UNIT 3 - WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE:
ELIZABETHAN AND JACOBEAN DRAMATIST
3.1 - Biographical sources. Dramatic stages.
William Shakespeare lived and wrote his plays during the reign of Elisabeth I and James I.
About his life we know very few biographical facts: He was born in 1564 and died in 1616 in
Stratford upon Avon and he studied at the local Grammar School.
He got married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway and they had three children. Ten years after he got
married, his name started to appear on the media, and he starts to earn recognisement as a
playwright and actor.
The curiosity about Shakespeare’s personality has never been satisfied. Looking at his plays
we can say that Shakespeare was a great psychologist, he had and intense sensibility and he seemed
to know the human soul profoundly. He was also a very cultured and knowledgeable person. He
was also a philosopher as we can see in many of his soliloquies. Finally, Shakespeare was also a
great poet: he wrote 154 sonnets and two long narrative poems: Venus and Adonis and The rape of
Lucrece (both dedicated to the Earl of Southampton to get his patronage).
DRAMATIC STAGES:
William Shakespeare was a very prolific author who wrote during his whole life. No one
knows the exact date of composition of his plays, only an approximation. His works were
published posthumately, he didn’t see them published while he was alive but he saw his plays being
staged.
There are four stages or periods in Shakespeare career:
‣On the first period (1588 - 1596): He wrote four comedies, one tragedy, five historical plays
and two long narrative poems (Venus and Adonis and The rape of Lucrece). From this period we
can highlight A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and Richard III.
‣On the second period (1566 - 1600): He wrote five comedies, one tragedy and four
historical plays. Among the plays of this period we can highlight The Merchant of Venice, As you
like it or Much ado about Nothing.
‣On the third period (1601 - 1608): He wrote four comedies and eight tragedies (for that
reason it is known as the Dark Period). The great plays of this period are the tragedies of Hamlet,
Macbeth, Othello and Julius Caesar.
‣On the fourth period (1608 - 1613): He wrote four comedies and one historical play. From
this period we can highlight The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest.
We must take into account that in his historical dramas Shakespeare shows us that he believed
in monarchy as long as it would meet two requirements: The king or queen had to be the legitimate
