Giving up.

I used to hate giving up, and still do. When in a fight with parents and I know I have the better point whether they agree or not I don't give up. But there are times when you need to give up and give in. Especially in a relationship, if you want the relationship to work you have to understand forgive and give up your side of the argument sometimes. Giving up on that person...never ok.

Giving up

I never give up. Even though I know I have lost, and there is no way I can win, I still don't give up. When you give up, you admit that you lost. And me, I never admit that I lose.

Never!... well sometimes

i believe in never giving up in any situation, unless you know that there is no hope at all. like in WWII the germans had to give up because they knew that they had no chance of winning the war. if you have the slightest chance of winning, then tou shouldn't give up, you should keep going without stopping. If you have hope keep going, if not then don't.

Giving up!?!?!

Thats hard. Giving up for me is probably the hardest for me actually. Its everything in life....giving up on school, giving up on family, giving up on friends, giving up on work, giving up on sports. Its so hard for me to give up on any of these things. People who give up in school and dont care about school, honestly those people drive me crazy! How could you give up, thats your life their giving up. You cant give up on your education, thats whats going to get you places, thats what is going to determine your life and how you are going to spend it. Giving up on family, lots of my family members have given up on their family and its so hard to see that happen. I have always been a person to never give up on someone, it doesnt matter how bad they messed up, I love them and I don't want to give up on them. I have felt that at times some of my family gives up on me and its the worst feeling... I don't want people to give up on me. I want to be strong and want people to know that I wont give up on them, so they shouldn't give up on me. At moments I feel like I have let down someone so much they will give up on me and I will never be able to show them I haven't given up on them and I try my hardest everyday. And friends, some people probably see me as someone who gives up easily, but I don't, I will do anything for my friends. I will never give up on the people I love and care about even if they have given up on me, because I know some of them have already. Giving up work...I mean I try and work as hard as I can, I have a crazy life and I know I need to help and work more but I know when I have my career I will never give up on that work and I will always work as hard as I can and do my best work. Giving up on sports, this year has been hard and I want to give up one of my sports becasue I worked hard and didn't get anywhere, I hate working and still ending up in the same place or worse. When I work hard I want to go somewhere and this year I didn't in my sport. It was hard but I don't think Im going to give up. I love it and I want to try again next year. Also I know Im not a very strong athlete but I will always have a good attitude and work hard at my sports because thats what I like to do. This was way too freaking long. I didn't mean to type this much. sorry Well all I can say is im not really a person that gives up on anything....except for when i have to or im forced to give it up.

Never Give up

One thing my Dad has taught me is to never give up. I remember when I was in 2nd grade and had to do one of those spotlights so the class can get to know me or whatever. For my hero I put my Dad and that quote from him. SO, in many cases, I say no, don't give up. But I also see situations where its best to do so. And maybe because giving up has a bad reputation I reword it to something more..... respectable. haha. Such as back down or walking away...okay maybe respectable is the wrong word. It's the same thing as giving up but with a different motive. Like when your fighting pointlessly with someone, if you "give up" it's not bad, just ending the argument. If it is a life threatening situation then NO don't give up. Fight to the end. If your working out or learning a new skill don't give up. So I guess my answer would be if the motives are for good, don't give up, if they are pointless... then it doesn't matter. And shouldn't count as much.

Give itup.

Giving up? I believe a person should give up once all hope is gone. When there is no longer a reason or a flicker of hope that what you want or need is reachable, then is the time to walk away.

I don't believe that a person should forever fight. If you truly believe in something, then you can probably find the reason to back down and let what is, be.

I think conserving a bit for "the next fight," makes sense if it's a fight that is seperate from the previous fight; just with similar qualities so that is why the conserved energy works.

Quick surrender includes things like silly fights or physical challenges. Things that should require more work before surrender include marital problems, lifelong dreams, and other tasks that take time.

Giving up

For me... I usually don't give up. I only give up on things that i think are pointless or the effect of me giving up won't be astronomical. But like i said, i don't usually give up because, well, i just don't.

I'm giving up..

If you had asked me this question a year or even six months ago i would have told you that giving up is never the answer. Now however i would say that honestlty now i give up over most things because it makes other people happy and i dont have to deal with yet another argument..

Giving Up

I think that we shouldnt give up cause your bored of it. I think that people should strive for the best and when an obsticle gets in the way dont give up but find a way around it and work throu it. Dont just give up cause then when we get to be living on our own you might think oh work is to hard or something and just give up.

To be or not to be

Giving up is different for each person, for me, I give up when the time is right. If something has really got me down and I know I could succeed better at something else, why not do it? I don't like taking a ton of time to sulk or use all my energy where it is wasted. I believe in passion and doing things that make you happy. I believe in hard work and doing your best. I believe in fixing things or making them work for you, but I also believe sometimes, that is all unrealistic. I wait until I know my energy is not worth it, or time, or that I just don't have the drive or passion anymore. Then I have no problem walking away with a new goal in mind. I don't let it get me down or feel defeated, I feel happy that I tried and excited to start something new. I don't understand why some people think "giving up" can be a bad thing, unless they give up on trying anything at all. It opens new doors and allows new experiences to come into our lives. Giving up isn't always the answer, but it is always an option.

I give up

I don't have any set rules for giving up. I just keep going till I feel like it's just not worth it anymore. And it's different for every situation.

Giving up

All through your life people are telling you don't give up, try your best, be all you can be. I don't mean to sound pessimistic or anything, but I'm tired of it. If you want to give up, GIVE UP!!! Make your own choices, and you'll suffer your own consequences. That's how it is. If you keep going, then great for you. If you give up, then great for you too. Personally, I give up a lot. I give up with relationships, I give up with school, I give up with myself, yet I still love my life, and the people I know. So giving up is sometimes a necessary evil. You just need to be ready to face the consequences that arise from it. This is not to say never try, as a rule, trying your best should be the first option, but really. It isn't wrong to quit once in a while. And I am tired of society telling me that it is.

I officially DO NOT like shakespeare! UGH

Shakespeare
When we think of great men who went down in history who do we think of? One name that comes to mind is William Shakespeare, he was a great poet and play write, as many realize he was also a very clever man.
Shakespeare did not as many people believe write his plays in old English, he wrote them in almost his own language, often hard to understand and very in depth many of the hidden insults arnt what you would expect them to be for example;
“Thou wanton shrill-gorged snipe!”
Meaning; You are rude and lascivious, you have a irritating voice, and you are annoying.
Or
“Your villainy goes against my weak stomach, and therefore I must cast it up”
Meaning; You make me sick.
Or probably my all time favorite
“More validity, more honorable state, more courtship lives in the carrion flies.”
Meaning; You have less worth, dignity and manners then a maggot.
Along with the insults most of what Shakespeare wrote can be confusing and hard to follow something as simple as
“The gray-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night”
(Said by Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet.) can be translated into something that doesn’t sound much the same like; The smiling morning is replacing the frowning night.
As I said before Shakespeare was a very clever man and for all we know he could have all these hidden meanings in all his plays could really add up to be a great plot for taking over the world that no one has figured out. ( That’s my guess at least.)
Sources:
1) “Barbs form the Barb” Shakespearean Insults with modern day translations.
Author: Michael Viner and Stefan Rudnick
Copy write 2000
2) No fear Shakespeare! http://nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/page_96.html
Date and time: march 20th 2009
3) The biography of William Shakespeare.
http://www.poemhunter.com/william-shakespeare/biography/
Date and time: 5/26/2010 11:34:21 PM

giving up

Little things like arguments with your friends, and competitions such as sports, just aren't that important. Sometimes it's better just to give up, rather than to lose something more important. Like if you are having an argument with your friend, sometimes it's better to let it go, and let them win the argument so that you don't lose a friend.

