Shakespeare and the Globe

William Kempe was one of the principal actors of Shakespeare's earlier plays, and one of the original shareholders in the Globe theatre. Also during his time King James authorized a third translation of the Bible, obviously, The King James Version. After years of complex political maneuvers King Henry the VIII came to power over the church and during his reign the English people were content with Catholicism. Many of Shakespeare’s tragic characters such as King Lear or Hamlet have had long speeches that are a means of communicating directly with the audience. At this point in time, the climate was right for Shakespeare to learn a great deal about Ch!

ristianity directly from Scripture, even if the church in England was still in upheaval. Due to his roots in Catholicism he was well read in the scripture and also read understood in the ways of the Catholic Church. These stories had the same bleak beginning and positive ending as the resurrection of Jesus Christ. One of the major effects of the break down of the Roman Catholic was the welcoming of the English translation of the bible. Richard Burbage, son of James Burbage, the actor, who built the Globe and established the Blackfriars Theatre; Richard Burbage was one of the great tragic actors of his day and the roles of Hamlet, Othello and Lear were probably written for him. A main example of this would be the character Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Dynamics of Shakespeare’s writing was most likely not hindered by the Globe’s acting area, rather it could be emphasized by it. This personal interaction was probably a large part of the style of writing and acting that went on in the Globe. His mother was from a devout Catholic family who held positions in the Catholic Church until its demise in England.