KG Kozinova

William Shakespeare

LIFE:
is very well-known english writer, poet and actor, often called as a "Bard of Avon".
He was born in Stratford upon Avon in 1564, tradition says it was exactly 23.4. but it's clear speculation as many other things around his life. There are not enough records for his early life, but some things we know for sure:
William was educated in King's new school (a grammar school) in Stratford and he learned latin grammar and classical literature.
When he was 18 years old he married Anne Hathaway who was 26 years old and they raised 3 children. Their only son Hamnet died when he was 11 and it surely influenced Shakespeare's later life.
After the birth of their last child there is a gap in records and until 1592 we can just guess what he was doing. Nevertheless in 1592 he is mentioned as a part of London theatre scene and he began writing. In next 2 year the theatres had to be closed because of plague, but then, in 1594 Shakespeare joined (and owned a part) company "Lord Chamberlain´s Men" (Služebníci lorda komořího). Five years later they built a new building - the Globe. The partnership in this company made him a wealthy man - he bought a second largest house in Stratford called New Place and he invested a lot.
By 1598, he had became a selling point and began to appear on the title pages. But even when he had succeeded as a playwright (dramatik), he also continued to act. Of course we can't know what roles he toke, but it was said that "Good Will played kingly roles".
His wife and two daughters lived in New Place in Stratford, but William was living in London and had to divide his time between these two places.
In 1606-7 he wrote fewer plays and 1613 he ended completely. In the same year the Globe was burned down and company had to move to the Blackfriars theater. For Shakespeare it's the end of career, he moved back to Stratford and lived there with his family till he died, what was on 23.4.1616 (here we can see the confusion with the day of birth).
Unfortunatelly, none of his grandchildren survived so his family line ended without a heir (dědic).

WORK:
Shakespeare wrote 35 plays, 5 poems and one book of sonnets. He use stylised and rhetorical language, then he began to adapt the traditional styles to his own purposes and create more natural poetry. His standard poetic form was blank verse (blankvers- nerýmovaný verš, pětistopý jamb) composed in jambic pentametr, usually unrhymed. Great Shakespeare importance to drama is also in his inovation of characterisation, plot, language and genre. For example before him nobody would consider a romance of young Romeo and Juliet as a good topic for a play. Also he used soliloquies (monology) not only to introduce characters or events but also to explore characters mind. He inspired writers such as Charles Dickens, William Faulkner or Thomas Hardy, painters so-called Pre-Raphaelites and his influence in music is also indispensable (nezanedbatelný) - opera Othello of Giuseppe Verdi.
We can sort his work into four periods.

1591 - 1595 he write comedies influenced by Roman and Italian models and history plays.
In this Period there are plays Richard III and Henry IV - his first recorded works. However I said, it´s always difficult to date, we can include in this period even plays:
The Comedy of Errors (Komedie plná omylů)
Taming of the Shrew (Zkrocení zlé ženy)
The Two Gentlemens of Verona (Dva šlechtici veronští)
Love's Labor's Lost (Marná lásky snaha)

1595 - 1600 he writes comedies above all. All classical comedies containing tight double plots, fairy magic and romantic atmosphere.
A Midsumer Night's Dream (Sen noci svatojánské)
A Merchant of Venice (Kupec benátský)
Much Ado About Nothing (Mnoho povyku pro nic)
As You Like It (Jak se vám líbí)
Twelth night (Večer tříkrálový)
Julius Caesar
Romeo and Juliet

1601 - 1608 there is apparent disillusion and regret about society and in his work we can se pessimism and he writes tragedies and his so-called "problem plays" - plays normally categirized as comedies, but refer about psychological issues and contain darker, more profound thoughts. As this "problem plays" we label:
All's Well That Ends Well (Konec dobrý, všechno dobré)
Measure for Measure (Půjčka za oplátku)
The Merry Wives of Windsor (Veselé paničky Windsorské)
Troilus and Cressida
Hamlet
Othello
King Lear
Macbeth
Antony and Cleopatra

1608 - 1612 We can see more serene (smířený, klidný) view of life in his work and his plays have a character of romace, having a part of tragedy and even comedy. He writes sonets as well.
The Winter's Tale (Zimní pohádka)
Sonnets: his last non-dramatic works, each of 154 sonnets contain profound meditation on the nature of love, sexual passion, procreation (tvoření, plození), death, and time.

SPECULATIONS:
As I said many times, lack of proper historical sources caused rise of many rumours. The first concern (týkat se) his autorship (autorství). Some of alternative candidates are Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe or even the wildest story is probably that author is Queen Elizabeth. There are also some questions about his sexual orientation based on his sonnets, which some read as a evidence of his love for a young man.

Sonnet LXVI.

Tired with all these, for restful death I cry,
As, to behold desert a beggar born,
And needy nothing trimm'd in jollity,
And purest faith unhappily forsworn,
And guilded honour shamefully misplaced,
And maiden virtue rudely strumpeted,
And right perfection wrongfully disgraced,
And strength by limping sway disabled,
And art made tongue-tied by authority,
And folly doctor-like controlling skill,
And simple truth miscall'd simplicity,
And captive good attending captain ill:
Tired with all these, from these would I be gone,
Save that, to die, I leave my love alone.

Sonet 66.

Znaven, ach, znaven vším, já volám smrt a klid,
když vidím zásluhy rodit se na žebrači,
a bědnou nicotnost zas v nádheře se skvít,
a víru nejčistší zrazenou v hořkém pláči,
a zlatý vavřín poct na hlavách nehodných,
a dívčí něhu, čest, servanou v okamžiku,
a dokonalost pak, budící už jen smích,
a vládu ve zchromlých pařátech panovníků,
a jazyk umění vrchností zmrzačený,
a blbost, doktorsky radící rozumu,
a přímost, zvanou dnes hloupostí bez vší ceny,
a Dobro, zajaté a otročící Zlu -

tím vším, ach, unaven, já zemřel bych už rád,
kdybych tím nemusel i lásce sbohem dát.