However, there are things that you should never back down on. Like beliefs about religion, or morals, or whatever else. Even if people think that you are weird, or crazy for having certain beliefs, you should never back down on what you think is right. Like the fact that I'm a Christian, and I refuse to be ashamed of it, or my friend who is a vegan because she doesn't like what people do to animals. Even though sometimes people will give her funny looks when she tells them, I know that she won't change her mind about it because it is something she feels very strongly about, and that will not change.

Research paper

I did my research paper on what is the summary of Hamlet.

ACT I
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is advised by the sentinels of the royal castle of Kronborg, at Elsinore, that an apparition strongly resembling his dead father had appeared on the battlements. Hamlet therefore resolves to encounter the spirit and learn from it, if possible, the true cause of his father's taking-off, about which the Prince has had many suspicions. He meets the Ghost
at its next nightly visitation, and in an interview with it his worst fears are confirmed. The late King's brother Claudius, who has ascended the throne and wedded the widowed Queen, had poisoned the King while he slept. Hamlet is enjoined to secrecy and revenge, and the Ghost vanishes. Hamlet's followers are sworn to say nothing of the occurrence.

ACT II
Because of the news and of the dread task to which he is commissioned, Hamlet is seized with a species of madness, perhaps largely feigned, whereby he may cloak his designs. He writes incoherent and passionate letters to his lady-love, Ophelia, daughter of Polonius, a court dignitary. At this juncture a company of strolling players arrives at the castle and at Hamlet's suggestion a certain play is given before the King and Queen and members of the court.

ACT III
The play deals with the murder of a Venetian duke, whose wife afterwards weds the murderer. The story closely resembles the circumstances of the King of Denmark's demise. During the play Hamlet is intent not upon the players but upon the countenance and actions of his uncle. The latter, as if struck with a realising sense of his own crime, as Hamlet suspected, hurriedly leaves. Hamlet no longer doubts the truth of the Ghost's communications, and turns with energy to seek the vengeance which he has sworn to execute.

The queen mother is also much disturbed by the purport of the play, and sends for Hamlet in order to upbraid him. Hamlet answers reproach with reproach, and leaves his mother overwhelmed with shame and self-convicted. But for the opportune arrival of the dead King's spirit, Hamlet might have adopted even more violent measures. Ophelia's father, Polonius, who is spying upon this interview, is slain by Hamlet, who mistakes him for the King.

ACT IV
Hamlet's banishment is decided upon. Two former school comrades of his are entrusted with a commission to leave him in England, where sealed orders are to bring about the Prince's death. But by a combination of plot and accident the execution is visited instead upon the heads of the two accomplices. Hamlet returns to Denmark. There he is greeted by a strange spectacle—the funeral of a young girl, honored by the presence of the King, Queen, and persons of the court. Hamlet has in fact arrived home just at the time of Ophelia's interment. That unfortunate maiden, through incessant brooding over the madness of her lover, the untimely end of her father, and the continued absence of her brother, Laertes, had become insane. For some days she had wandered about the court singing and strewing flowers, then had strayed to the banks of a stream and been drowned.

ACT V
When Hamlet discovers that it is Ophelia's funeral, he is beside himself with grief. He leaps into the grave and angrily contests with Laertes, who also has just returned, the place of chief mourner. Laertes in turn desires to kill Hamlet, for he regards the Prince as the cause of all the woes that have fallen upon his house.

Seeing the animosity of Laertes, King Claudius thinks he may make use of it to work Hamlet's undoing. He secretly advises Laertes to engage Hamlet in a fencing-match—supposedly friendly. Laertes' foil, however, is to be naked and envenomed. Hamlet, unsuspecting, consents to a trial of skill before the court. The King prepares a poisoned drink for Hamlet, if perchance he shall escape the tipped foil. Laertes and Hamlet fence. After a touch or two for Hamlet, the Queen, to do him honour, toasts him, unwittingly, with the poisoned cup. Laertes wounds Hamlet. In the scuffle they change rapiers, and Hamlet in turn wounds Laertes with the latter's treacherous blade. The Queen dies from the drug while Laertes falls, but before he dies he confesses his guilty design and craves pardon of the Prince. Hamlet turns upon the King with his own dying strength and stabs the usurping monarch to the heart.

Giving up is not always the answer!

You should have to never give up on something your fight for if it really truly matters to you. Fighting is kind of what most poeple are good at and you dont see them just give up and if they do its not going away that fight will one day or another will be brought back up. For example cheating you can fight till your blue in the face but when the fighting stops its stays with you and when another fight starts cheating is brought back up. When you for sure know your wrong about something and you keep fighting thats when you should give up and stop waisting your time. To me i would not give up on the cheating fight or have something stop me from living my life the way i want to.

Topic 15

I think we should give on the little things everyday problems, like where to eat or how to dress. But if you really feel strongly towards something and actually know why you feel that way, you should fight hard for people to see your point. But sometimes that thought gets taken too seriously and we get wars. Which is a bummer.

Tactical Surrender

In many situation, you shouldn't back down, because perseverance is the best way to survive. But when the odds are entirely against you and you enemy thinks he knows it, back down and then attack him when he least expects it. Muahahaha! There are tactical places in wars where surrender is a good thing. Surrendering can save lives if the tides of the enemy are overwhelming.
In our own countries history, were were out numbered. Colonial America did not give up when faced against the most powerful nation at the time: Britain. As we all know, the colonies won. The truth of this all is; we shouldn't give up against things that are worth fighting for. Things that are for the greater good. Like freedom and protection. Fighting against evil desires is the eternal battle that we all fight. Do you just throw away our morals? NO! of course we don't. Or at least we shouldn't. Some do is the sad thing.
Deciding which out come is better should be the motivation for surrender.

i have issues with giving up. iv no doubt about it. thats part of the reason i am such a determined, motivated and fast distance runner. because distance running is such a difficult sport both physicaly and especial mentaly, only the strong of heart can truely be phenominal. but with such a strong mentality is a very critical weakness. distance runners dont know when to give up. there are few times that it would be smart to give up, but when those situations arise, it can be very dangerous. for example a few weeks ago it was the end of a meet and i was side by side with another guy trying to compete for all the points i could. we both were sprinting the last 200 meters of the 1500 and we were evenly matched. i managed to pull the strength from deep inside, and win. but there was a cost. iv severely injured my back and was not able to optimally preform at the district meet. in fact, i shouldnt have even run. but i did anyway and it was one of the most painful things iv ever experienced. now i have to get an MRI on Friday and hope that i dont need surgury. but thats a physical type of surrender. Mental surrender is a completely different story and trust me when i say i have very major issues with this. Giving up things or people that you know in your heart you never want to let go is the hardest thing iv ever had to do in my life. but there is a point when you realize its for the best. so you try to move on. you try to let go but you never really do. it is true that it is hard to do the right thing sometimes. unfortunately i know this all too well. but i try to move on. i try to be happy. dont work for crap though. especially when you are physically and mentaly breaking down. but the knowledge in my heart that giving things up is the best, would save me.because trust me, its one thing to know what to do with your mind. its a whole other thing to know what to do in your heart. and when those two contradict eachother, it leaves a path of destruction that takes a long time to rebuild.

Raise the white flag?

I don't think students should give up in school. Though I dislike some of my classes, I don't give up and fail the class. Its hard for me to keep trying in tougher situations, especially with people. I have trouble compromising if the person doesn't do their half, and I try to have patience, but I'm not always successful. I really wish I wouldn't give up on things such as eating healthier, or being less negative. I notice I don't give up when I have someone motivating me. I don't think people should surrender themselves to others. What I mean by this is I get irritated seeing people let other people abuse them physically or mentally. I think if a person is doing something that harms them and is ruining their life, then they should give up on the drug or whatever is affecting them. Overall, it depends on the situation in my opinion and who knows... there could be a small victory on letting something go.

