Shakespeare

Shakespeare
Questions and answers
Q: When did he live?
A: 16th – 17th century
Q: Where was he born?
A: In Stratford-Upon-Avon
Q: Who where England’s monarchs during Shakespeare’s lifetime?
A: Elisabeth I en James I
Q: What was the name of Shakespeare’s wife?
A: Anna Hathaway
Q: How many plays did he write?
A: About 35
Q: Which theatre was most closely associated with him?
A: The Globe
Q: What did he do in addition to writing plays?
A: He was an actor
Q: Who was “the Bard”?
A: Shakespeare
Q: What other literary forms is he famous for?
A: Sonnets

Macbeth
Short summary
The play is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. The earliest account of a performance of what was probably Shakespeare's play is April 1611. Macbeth is Shakespeare’s shortest and bloodiest tragedy, and tells the story of a brave Scottish general named Macbeth who receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne for himself. His reign is racked with guilt and paranoia, and he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler as he is forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. The bloodbath swiftly takes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into realms of arrogance, madness, and death.

Characters
- Duncan, King of Scotland
- Malcolm, Duncan's eldest son
- Donalbain, Duncan's youngest son
- Macbeth, a general in the army of King Duncan; originally Thane of Glamis, then Thane of Cawdor, and later King of Scotland
- Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's wife and later Queen of Scotland
- Banquo, Macbeth's friend and a general in the army of King Duncan
- Fleance, Banquo's son
- Macduff, Thane of Fife
- Lady Macduff, Macduff's wife
- Macduff's son, Ross, Lennox, Angus, Menteith, Caithness, Scottish Thanes
- Siward, Earl of Northumberland, General of the English forces
- Three Witches, make the prediction of Macbeth becoming a King and Banquo's descendants being kings
- Three Murderers

Hamlet
Characters
- Hamlet, Son of the former king, and nephew of the present King
- Claudius, King of Denmark, Hamlet's uncle.
- Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, and mother to Hamlet
- Polonius, Lord Chamberlain
- Ophelia, Daughter to Polonius
- Horatio, Friend to Hamlet
- Laertes, Son to Polonius
- Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Courtiers, friends to Hamlet
- Ghost of Hamlet's Father
- Fortinbras, Prince of Norway

Plot
Sees ghost -> plays mad -> 2 friends are send by Claudius to check the status of Hamlet -> they say he is really mad -> Claudius asks Ophelia that she would talk to Hamlet while he and Polonius eavesdrop -> Hamlet discovers that they are eavesdropping and is furious -> He asks the local theatre to act a play that resembles at the murder of his father and wants to see the reaction of Claudius (for more certainty that Claudius is the murderer)-> then he knows that Claudius is the murderer -> after the play his mother asks for an explanation and Hamlet notices that someone is eavesdropping behind the curtains he thinks its Claudius and kills him-> but it is Polonius -> Claudius fears for his life and sends Hamlet to England but he doesn’t go-> Claudius proposes a fencing match between leartes and hamlet -> everybody dies.