"Shakespeare's Life"

Who was William Shakespeare? The British Library offers some glimpses and guesses into "Shakespeare's Life" in an informational text.

Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 6 Unit 4's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: Shakespeare dumbed down, Shakespeare's Life, Reading Shakespeare's Language, The Southpaw, A Book of Nonsense, The Millionaire Miser, Oranges; Jabberwocky; Fireflies, The Taming of the Shrew
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. dramatist
    someone who writes plays
    Very little is known about his life, but by 1592 he was in London working as an actor and a dramatist.
  2. collaborate
    work together on a common enterprise or project
    Between about 1590 and 1613, Shakespeare wrote at least 37 plays and collaborated on several more.
  3. quarto
    a book made by folding paper twice to form four leaves
    Eighteen of Shakespeare's plays had appeared in quarto editions by the time of his death in 1616.
  4. folio
    a book consisting of large sheets of folded paper
    In 1623 an expensive folio volume of 36 plays by Shakespeare was printed, which included most of those printed in quarto.
  5. manuscript
    handwritten book or document
    None of Shakespeare's manuscripts survives, so the printed texts of his plays are our only source for what he originally wrote.
  6. ecclesiastical
    of or associated with a church
    Printing was regulated by the ecclesiastical authorities and the Stationers' Company, although the regulations were not always enforced.
  7. relatively
    by comparison to something else
    Relatively few plays got into print.
  8. deter
    turn away from as by fear or persuasion
    The companies of players were not necessarily reluctant to have their plays printed, but the uncertainty of profits may well have deterred publishers.
  9. sole
    not divided or shared with others
    Once a manuscript play had been sold to a publisher, and he had paid for its approval and licensing for printing, he had sole rights over the work.
  10. scholar
    a learned person
    Scholars have long held that Shakespeare had no interest in the printing of his plays, but this is now being challenged.
  11. establish
    set up or found
    Shakespeare began his career not long after the first public playhouses were established in London.
  12. notably
    especially; in particular
    His company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (from 1603 the King's Men) competed with others, notably the Admiral's Men, for audiences.
  13. profit
    excess of revenues over outlays in a given period of time
    Like most leading players, Shakespeare was a sharer in his company and was able to enjoy its profits.
  14. influence
    shape or give direction to
    Such players as the tragedian Richard Burbage and clowns like William Kemp influenced the roles within Shakespeare's plays.
  15. demolish
    destroy completely
    Those which were still structurally sound were either converted into dwellings, or demolished so that their timbers could be reused elsewhere.
Created on Fri Aug 15 13:30:48 EDT 2014 (updated Fri Aug 15 22:55:22 EDT 2014)

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