Descretion is th Key

I personally have trouble with giving up. Its not that I give up too easily, its that I don't know when to give up. Sometimes it is all too early, other times I am "the captian of a sinking ship." I feel like giving up and cutting your losses can be a good stratagy. I am not really the best on this subject, sorry.

!42! Topic #15: No Retreat, No Surrender

When should you give up?
Is it really true that you should never surrender, never back down, always keep fighting?
Or does it make more sense to let something go, and try to conserve some effort/energy/resources of whatever kind, for the next fight?
What are the gradations, or the categories and criteria?  What sorts of things should you surrender on quickly, if anything, and what are the sorts of things you should never surrender?

Answers (If you haven't given up on this blog entirely, that is) by next Tuesday, June 1.

#14 Shakespeare Research

Is Shakespeare’s’ Macbeth Really Cursed?

Ask anyone in theater what the “Scottish play” is and they will immediately know what you are talking about. It’s the play Macbeth, by Shakespeare. Supposedly the play is cursed, so cursed that you can’t even say the name Macbeth in the theater without bad thing happening to you. Is this true?

To begin, one can look to the actual plot of the play, which is pretty dark. There is murder, deceit, evil and witchcraft all contained in this short play. It was originally performed for King James, who had written a book on how to detect witches. Knowing this, Shakespeare decided to put witchcraft into his play that he was performing for King James. He used actual black magic in one of the scenes of the play. There were witches (actors) dancing around a black cauldron, yelling and throwing things into the cauldron. However, the real witches weren’t very happy that Shakespeare exposed their witchcraft practices so they cast a spell on the play. Supposedly the spell has never been broken and still exists today.

What is the spell? According to Andrew Mann in his analysis The Curse of Macbeth, he states “Supposedly, saying the name "Macbeth" inside a theater will bring bad luck to the play and anyone acting in it. The only exception is when the word is spoken as a line in the play.” So assuming that this is true, what happens if you accidentally slip up and say the dreaded name? You need to act fast to ward off the curse! Again, according to Andrew Mann, he states in his analysis “In order to reverse the bad luck, the person who uttered the word must exit the theater, spin around three times saying a profanity, and then ask for permission to return inside. There are several other variations of this ritual that involve spitting over your shoulders or simply letting out a stream of cuss words. Some say that you must repeat the words "Thrice around the circle bound, Evil sink into the ground," or you can turn to Will himself for assistance and cleanse the air with a quotation from Hamlet.” So according to legend you better do something or you will be doomed to bad luck. Most actors in theater are aware of this and that is why the play Macbeth is referred to as the “Scottish play”.

So is this true? Have there been any instances where bad things have happened to actors that dared to speak the name Macbeth? Surely there would be many incidents documented if the legend were true. Well, as a matter of fact, there are many examples. Supposedly, Shakespeare himself had to perform the role of Lady Macbeth because the actor who was cast in that role suddenly got very ill and died. There are more cases that have been documented. According to Samantha Mann in her article Superstition and Macbeth: Curse of the Scottish Play, she has found the following real cases. “One of these most famous cases of real life tragedy striking a production of Macbeth occurred at New York's Astor Place, in 1849, when 31 people were killed when a full-scale riot broke out in the theatre”. She goes on with other examples from her article, “The curse of the play is said to have struck the legendary Laurence Olivier, when he was nearly hit by a stage weight, in 1937. The director and an actress, of the same production, were involved in a car accident on their way to the theatre. The production was hit with further bad luck when the theatre manager was killed by a heart attack during the dress rehearsal and, if that weren’t enough, Olivier’s sword broke during one of the fight scenes and ended up flying into the audience, hitting a man who later also had a heart attack”.

So what do you think? I think these little ‘incidents’ are pretty convincing! The fact that many actors refuse to say the name Macbeth implies that many in the theater company agree with me. If I were an actress I don’t think I would throw caution to the wind and take my chances. I would try not to repeat the name, and if I did on accident, I would quickly learn the art of spitting over my shoulder! I believe it’s better to be safe than sorry. So indeed, the curse lives on.

Lauren

Works Cited

Markham, Samantha. “Superstition and Macbeth: The Curse of The Scottish Play” Suite 101. 29 October 2009. Web. 24 May 2010. http://shakespeareantheatre.suite101.com/article.cfm/superstition_and_macbeth#i xzz0ouY5iJJ8

Mann, Andrew. “The Curse of Macbeth.” The Lone Conspirators. Web. 24 May 2010.

http://home.flash.net/~manniac/macb.htm

Lil late topic 13

Technology... Im not gunna say I dont like technology because that would be a lie. But it scares me, that if technology gets so big, it will start to run our lives. It has already advanced so much from what it started from. I like to have a cell phone and have computers and such, but at some point I think taechnology is going to get so big it will start to have power over us if that makes sense. Idk really..

Topic 12 late ooopppppss

Responsibility. Well I think its probably one of the most important things you learn in life. Everyone learns it diferently and everyone has different ways of being responsible. I think responsibility is a huge factor in my life, if I wasn't responsible I wouldn't get to have the privlages I have, I wouldnt get the grades I do, and I wouldnt have the relationships I do. Idk for me theres not much to say about it. I think everyone at some point in their life is going to realize how important responsibility is. If your irresponsible your whole life, I dont think you will get very far.

The Early Years of Shakespeare.

Shakespeare's life is believed to have began on April 23rd 1564, and it is known as a fact that he was baptized into the church three days later on the 26th. Not much is known about Shakespeare's early childhood. In those days as soon as you were a teenager you were hurled into an adult life. Children were considered miniature adults and were therefore treated that way. There really was no distinct "teenage" group like there is in today's society. There was child and adult, no clear in between. Marriage was the next step in a young adults life and typically occurred as soon as you were no longer a child.
Shakespeare started at the King Edward V1 Grammar School when he was seven. Most boys of his status attended these types of grammar schools. The boys had a long and hard day starting around five in the morning and ending around five or six in the evening. They did not have physical education or even vacations. Church on Sunday was mandatory. Latin was at the heart of the curriculum and the method of learning was to memorise long passages of Latin prose and poetry. Latin was the international language of Europe and it was used in the law, the medical profession and Church. If you wanted to enter any sort of profession in that time you had to be fluent in Latin. Shakespeare would also have been drilled in grammar, logic, math, and astronomy. They were also taught music. There were intense tests every week and if you didn't pass you were given physical punishment.
When he was fourteen Shakespeare's father somehow became disliked and his sons had to leave grammar school. There is no real record of what happened to him at this point in his life. The next time we hear of him is when he is eighteen and marrying a twenty-six year old named Anne Hathaway. Anne just so happened to be three months pregnant on her wedding day. Back then it wasn't unusual to be pregnant on your wedding day. When a boy knocked a girl up he was bound to marry her or the child would be coined a "bastard", looked down on for the rest of its life and given no legal rights whatsoever.
So at this point Shakespeare is a penniless, teenage father, married to a women eight years his senior. It is unclear how he was supporting his little family but we know that he must have made money somehow. A few years later, after the birth of twins, another girl, and a boy, Shakespeare made his way to London where he began a career in theatre. He did really well in that and was able to send money to his family and visit them frequently. Eleven years after the birth of the twins he had become so rich that he bought a house for his family which was one of the biggest houses in their city. Amidst all this joy and wealth one of the twins, the boy named
Hamnet, died at the age of eleven.
A random side note about Shakespeare and his life at this time that I thought was disgusting; Since hygiene wasn't that big of a deal back then, Shakespeare only bathed once a year in the month of May. It was a huge ordeal. The water was fetched and boiled into the largest tub where he then bathed, followed by any other man in the household, then the women and the children. By the time the kids entered the tub it was thick with the dirt and nastiness of the other people. Eww.
So it seems that not much is really known about Shakespeare's earliest years, other than the major events in his life, we can really only infer what his life was like as a kid according to the lifestyles of the other people in that time period. No one really knows when he started to write poetry and plays, but it must have started sometime in his schooling years and manifested into something greater when he ventured into the world of theater. I guess you could say that the rest is history.


