juliet

Macbeth

Hamlet

King Lear

Othello

"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..."

Death of Shakespeare

Shakespeare died in 1616; it is not clear how he died, and numerous suggestions have been put forward. John Ward, the local vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford (where Shakespeare is buried), writes in a diary account that:

"Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and it seems drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted."

In 1616, there was an outbreak of typhus ("The new fever") which may have been the cause. The average life expectancy of someone born in London, England in the Sixteenth Century was about 35 years old, Shakespeare died age 52.
Shakespeare's Epitaph
Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare
To digg the dust encloased heare
Blessed by y man y spares hes stones
And curst be he y moves my bones

- More interesting facts on Shakespeare

Quotes on Shakespeare

"Shakespeare, no mere child of nature; no automaton of genius; no passive vehicle of inspiration possessed by the spirit, not possessing it; first studied patiently, meditated deeply, understood minutely, till knowledge became habitual and intuitive, wedded itself to his habitual feelings, and at length gave birth to that stupendous power by which he stands alone, with no equal or second in his own class; to that power which seated him on one of the two glorysmitten summits of the poetic mountain, with Milton's his compeer, not rival."

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Biographia Literaria (1817)

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. "Biography of William Shakespeare", Oxford, www.biographyonline.net , 18th May 2006. Last updated 1 March 2018.

Popular quotes of Shakespeare

"This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."

- Polonius, giving Laertes a pep talk. ( Hamlet)

"To be, or not to be: that is the question
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them. To die: to sleep;"

- Hamlet

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in our philosophy."

- Hamlet (to Horatio on seeing a ghost)

"We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep."

- The Tempest (Prospero)

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."

Julius Caesar (Cassius to Brutus)

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."

- Macbeth (on learning of the death of Queen)

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

- Hamlet in Hamlet

"Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting."

-Dauphin in Henry V

"Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win,
By fearing to attempt."

-Lucio in Measure for Measure

The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works 2nd Edition

The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works 2nd Edition at Amazon

Shakespeare: The Biography

Shakespeare: The Biography at Amazon
Related pages Biography of William Shakespeare
Famous English people - Famous English men and women. From Anne Boleyn and Queen Elizabeth I to Henry VIII and Winston Churchill. Includes the great poets - William Shakespeare, William Blake and William Wordsworth.

Great Briton list - Top 100 famous Britons as voted by a BBC poll. Including Winston Churchill, William Shakespeare, Thomas Cromwell and Queen Elizabeth I.

Writers and authors - Famous authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, William Shakespeare, J.K. Rowling, Jane Austen, Leo Tolstoy, John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway.

Other Biographies and Resources on Shakespeare

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William Shakespeare (1564-1616). English poet and playwright - Shakespeare is widely considered to be the greatest writer in the English language. He wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets. Short bio of William Shakespeare William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon on 23rd April 1564. His father William was a successful local businessman, and his mother Mary ...