Summary
Summary Shakespeare Cheat Sheet
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Help to prepare for a Shakespeare baccalaureate
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TamilaCheat Sheet-Shakespeare
Short Biography about William Shakespeare
• Birth: April 1564 (baptized on 26th), Stratford-upon-Avon, England
• Death: April 23, 1616, Stratford-upon-Avon, England
• Occupation: Playwright, actor, poet
• One of the important playwright of world literature
• He wrote 37 plays (some of the most famous plays in literacy history) and 154 sonnets
• He lived in the Elizabethan age (1558-1603), which was characterized by the ideas of awakening and change and
was the golden age of literature
Themes
• The Human Condition → examining the spectrum of human emotions and behaviors; for e.g. noblest acts of kindness or dark
acts driven by greed and revenge
• Love and Romance → Various facets of love, whether it's the passionate, youthful love in “Romeo and Juliet” or the destructive
jealousy in “Othello” or the mature and lasting love in “Sonnet 116”
• Power and Ambition → The desire for power and its corrupting influence is a central theme in plays like “Macbeth” and “Richard
III”
• Fate vs. Free Will → Many characters struggle with their destiny, questioning whether their paths are predetermined or shaped by
their own choices
• Appearance vs. Reality → Shakespeare frequently questions what is real and what is illusion, famously explored in “Hamlet”
with the play within a play and the theme of deception in “Othello”
• Conflict and Revenge → Personal vendettas and the pursuit of vengeance are typical of tragedies like “Hamlet”
• Identity and Disguise → Mistaken identities, cross-dressing, and concealed intentions are recurrent motifs, particularly in
comedies like “Twelfth Night”
• The Supernatural → Ghosts, witches, and otherworldly elements play significant roles in plays such as “Macbeth” and “The
Tempest”, often driving the plot and symbolizing inner turmoil
• Death and Mortality → Shakespeare confronts death head-on, questioning its nature and inevitability, as seen in the graveyard
scene in “Hamlet” and the reflections on time and decay in the sonnets
The Globe Theatre
I
Political Background- The Elizabethan Age
• Period of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (last of the Tudor monarchs)
• “The Golden Age” → political stability, cultural flowering: literature, • Location: The original Globe stood on
theatre, music and art the south bank of the Thames in
• England's first colonies were set up Southwark, London. It was built outside
• Economics: England emerged as a world power, international trade the jurisdiction of London's city
(capitalism), strongest naval force authorities, who were generally hostile
• Politics: constant clash between Catholics and Protestants to the theatre
• The life for ordinary (common) people could be harsh but economic • Architecture: The Globe was a three-
growth also meant better conditions story open-air amphitheatre, about 100
• Beginning of the "Modern Age" feet in diameter, capable of housing up
to 3,000 spectators. The stage projected
The Elizabethan World View into a central yard, where patrons
God
known as
The Great Chain of Being: vertical chain, Angels
"groundlings" would stand to watch
hierarchically ordered. Place in the chain Man
performances. Around the yard were
determined by the relative proportion of Animals
three tiers of covered seating
spirit and matter Plants
• The Heavens: The ceiling above the
Music of Spheres: belief that the universe Elements
stage, painted with stars, moons, and
was made out of spheres in each other Non-being
zodiac signs, was known as "the
The Divine Right of Men: stated the kings
heavens." It helped create a sense of
authority which was given by God Earth Cold
place for various scenes
The Signs of the Zodiac: The signs of the Water Wet
stars Fire Hot
The 4 Elements and Humours: elements Air Dry
effect the behaviour of all living things
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