Resources:

Shakespeare's Early Childhood. No Sweat Shakespeare : Modern Shakespeare Resources & Translations. May 23rd, 2010. http: com="" resources="" htm="">http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/resources/shakespeare-childhood.htm

Shakespeare Facts: Read Facts About Shakespeare. No Sweat Shakespeare : Modern Shakespeare Resources & Translations. May 23rd 2010. http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/resources/shakespeare-facts.htm

Shakespeare's School Years & Teenage Years. No Sweat Shakespeare : Modern Shakespeare Resources & Translations. May 23rd, 2010. http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/resources/shakespeare-teenage-school-years.htm

What I Believe to be an Average Day for Shakespear

William Shakespeare on an average day, probably wouldn't be suffering. Since William owned three estates, he obviously had no small amount of money. My guess is that he was a middle class citizen if not upper class. Although he had one of the thought to be lowest jobs at the time, he probably lived in an upper class fashion; upper class meaning wealthy. He would have bathed, eaten, and dressed probably more like a wealthier man. When he wasn't composing something or acting, his entertainment activities were most likely as a wealthier person's were. Another thing that I would like to point out is that his furniture would have probably been more extravagant than a commoners furniture at that time. In a possible day of Shakespeare, he would have had many, what was considered at that time, luxuries.

In the Seventeenth century, bathing was available to all, but not all could afford it and not all people chose to bath at what is now considered proper. Shakespeare had the money to bathe everyday, but most likely bathed every week or longer. Shakespeare, like everyone else, would have bathed for cleanliness and social purposes. Baths were considered social occasions and were attended by males and females. Private bathes were available for those who could pay for them.
William would have eaten meals full or protein. This is because vegetables were considered commoner's food. Shakespeare, being the money holder that he most likely was, would have eaten meat and dairy products. The poor needed the animals alive to provide them with things such as milk and eggs, but the rich could afford to take the animals meat. The midday meal, lunch, would have been the biggest meal of the day. Shakespeare would have been served beef, mutton, or venison first. Then, he would have been served poultry, an assortment of fish dishes, and yeast bread. Finally, he would have eaten Cheese, pealed fruit, and possibly some kind of pastries. Along with this, he would would have drunken wine, beer, ale, or porter. No one at that time drank water. There was too high of a possibility of contamination. All of this food might have been served on glass, china, or other dishes made of precious metals. The utensils more than likely were made out of silver. The table cloth underneath all this was basically a large napkin. Singular napkins hadn't been invented at this time. William Shakespeare's meals would have resembled something like this.

Shakespeare's furniture would have been hand crafted and good quality. The wood used was usually oak, mahogany, or walnut. William's furniture would have been in-lade with mother of pearl, lacquered, and/or upholstered. These heavy creations would have been in style and in high demand for those who had money.

When Shakespeare was engaging in recreational activities, he might have played various board games or sporting activities. possibly, he might have partaken in chess, draughts (checkers), backgammon, or fox and geese. These game's were invented by the Normans and taken in by the local people. William would have possibly gone hunting for dear, wild boar, games birds, or wolves. Gambling over cock fights and bear/bull baiting were also popular at the time. The wealthy sought these animals and activities because England's forests were rich with life.
Clothing in the seventeenth century included several pieces for both male and female. Shakespeare would most likely have worn a waistcoat with a frock over it or a linen shirt with a doublet. His pants would have been breeches. Williams wife would have worn a nightie, called a shift, with a long dress over it. The dress consisted of two pieces: a bodice and a skirt. These cloths were in fashion at the time.

All of these components could have made up William Shakespeare's average day. However, a large chunk of William's time would have been occupied by his work. No on can know how much he actually spent in recreational activities. I concluded that William Shakespeare was a wealthier citizen, because he owned three properties. Owning three properties shows that he would of had to have had a suitable abount of money, and thus being able to afford a higher life style. Whether he lived this life style out is unknown.

Everyday Life in the 17^th Century (Lambert)

A World’s Story Encyclopedia (Western European History)

http://www.localhistories.org/stuart.html

Lifestyles of the Rich and Poor in the Seventeenth Century (Lifestyles)

Chris’ Home Port (Seventeenth Century Lifestyles)

http://www.canaan.demon.co.uk/roleplaying/venice/RArsm-C17th.html

Queen Elizabeth/Shakespeare essay

Um.... It's not letting me copy and paste it from my Word Document that i typed it up in. So I'll print it out and turn it in to you tomorrow, Mr. Humphrey =) hope that works ok.

Clearing Shakespeare's Name

 Clearing Shakespeare's Name

    “Love is blind” For those who know a little bit about Shakespeare this quote may be instantly recognized as part of The Merchant of Venice, but those who know a bit more about Shakespeare will know that this now famous quote did not originate with Shakespeare's play but in The Canterbury Tales, published long before Shakespeare wrote his play. Was Shakespeare, the most famous author in the English language, a plagiarizer? Did the Bard, a fairly unschooled man, even write the plays at all? Thankfully for all admirers of Shakespeare, the evidence points in his favor.
    There is some rather convincing evidence in favor of Shakespeare being a plagiarizer. And it has misled many people. For example, in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, his famous description of Cleopatra on her barge is taken almost word for word from Plutarch's life of Mark Antony. How can that help but be plagiarizing? Shakespeare also used one of John Heywood Proverbs, “All is well that ends well,” as the title to one of his plays. It would seem that the Bard was a plagiarizer.
    The most convincing evidence, however, that the Bard was a plagiarizer comes from a collection of poems compiled by W. Jaggard. All of the poems in the collection were put down under the name of W. Shakespeare; however, many of them were written by other authors. It seems that the evidence could not be more blunt and clear.
    Even though the evidence which seems to prove Shakespeare a plagiarizer is all accurate, there are some often overlooked facts which clear his name. He no more pirated those two lines for his plays than I would be pirating if I used the saying “A penny saved is a penny earned” in a book. That saying has become part of our culture; it is so well known that it is unnecessary to cite it. The Bard was just using some common sayings of his time in his plays.
    The seemingly pirated description of Cleopatra is not much different than the quotes. In Shakespeare's time such works as Plutarch's life of Mark Antony were studied much and people knew bits and pieces of them by heart. Shakespeare writing down his interpretation of the work was no more pirating it than Vincent Price acting out the well known poem “The Raven,” or the writing down of countless variations of the Bard's “To be or not to be” speech from Hamlet.
    Shakespeare may also be acquitted of charges from pirating other's poems. In fact it was W. Jaggard who falsely put them all down under the Bard's name. One of the authors who wrote some of the poems in that collection said that Shakespeare was furious about having his name put down for other's works.
    Shakespeare certainly didn't plagiarize, but there are people who question whether or not he wrote the plays at all. He was fairly unschooled and it seems very unlikely that he possessed the ability to write the plays at all. Many people think that Edward de Vere, the seventeenth Earl of Oxford, more likely wrote them. Many scholars have suggested that since playwrites were scorned upon, de Vere may have written Shakespeare's names on the play allowing the Bard to take the credit for them to keep the de Vere family name. This theory, however, is entirely based on conjecture and has much evidence against it.
    Choosing Shakespeare as the fake author of the plays would have been a strange move for de Vere. Shakespeare helped in the producing of the plays and frequently would have been asked questions about them. From his inability to answer some questions, people would have soon learned that he hadn't really written them. Clearly Shakespeare would not have been de Vere's first choice as someone to attribute the plays to.
    Another problem with the conjecture is that de Vere has been historically shown to be both egotistical and publicly involved in plays and writing himself. From what we know about him from history, he would be too vain to attribute such masterpieces to someone else. He also did not seem to worry that he was publicly known to be involved in plays. He openly sponsored the Oxford's men, an acting company, and wrote poems which he signed with his own name.
    The most convincing evidence, however, that de Vere did not write Shakespeare's plays is that he died before they were all written. Supporters of de Vere maintain that he wrote all of the plays by himself, but masterpieces like the Tempest, Macbeth, and a dozen or so other shakespearian plays were all written from 1605 to 1613. De Vere, however, died earlier in 1604. Clearly he did not write these plays.
    When there are men as great and renowned as Shakespeare but with little known about them, their lives, and their times it is unavoidable that many myths and misconceptions will arise around them. Shakespeare was, however, just a man with the incredible gift and talent to make such wonderful works in the English language.

