The LEAST You
Should Know about Shakespeare's Life
and Times
Answers to the following questions may be found in the introduction to
The Riverside
Shakespeare, in the front matter of any collected edition of Shakespeare's works, in good
encyclopedia articles, or in the links noted below. See the syllabus for the sections to be
examined on course tests.
Month, day and year of Shakespeare's birth and death; the name and
locale of the institution
where those dates are recorded. The level and kind of formal education he had. The birth name
of his wife; the names of their children; the number of children who survived him. His peculiar
testamentary bequest to his wife.
The
names of two persons sometimes
put forward as the "real"
author of the plays.
First and family (dynastic) name of the English monarch
under whom Shakespeare was born;
dates of that reign; that monarch's parents' names, and religion; name, family relationship, and
religion of the monarch's immediate predecessor
and immediate successor. First and family
(dynastic) name of English monarch
under whom Shakespeare died; dates of that reign.
Name of the earliest Tudor London public theatre, its year of opening, and its owner; names of
two other contemporary London public theatres. Names of two theatres in which Shakespeare
was involved as a shareholder; names of two acting companies
with which he was associated.
4: The Works
The date of publication of the First Folio
(F1), the names of its editors, their relationship to the
playwright; the number of plays included in F1; the name of one other major English poet whose
work appears in F1. The title of at least one other play Shakespeare may have contributed to; the
title of a play performed at court.
The principal source, likely date of composition,
first recorded date of performance for each play
assigned for this course.
Two Shakespearean roles documented as having been played by Shakespeare himself.
5: Terms
"bad" quarto ... blank verse ... couplet ... discovery space ... folio ... foul papers ... groundling ...
penny public ... quarto ... Stationers' Register ... tiring house
6: Names
Burbage ... Henslowe ... Holinshed ... Kemp ... Lancaster ... Malone ... Plantagenet ... Stuart ...
Tudor ... York
If you find any new links useful on this page, please contact Dale B. Billingsley
at dale.billingsley@louisville .edu.