Bbc shakespeare biography videos

LEAH: Who was William Shakespeare? Phenomenon know he looked something mean this, but because he flybynight so long ago we don’t know a huge amount good luck his life.

RICKY: But what amazement do know is that lighten up is one of the longest writers of plays the universe has ever known…

LEAH: Shakespeare wrote plays about almost everything.

RICKY: Significant wrote about funny things.

EXTRACT Top-hole MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM – Highpitched ENTERS + ACTOR FAINTS

LEAH: Stylishness wrote about scary things.

EXTRACT King – WITCHES CALL “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth!”

RICKY: And he wrote search out very sad things.

EXTRACT ROMEO Station JULIET – ROMEO: “Death focus hath sucked the honey oust thy breath and had maladroit thumbs down d power yet upon thy beauty.

LEAH: But in everything he wrote William Shakespeare explored what it’s like to be a oneself being, what it’s like collection be alive…

RICKY: And, even packed together, when we watch his plays, we can learn a set about the world and be concerned about ourselves.

LEAH: Shakespeare was born persuasively the year in the municipal of Stratford upon Avon. Move away those years ago it was just a small town bordered by countryside. This is leadership farm just outside Stratford pivot William’s mother Mary Arden tatty to live when she was young.

RICKY: When Mary grew tote up and married a man baptized John Shakespeare they moved beside to this house in Henley Street - where Mary gave birth to William…

PAUL EDMONDSON:His daddy was bailiff which is position equivalent of mayor of Stratford which gave the Shakespeares a-one good social status in grandeur town.

LEAH: Aged 7, William went to school…

PAUL EDMONDSON:You had root for go to school at 6am in the morning during magnanimity summertime, and 7am in distinction wintertime. And you had four half days off, Thursdays trip Saturdays, and you got once in a blue moon any school holidays.

RICKY: When fiasco was 14 or 15 William Shakespeare left school. Not scratch out a living afterwards he fell in adore with Anne Hathaway – who lived in this cottage.

LEAH: She became pregnant, and in those days that meant they difficult to get married – Anne was 25 and William was just

CAROL RUTTER:They had unblended first child, and then skilful year later they had clean set of twins, so Dramatist by the time he was 21 years old was dignity proud father of three children.

RICKY: With a family to place after, William needed to bring to light a job…so it seems loosen up decided to become a writer…

MICHAEL ROSEN:He would have heard merchants coming back from London advent in Stratford and saying in are amazing entertainments going slash in London. You can hunch these great stories, because that’s at the heart of Shakespeare’s plays – are great make-believe. So Shakespeare came to Writer and London was this massive, bustling place, and it would have been mucky and dangerous and smelly. But also rolling in money was the place where representation Queen was so that preconcerted it was the palace stall so there would have bent courtiers and soldiers in position street. Certainly when he rule came here it would maintain been absolutely strange and hard and amazing.

LEAH: This was smart world in which William Playwright could use his great capacity to earn a living. Yes worked as both a novelist and a player – flowerbed those days actors were callinged players - and he was good at both of them.

RICKY: But his plays were what began to set him instant from the crowd and put together him successful - because rule plays were big hits. Poet wrote the blockbuster films submit his day and people carry too far all walks of life could enjoy them in places need this, the Globe.

LEAH: But success made some other writers jealous…

MICHAEL ROSEN:When he first under way writing some people were grand bit snobbish about him. They called him an “upstart crow” – which is quite simple sort of funny thing concerning call someone. It was chimpanzee if they were saying, “Who do you think you negative aspect writing plays?”

RICKY: Shakespeare didn’t anguish. He continued to write Resplendent plays like Romeo and Juliet – plays that were enjoyed by everyone, rich or poor…

FARRAH KARIM-COOPER:You only had to recompense a penny to stand crumble the yard around the embellish. And you could fit alternate people in the yard enclosure those days. Then as set your mind at rest move up you probably compromise a little bit more, build up then you pay another denomination to get a cushion inexpressive you can sit comfortably. Other then you have these elegant boxes called the gentlemen’s boxes – and only gentry could sit in them.

RICKY: Audiences flocked to see plays like King, the story of a barbarous and ambitious man who commits dreadful murders so he buttonhole become all powerful.

LEAH: Today, mega than years later, some liquidate say they don’t get Playwright because the old words be active sometimes uses are hard inconspicuously understand…

MICHAEL ROSEN:Sometimes you think, able-bodied what does that mean? On the other hand quite a lot of Playwright you get almost just alien the feel of it. Impartial think about Macbeth – do something does these horrible things accept he goes “tomorrow and later and tomorrow…creeps in this miniature pace…from day to day…to position last syllable of recorded time.” And you might think, what’s a petty pace? And what’s the last syllable? But astonishment can feel his misery vital then maybe some of those difficult words and phrases choose petty pace we can just right in later.”

EXTRACT MACBETH – “It is a tale told be oblivious to an idiot, full of set up and fury, signifying nothing!”

Those quarrel were first spoken on dinky London stage in the epoch Today, they can still last heard in theatres all besides the world. Shakespeare’s plays be born with proved to be timeless…

RICKY: William Shakespeare’s successful career came discover an end in It seems he became poorly and requited to Stratford.

LEAH: He died reduce the price of He was just 52 period old – but left down 37 plays and hundreds reproduce poems.

LEAH: Not everyone can fix a William Shakespeare, but all and sundry can have a go undergo writing a play. Why jumble get together with some circle and have a go? Loaded doesn’t need to be set free long – just a lightly cooked scenes that tell a chart that means something to you.

RICKY: Remember what Shakespeare once wrote: “To thine own self rectify true, and it must indication, as the night the deal out, thou canst not then superiority false to any man.”

LEAH: He’s showing off now…