Resources

Cummings, Mike. "Authorship Question." www.cummingsstudyguides.net. 22 Oct. 2009. Web. 23 May 2010. .

Cummings, Mike. "Did Shakespeare Plagiarize?." www.cummingsstudyguides.net. 6 Sep. 2008. Web. 23 May 2010. .

William Shakespeare Esssssaaayyyyyy :)

William Shakespeare Essay
By Sarah Hanna

William Shakespeare’s birthday is unknown. They have records at a church from when he got baptized. According to The Book of Common Prayer, it was required for children to get baptized on the nearest Sunday or holy day to their birth date. William Shakespeare’s birthday has been set on April 23, St. George’s Day and a house in Stratford, owned by William’s father, has been his accepted birth place. But nobody actually knows when the great writer was born. Shakespeare’s true birthday will remain unknown but if he was in fact born on April 23, he would have died on the same day of the month.

It is said that from 1578-82 and 1585-92 are Shakespeare’s “lost years”. The first period covers the time he left school to when he got married. The second period covers the seven years he was writing and perfecting his plays. We know very little about these two periods in Shakespeare’s life, it’s interesting that he didn’t write anything down about his life and but wrote 39 or more plays. This also is just an estimate because no one really knows how many plays he wrote and he could have wrote plays that were never found or he didn’t have performed.

Recordings in the Episcopal register at Worcester on November 27 and 28, 1582, reveal Shakespeare desired to marry a young girl named Anne. There are two different documents recorded, it’s still a debate on who William was really going to marry. Were there two Anne’s? There are three possibilities; Anne Whateley and Anne Hathwey could be the same women. The Wm Shaxpere and the Annam Whateley who wished to marry in Temple Grafton were two different people from the Wm Shagspere and Anne Hathway who were married in Stratford. The women Shakespeare loved and the women Shakespeare actually married could be two different Anne’s. What ever argument one chooses, William Shakespeare got married to Anne Hathway who was twenty-six and already several months pregnant.

William Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616 in Stratford Parish; it was his fifty-second birthday. His burial was recorded on April 25 and was buried at the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. William Shakespeare’s tomb lies beneath the floor in the church, it’s covered with stone inscribed with a curse:

Good friend for Jesus sake forbearTo dig the dust enclosed here!Blest be the man that spares these stones,And curst be he that moves my bones.

Shakespeare’s cause of death is unknown, like many other things, it’s been suggested that he had been drinking too hard with his fellow play writers and died of a fever. But it’s said that Shakespeare had been ill prior to his death. Shakespeare had retired as a play writer in 1612 or 1613 three or four years before his death. Because of plague, syphilis, typhus, scurvy, tuberculosis, smallpox, malaria, dysentery and toothaches Londoner’s life expectancy was 35 years, so Shakespeare actually lived a relatively long and healthy life.



Resources


http://www.bardblog.com/how-many-plays-did-shakespeare-write/

http://www.shakespeare.online.com/biography/shakespearelostyears.html


http://www.enotes.com/william-shakespeare/how-did-shakespeare-die



*I didn’t write about only one topic. Because I kept reading and wanted to know more about his life and everything so I hope this is ok.

The curse of Macbeth

Macbeth, one of Shakespeare's most renowned tragedies, was written sometime between 1603 and 1607. The story centers around prophecies and the murder of a monarch to gain power. In the opening of the story, The Three Witches appear and address Macbeth in various titles of royalty, causing a chain of events to be set in motion. Macbeth sees these as prophecies and begins to try and fulfill them. He plots with his wife to kill the king so he can gain the position as ruler. After a grapple for power ensues, and the drama unfolds, Macbeth is sent to his death by beheading.

This solemn story, dark enough on it's own happens to carry an even darker legend along with it. The story goes that if you speak the name of "Macbeth", or you are involved with the production of the play, you will bring bad luck upon yourself. If you do happen to utter the name, there many supposed ways to counteract the "curse" such as leaving the room and closing the door, then turning around three times. It is also said that quoting lines from Shakespeare's other work, Hamlet, can also do the trick.


Of course a curse like this wouldn't be taken too seriously but the odd thing is, ever since the first performance of the play on August, 7, 1606, misfortunes have seemed to pop up around it. A little too many perhaps to be purely coincidental. Opening night, the actor who portrayed Lady Macbeth was taken backstage and died from fever. This was only the very beginning of a string of bad luck that seem to follow Macbeth wherever it goes. Countless occurrences ensued. For example, in 1672, in Amsterdam, a stage knife was substituted purposely for a real dagger, and used to stab an actor to death in front of a live audience. And in a 1942 staging, three actors died, and then later a fellow actor who was also in the play committed suicide. Shortly afterward in 1947, and actor was stabbed on accident during the final sword battle and died of the wound. The list goes on and on. Death and destruction following it everywhere.


No one quite knows the meaning behind all the coincidences. Some people brush it off as superstition arguing that since the play is so popular and has countless showings over the years, there are bound to be things that go wrong, and sometimes those things mighty be quite severe. However some say that all the misfortunes are too strange to be purely coincidental. As for the truth, no one knows. Until these strange events are explained, whether you put weight on them or not, I would think twice before uttering the fateful name: "Macbeth".


Bernauw, Patrick. "The Curse of Macbeth." 10 Aug. 2009. Web. .

Dex. "What's the Story on the Curse of Macbeth?" The Straight Dope. 16 Oct. 2007. Web. 23 May 2010. .

"Macbeth." Wikipedia. 23 May 2010. Web. 23 May 2010. .

William and Anne

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in December 1582. It was a very hasy marriage because Anne was expecting a child and was three month pregnant. There was eight years difference between the two. Anne was 26 and William was 18. Since the age of consent was twenty one, Will's father had to sign the documents. It was still legal for them to get married though. The legal marrying age for boys was 14 and for girls it was 12.

Since the marriage was so hasty, it was probably a small event. Marriage invitations were never sent out anyways because the towns and communities were so close nit anyways, everyone always knew what was happening. Usually the bride would wear her best dress as would her bridesmaids and everyone would go to the church and then the two families would have a sort of luncheon together.

After the marriage, Anne went to live with Will's family and six months later, she gave birth to their daughter Susanna. Two years later twins were born to the young Shakespeare family, Judith and Hamnet (who died when he was 11). One to six years later, Shakespeare left to London to act with a troupe of actors.

