Shakespeare

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The Life of William Shakespeare

Shakespeare remains one of the most influential playwrights in the history of English Literature.

Shakespeare's legacy

Shakespeare's work is renowned for both being indicative of a particular ‘Golden Age’ of England’s history, as well as ‘transcendental’ – appealing to many different people across time and place.

Early life

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
He married at eighteen to a woman called Anne Hathaway, who was several years older than him.

Shakespeare and the theatre

It is unclear when Shakespeare began to write, or the exact date he wrote many of his plays.
It is known that he became an important member of a theatre troupe called ‘The Lord Chamberlain’s Men’.

‘The Lord Chamberlain’s Men'

This troupe later became popular with the King at the time (King James I) who granted them status of ‘The King’s Men’ as they performed in his court as the most important theatre company in the country.

Death

Shakespeare died in 1616 as a rich and successful businessman and writer.

The Works of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare remains one of the most influential playwrights in the history of English Literature. His work is both indicative of a ‘Golden Age’ of England’s history, as well as being ‘transcendental’.

Types of play

Shakespeare wrote three main types of play:
- Comedies.
- Tragedies.
- Histories.

Comedy to tragedy

The first group of plays he wrote were primarily comedies involving young, romantic love stories that often ended happily.
Towards the end of the sixteenth century Shakespeare began writing tragedies, perhaps inspired by some personal sadness as one of his children died in 1596.

Inspiration

James I became King in 1603, and he continued to write dramatic tragedies, many of which he is most famous for (such as Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Othello).
Many of these were inspired by the strife and conflict of the Jacobean era.

Shakespeare's society

So few facts are known about Shakespeare’s life that it is more relevant to focus on how Shakespeare’s society and the beliefs of the time influenced his work.

Enduring popularity

Much of Shakespeare’s continued popularity today is credited to his ability to write ‘transcendental’ literature – poetry and plays whose themes (including love, death, madness, family relationships, power, ambition, fate, and the supernatural) span across time and place to be relevant to all.

AQA A-Level English Literature

Whilst Specification A and B require you to know something about the author of the play, it is not necessary to know the full details of his life.

‘Imagined construction’

We always need to be careful about fully connecting the author’s life to the text of a play because this can be a dangerous thing to do.
What the author has written may be ‘imagined construction’ only, and actually have very little to do with the author’s life.

Context

You should not, in either Specification, spend too long talking about the background to of the life of the author, as you will not gain many marks in this way.
However, it is still important to note a few things about the author, so that you are more fully aware of the context of its construction.

1Context

1.1Introduction

1.1.1Specifications

1.2Background

1.2.1Shakespeare

1.2.2Love

1.2.3Tragedy

1.2.4Historical Context

1.3Othello

1.3.1Setting

1.3.2Social Issues

2Act One: Summaries & Themes

2.1Act and Scene Summaries

2.1.1Structure

2.1.2The Exam

2.2Scene One

2.2.1Key Events

2.2.2Key Themes

2.2.3Key Ideas

2.3Scene Two

2.3.1Key Events

2.3.2Key Themes

2.3.3Key Ideas

2.4Scene Three

2.4.1Key Events

2.4.2Key Events 2

2.4.3Key Themes

2.4.4Key Ideas

3Act Two: Summaries & Themes

3.1Scene One & Two

3.1.1Scene One: Events

3.1.2Key Events 2

3.1.3Key Ideas: Love & Tragedy

3.1.4Scene Two: Events

3.2Scene Three

3.2.1Key Events

3.2.2Key Ideas

4Act Three: Summaries & Themes

4.1Key Events

4.1.1Scene One & Two

4.1.2Scene Three

4.1.3Scene Three: Key Ideas

4.1.4Scene Four

5Act Four

5.1Scene One

5.1.1Key Events

5.1.2Key Ideas

5.2Scene Two

5.2.1Key Events

5.2.2Key Ideas

5.3Scene Three

5.3.1Key Events

5.3.2Key Ideas

6Act Five

6.1Scene One

6.1.1Key Events

6.1.2Key Ideas

6.2Scene Two

6.2.1Key Events

6.2.2Key Ideas

7Character Profiles

7.1Major Characters

7.1.1Othello

7.1.2Iago

7.1.3Desdemona

7.1.4Emilia

7.1.5Cassio

7.2Minor Characters

7.2.1Roderigo & Brabantio

7.2.2Other Characters

8Key Themes

8.1Love & Tragedy

8.1.1Love

8.1.2Love 2

8.1.3Tragedy

8.1.4Tragedy 2

8.2Other Key Themes

8.2.1Public versus Private

8.2.2Appearance & Reality

9Writing Techniques

9.1Writing Techniques

9.1.1Structure

9.1.2Genre

9.1.3Form & Language

9.1.4Language & Imagery

10Critical Debates

10.1Criticism & Performance

10.1.1Shakespeare's Legacy

10.1.2Traditional

10.1.3Modern & Contemporary

10.2Approaches

10.2.1Feminist Approach

10.2.2Psychoanalytic Approach

10.2.3Marxist Approach

11Approaching AQA English Literature

11.1Specification A

11.1.1Specification A

11.1.2Love Through the Ages

11.2Specification B

11.2.1Specification B

11.2.2Aspects of Tragedy

12Issues of Assessment

12.1The Exams

12.1.1AOs

12.1.2Mark Scheme

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