Shakespeare lived in London and occasionally came home to be with his wife and children. Shakespeare was becoming more and more famous. He was starting to be noticed by noblemen and he occasionally got to perform his plays for Queen Elizabeth. Shakespeare bought a the second best house in his town and some land and Anne and her family moved there.

In 1616 William wrote the first draft of his will. In february of that year, his oldest daughter Susanna got married to John Hall, a man in the medical profession.In april of that year, Shakespeare died and left the bulk of his forture to Susanna and three hundred pounds to Judith in her own name. He also left his second best bed to his wife. Under law though, Anne was entitled to one third of his forture and life residence in his house.

"Anne Hathaway Biography". William Shakespeare Site Map. May 22, 2010 .

Shakespeare

William Shakespeare's writing has probably had more affect on today's stories and plot lines than anyone. Amazingly, Shakespeare did not ever attend a university. His intellect and quick learning lead him to his great success.
People always show a part of themselves in there writing, so who is William Shakespeare? We read him, we discuss him, we analyze him, yet we've never met any man like him. William Shakespeare is truly one of his own.
Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway when he was 18, Hathaway was 26. The two had eight children including a set of twins. The twins died 66 years apart, Hamnet at age 11 and Judith at age 77. Shakespeare himself, lived through the Plague and continued to write during this time.
Nobody really knows why William wrote the way he did, or what thoughts were running through his mind at this time, but he has been extremely influential. The modern art of text would not be the same without him. Even without what we today would call a proper education, he has still managed to become forever famous.

SITE
"Absolute Shakespeare" 2005-2006
http://absoluteshakespeare.com/pictures/william_shakespeare.htm
"Absolute Shakespeare" 2005-2006
http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/facts/facts.htm

Shakespeare research

Out of all of Shakespeare's plays his shortest play is "The Comedy of Errors". It is the story of two identical twins who were seperated at birth and end up getting mixed up with their families. This play is also one of the earliest that Shakespeare wrote. It is believed to have been written between 1592 and 1594. The play is 1,787 lines long and has 14,369 words.

The ideas in the play are believed to have come from two different Roman comedis from Plautus. The idea of mistaken identities between identical twins comes from Menaechmi. The idea of twin slaves with the same name comes from Amphitruo.

Shakespeare's longest play is "Hamlet" which is a tragedy based on the life of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. It was written between 1599 and 1601. There are three different versions of the play that have been recovered they are called the First Quarto, the Second Quarto and the First Folio. Each of these has missing parts from the others.

These are the two extremes in length for Shakespeare's plays. "Hamlet" as his longest is also thought by some to be his best play.

Cites:

SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Comedy of Errors.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. n.d.. Web. 6 May 2010.

Wikipedia contributors. "Hamlet." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 23 May. 2010. Web. 24 May. 2010.

Wikipedia contributors. "The Comedy of Errors." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 May. 2010. Web. 24 May. 2010.

The Globe Theater

Shakespeare didn’t actually own the Globe Theater, but was rather a co-owner of it. He influenced it in many ways and made it a legacy with his famous plays. Although we have a fantastic replica today, the struggle for it to even make it in our history books today is still unknown to many.
The Globe Theater was built in 1598, but unfortunately for Shakespeare’s acting troupe The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, the lease for the land it was built on had expired in 1597. The owner of the theater, James Burbage, not wanting to pay a higher rent for the land hired a local carpenter to loosen all the joints in the building in the night. The next day The Lord Chamberlain’s Men tore up the theater, stealing all the oak crossbeams and crossed the frozen Thames River to the new construction site. The crossbeams were used for the structural frame for the theater’s reconstruction in 1599, which was now situated in a place called Bankside, in Southwark, London.
The theater was open air, octagonal, and three stories high. It had primitive rigging and possible trapdoors for stage effects. Capacity for the audience was 3000, mostly comprised of groundlings that either sat or stood to watch the performance. Those who could afford to sat in gallery boxes.
In 1613, the premier of Henry VIII, written by Shakespeare, was being preformed and during one of the scenes a cannon fired and set fire to the roof. The entire theater burned to the ground in one hour. However all of Shakespeare’s plays, props and costumes were saved.
Not too long after the second reconstruction of the Globe Theater, The Puritans came to power. In 1642 they had all theaters shut down because they disapproved of entertainment of all types. The theater was torn down two years later in 1644.
Studies on where the actual location of the Globe Theater began to commence in 1970. In 1989 when they were building it’s replica they found the foundations of the original which is 100 yards from the new Globe. The new Globe Theater reopened in 1999 showing one of Shakepeare’s first plays, Henry V.
It was remade three times from it’s original but it still made it to today even though it was missing for almost 300 years. You can go and see Shakespeare’s plays at the Globe today, and in the future. Just go to Southwark, London by the Thames river!


Citations

Malvasi , Meg G. "A History of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre." Suite 101.com (1999): 1. Web. 23 May 2010. .
Unknown. "Shakespeare's Globe Theatre." Absolute Shakespeare (2000-2005): n. Web. 23 May 2010. .

The plays of Shakespeare

Shakespeare wrote an immense number of plays. Totalling at thirty-seven in less than fifty-three years he wrote them in three categories: Tragedies, histories, and comedies.

His tragedies are Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolarus, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens, and Titus Andronicus.

His histories are Henry IV part I, Henry IV part II, Henry V, Henry VI part I, Henry VI part II, Henry VI part III, Henry VIII, King John, Richard II and Richard III.

His comedies are Alls well that ends well, As you like it, The comedy of errors, Cymbeline, Love's labours lost, Measure for measure, The Merry wives of Windsor, The merchant of Venice, A midsummer night's dream, Much ado about nothing, Pericles, prince of Tyre, The taming of the shrew, The tempest, Troilus and Cressida, Twelfth Night, Two gentlemen of Verona, and The winter's tale.

Sites

www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/ 1999-2010 Amanda Mabillard. Date looked upon, May 19, 2010. Last update February 28, 2010

Shakespeares Death.

William Shakespeare died on April 23 1616, the day of his 52^nd birthday. The cause is unknown, but there are many theories on the cause of death. Shortly before his death, Shakespeare was drinking with some of his friends and he had a little too much, and is said to die of a fever resulting from the drinking. On March 25, a month before his death, Shakespeare wrote his Last Will and Testament. Many people are debating if he knew he was going to die soon, or if he just wrote this because he wanted to. Because he wrote his Will and Testament some people believe he knew he was going to die, but they do not have proof he knew this. William Shakespeare was buried at the Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon 52 years after he was baptized there. His tomb is under the church in the chancel. Shakespeare is believed to e buried 17 feet underground, but it has not been confirmed as Shakespeare didn’t want his body to be moved.

Shakespeare’s contemporary, Ben Jonson, was referred to as “The greatest playwright to have lived” by William Shakespeare. Ben Jonson however, referred to Shakespeare as “A man not of an age, but for all time.” How then, is it that William Shakespeare is renowned as much as he is? How many people, if you asked them, would know who Ben Jonson was? What if you asked about Shakespeare? Who is Ben Jonson?
Ben Jonson was born on June 11th 1572 in Westminster, London. He subsequently died on the 6th of August 1637 in, some 65 years later. As a English Renaissance dramatist, and poet, Ben Jonson is best known for his satirical, plays, and lyric poems. Ben Jonson was also an actor.
Jonson went to school Westminster School, where he met William Camden. Jonson was friendly with Camden for the majority of his life. Camden was a well learned man who wrote Britannia, which is a book the describes and relates the different countries of Great Britain, and Ireland. By 1594 Jonson was married to a yet undetermined person(some believe that the woman was Ann Lewis).
Jonson's daughter Mary, died shortly after her birth in 1593, and his son Benjamin some ten years later. Another son, Benjamin, died in 1635. In 1597 Jonson was a part of the “Admirals Men”where he wrote and performed. “Admirals Men” is considered to be the second most important acting company of its time, superseded by “Kings Men,”

"John Aubrey reports, on uncertain authority, that Jonson was not successful as an actor..”

This suggests that while Jonson pulled his weight in the acting company, he was valued more as an writer than an actor. By 1598, Ben Jonson had started to write original plays of his own, for performance by his acting troupe.
Some of Jonsons most known plays are; Volpone a satire, The Alchemist a comedy, and Bartholomew Fair. Most of Jonson's success took place within the first two decades of the seventeenth century. Jonsons life came to its climax during these years, and proceeded into the falling action in the next decade.


Works Cited

Wikipedia. “Ben Jonson.” 23 May 2010. http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/contemporaries.htm#Jonson

Terry, Gray. “Shakespeare's Contemporaries” 2007-2009. 23 May 2010. http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/contemporaries.htm#Jonson

Technology

As an owner of a crackblackberry, I am not going to hide that I use said technology...a lot. Like, a lot, a lot. I hate not having it on me, because then my mind starts spinning with all of the what if's... what if there is an emergency, what if I'm getting an important call right now but I don't have my phone, blahblah, etc, etc. What can I say? I'm attached. But there are some things I don't like to use technology for. Like writing. I like using a pencil and paper. And sometimes I just like to walk, instead of drive. I don't know, it definitely varies and depends on what it is.

Medicine in Shakespeare's Time

During the Elizabethan age, the main disease was the Bubonic Plague, or the Black Death. The main reason this was such a problem is because of the lack of sanitaion. Especially in large cities where there were open sewers that were also filled with the garbage. Diseases were spread by fleas, lice, and rats and there was no running water. People got their water from water pumps.
During the Elizabethan age nobody knew what caused illness and disease. Everybody maily followed the teachings of Aristotle and Hippocrates. At the time they thought an imbalance in Humors, the bodily fluids, is what caused illness. That's why doctors 'bled' people. They were trying to get rid of the excess, unnecessary fluids. The only other choice was to was to be given herbs or vegetables.
What doctors wore at the time looks kind of weird to us. But it did actually keep a lot of them from getting diseases from their patients. The wore long black robes with pointed hoods, leather gloves, leather boots, an odd mask with a long beak filled with begamot oil, and amulets filled with dried blood and ground-up toads. They would often douse themselves in vinegar and chew angelica before treating a patient.
Very few people had the money to see a doctor like the one described above. Middle class people had to go the barbers, who, at the time, would also do minor procedures such as pull teeth or let blood along with cutting hair. If you didn't want to go to a barber, you went to the apothocary. They were who administered blood. If you didn't have any money for anything, you went to the church for comfort.

Alchin, Linda K. "Elizabethan Medicine and Illnesses." Elizabethan Era. N.p., 20 Mar. 2008. Web. 23 May 2010. http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-medicine-and-illnesses.htm.

Clothing

There were many things that were different in Shakespeare’s time, one thing that was very different was the clothing. It wasn’t like today, where you throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. They had layers, with buttons, and ties, etc. It was a lot harder getting dressed then, not just for women, but also for men.

Men started with a shirt, stockings, codpiece, and corset as their underclothes. Then they had a doublet, separate sleeves, breeches, belt, ruff, cloak, shoes, and a hat. Women had it even worse. They had to wear a smock, stockings, corset, farthingale (hooped skirt), rowle, stomacher, petticoat, kirtle, forepart, and a partlet. Then over all of that was the actual gown, sleeves, ruff, cloak, shoes, and a hat. They also wore jewelry occasionally, but it was only for the upper class. It included rings, brooches, necklaces, pendants, etc, made of many different types of stones, or even wood occasionally.

The clothing in Elizabethan times was not meant for comfort. It was worn to show off wealth, and class. There were even laws that said only certain classes could wear certain colors, and types of material. The women wore fancy dresses to make themselves seem more attractive because they were not only judged on beauty, but also on their taste in fashion. Their goal was to look skinny and petite.

Clothing in Shakespeare’s time was more uncomfortable, and harder to put on. However, it must have been very interesting to see all of the ruffles, and puffy sleeves. I think it would be fun to dress like that, but after a while it would get tiring, and wouldn’t really be worth it. Although there clothing was more exiting to look at I prefer how we dress today.

Sources:

http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-clothing.htm

http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/womensfashion.html

Women's Clothing in Elizabethan times.

Getting dress in Elizabethan times for a woman was no walk in the park. it was a huge process and if you slept in too late, you were going to be late for whatever it was because you couldn't just throw on some sweats and a shirt.
In Elizabethan times, women had many times of dresses to choose from. Their dresses depended on their age and background. They wore dresses that were flattering to their figure, no matter what their size. In these complex and intiricate dresses there are many layers.
First, we start with a smock or a shift. This is a basic underdress worn to protect the outerdress from odors and oils since bathing was scarce. There are many times of smocks. Some are cut close to the body or are billowy. Some have slim sleeves or puffy sleeves with cuffs.
Second, we have stockings. Stockings in this time came just above the knee. Stockings can come in a basic wool, a tight knit, or even silk stockings. Stockings are held up by a garter which is just a simple ribbon tied directly below the knee.
Next that goes on is a corset. Usually, women only wear their corset at court. One can typically get away with a dress that has a fashionable enough figure at home without a corset. They were most commonly worn by curvaceous women. Women who has small chests could get away with wear a little bit of ribbing in their dress and it was fine. The corset is made out of reed and whalebone.
A verdingal is a hoop skirt that creates an A-line shape for the dress. The verdingal is tied to the corset to help transfer the weight from all of the heavy skirts to the torso instead of it all laying on the hips.
The next step is optional. It's called a bumroll and its a small, cushioned crescent worn around the hips to help the skirts poof out more.
Now all of the structural items have been traced over. Next is the creativity part of clothing.
A petticoat is a skirt that can be simple or extravagent. There are ones with simple lace trim or are intricately embroidered. There are warm flannel petticoats that one can put on underneath their vendingal.
Another option instead of a petticoat is a kirtle and forepart. A kirtle is like a petticoat, except it's not a full skirt. It's a semi skirt that attaches to the bodice. The forepart buttons onto the kirtle, to creat a full skirt. The forepart is a piece that is selected to match the gown and sleeves.
Getting close to the end, we have the partlet. A partlet ties under the arms and fits just below the bustline. It can be made of silk, lace, or be embroidered. Sometimes, they have a ruffle at the neckband as well.
The gown and sleeves are finish of the body. The gown lies evenly over the kirtle and shows of the forepart. The gown laces up the front and covers the bodice.The sleeves come up to meet the partlet.
Last, we have shoes. They are all made of a thin leatherand the tops are made of leather, velvet, silk, or other fabrics. They are lined with wool, taffeta, and satin. Sounds comfy. Some of them are slips-ons while others look like a mary-jane. There are also shoes like resemble a modern t-strap that tie with a ribbon.


Sources:
Putting on an Elizabethan Outfit, Leed, Drea; http://www.elizabethancostume.net/overview.html.

globe theatre

William Shakespeare was an amazing play writer. When hearing his name most people think of the plays he has written such as Macbeth, Hamlet and Twelfth Night. Also they tend to think of the performances. His plays were during the day, now-a-days most plays are in the evening. I myself forgot about the non-existence of electricity at the time ( I know sad, right). Since there was no electricity or light bulbs the only light usable was natural sun light or candles and considering the amount of plays put on, that would be a waste of wax.

The Globe Theater was built in 1599 somewhere outside of London, England. To get there they had to cross the Thames River, which was filled with sewage. There was also the London Bridge, but as you all know from the song, it falls down.

To watch the plays at the Globe Theater it cost as little as one penny, that was to stand in front of the stage and watch. These people were called groundings. To sit in actual seats in balconies it cost as little as two pennies, but sometimes more. Depending on where you sat. the theater could hold up to 3000 people.

On June 29, 1613 a horrible accident happened during a performance of Henry the Eighth. A cannon misfired lighting one of the beams on fire and the whole place rose up in flames. It was rebuilt in the following year.

Three years after the theater was rebuilt, Shakespeare died. Plays were still put on till 1642 when parliament issued an order abolishing all stage plays. then in 1644 the theater was torn down to build homes on the land.

Just think without the Globe Theater there wouldn't be a William Shakespeare so often talked about. Or the literature that he produced. English classes would be so entirely different. The arts of theater and dramatics would be very unprogressed. The Globe Hheatre is very important to history.


Citations
"Globe Theatre." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2010.

Clothing/Costumes in Shakespeare's Time

Clothing, others have too much of it, others can barely afford it, and some enjoy being nude. Costumes, when I think of costumes I think of the musical: Chicago, and the holiday: Halloween. When I think of clothing or costumes during William Shakespeare's time, "ripped cloth" and "dirty shirts" appear to my mind. Yet, in Shakespeare's time, the acting companies spent about as much on the costumes as modern television series.

It was said when French visitors came to Shakespeare's plays, they would envy the clothing the actors wore. If an actor dressed like a King or Queen, they would be dressed as well as the actual King/Queen in the crowd. In Romeo and Juliet, the actor playing Romeo would wear a doublet(a man's close-fitting jacket; worn during the Renaissance). The doublet would most likely be velvet, with gold embroidery... talk about fancy. For Juliet and Lady Capulet, the actors would be wearing silk or satin gowns with gloves, a hat, shoes, and a ruff(a fine quality collar).

In Shakespeare’s time(around late 1500s to early 1600s) you wouldn’t be able to find a costume shop in England. Productions such as Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, or Hamlet would look a bit quirky. The fairies for, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, would be dressed in full Elizabethan ruffs and skirts instead of looking like Tinkerbell. However, the wardrobe for the actors didn’t upset the audience, but made them happy to see the actors dressed in proper attire.

Servants were not allowed to wear rich, fine-class fabrics, therefore the employers of the servants would sell their clothing to the acting companies. Clothing was very expensive, which meant most people would wear it for as long as they could. If someone wanted to pass down clothing to a non servant, it was perfectly fine, because people appreciated hand-me-downs. The acting companies would often buy clothes from people who were selling clothing still in great condition. Clothing was a sign of wealth, or the social status the person reflected in.

The cost of clothing was based on the fabric and color. Since there wasn’t synthetic dye, people would use other objects to make the dye. For example, purple dye was created by crushing many tiny sea snails. People would crush a specific type of beetle to obtain crimson dye(a rich, deep red). Cotton was very expensive until the 1800s, before the rise of cotton gin. Cotton was imported from India or the Americas, and was a difficult process.

Children dressed as infants up until the age of three. After three years old, they would be wearing adult clothes, yet smaller size of course. Picture a four year old wearing a business suit in modern day age. Though in Shakespearean time, a man’s outfit usually consisted of boots, breeches(pants), a jerkin(vest), and a hat. A women’s outfit was usually an over and under long skirt, a shirt, a bodice, and a hat or snood. A bodice was a type of vest-like undergarment, and a snood was an ornamental hairnet.

Overall, Europeans did appreciate clothing, and took whatever was passed on to them. Today many Shakespeare festivals and plays still succeed with the authentic look. Cotton today is very common today, yet silk isn’t what we would call cheap as of today. In Shakespeare’s time, and our day in age, many people enjoy style, and the idea of dressing up.

Cited Works:

“Shakespeare's Day: What They Wore.” Utah Shakespearean Festival. 08. Web. <http://www.bard.org/Education/studyguides/shakespeare/whattheywore.html>.

“Elizabethan Period Costumes.” Renaissance Faire.<hhttp://www.renfaire.com/Costume/>.

Globe theater

When many people think of shakespeare they think of his plays, such as Romeo and Juliet. But without a stage to preform these plays, they are only written stories. Shakespeare's stage was the great Globe Theater in London England. It was a place where many amazing plays were preformed. The theater unfortunately, had a troubled history.

The original Globe Theater was built buy a man named Peter Street. This man disassembled another theater called "The Theatre" and moved all of the materials across the Thames River and built the Globe Theater with those materials on some marshy gardens to the south of Maiden Lane, Southwark. The Globe was constructed in a circular design( actualy meant to be similar to a coliseum) with a diameter of 100 feet and could house 3000 people with its balconies and ground level.

Shakespeare and "Lord Chamberlain's Men"(his actors) used the Theater without issue from 1599 to 1613. But a fire broke out on June 29 of 1613 while the men were preforming Henry VIII. Unfortunately, the entire theater burnt to the ground. but fortunately, the Theater was rebuilt and being used again in 1614.

Even though Shakespeare died in 1616, the theater continued to stay open and the men continued to preform up until 1642. The plays stoped being preformed because Parlaiment issued an order supressing all stage plays.

In 1644, the theater was torn down by the land owner and he set tenement houses on the land.

Shakespeare was truely a literary master and crafted some beautiful pieces of art with his writting. but with the Globe Theater to preform these wonderful works of art, they would have been nothing but dialogue. And even though the theater had a troubled history, it was still the perfect place to preform Shakespeares work.

Globe Theatre." Wikapedia. 10 May 2010. Web. 22 May 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre.



The Globe Theatre." The Globe Theatre. Alchin, L.K., 16 July 2005. Web. 22 May 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre.

Research Essay

The 23rd of April, 1616 was a very sad day, because on this day Shakespeare died. So we know when he died, but how did he die? There are quite a few theories on how Shakespeare died, varying from one extreme to the next, but there is some pretty solid evidence that he took ill and died.

The main theory of Shakespeares death has to do with some good old drinkin' with the pals. "...vicar of Stratford dates the onset of Will’s illness from a night of heavy drinking with his mates...(historicalbiographies.suite101.com)." It states that he died of a fever afterwards. Albeit this is just one theory, it is the most documented and popular reason. Now, it is very possible that Shakespeare had a disease prior to this, and it just decided to do its work then."There has been the suggestion that he may have been ill for some time, as he revised his will on March 25, a month before he died(historicalbiographies.suite101.com)." Which seems a bit more likely to me than say, a really bad hangover. With this theory as well, before he died he wrote "The Last Will and Testament(william-shakespeare.info)." This is his will, so he must have known he was going to die soon.

In his will he gave most of his family money, and items. He gave money to the poor of Stratford"He left £10 to the poor of Stratford(william-shakesepeare.info)." William was buried at the same church he was baptized in " Shakespeare is buried under the floor of the chancel (a mark of great respect) of the Church of the Holy Trinity, the same church in which he was baptized 52 years earlier(historicalbiographies.suite101.com)." His wife, was buried right next to him 7 years later.

Concluding this essay, Shakespeare death is truly, unknown. There are many theories which seem to be, for the most part, right. I for one believe he had an illness for awhile and knew he was going to die, and this is why he wrote his will.

Work Cited:

"Facts About Shakespeare: How Did Shakespeare Die?" Historical Biographies. Web. 22 May 2010. http://historicalbiographies.suite101.com/article.cfm/facts_about_shakespeare.

"The Last Will and Testament of William Shakespeare." WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. Web. 22 May 2010. http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-the-will.htm.