The new Globe Theatre in London is an exact replica of the original Globe. But with electricity and a spinkler system. And toilets.
It only puts on plays during the summer. This was also true in Wordy William's time.
Disagree with jheem over the inclusion of so many words from the plays in the OED simply because they were in Shakespeare's opera. I read an article from the Oxford Press some years ago which stated that usage since his time decided inclusion or exclusion. [name-dropping] Blame Dr Johnson and his bloody dictionary. I do. I had lunch sitting on the steps of his house the other day. It's just round the corner from where I work when I'm in London [/name-dropping].
WS plays should be looked at in the political context of the Elizabethan/Stuart milieu in which they were written and performed. Can you discern any political or cultural difference between those written before 1603 and those written after?
You should let your students see "Shakespeare in Love" and then have them find some of the quotations (the whole script was quotes from the plays). It's also hilarious in its own right.
"Richard III" was shameless propaganda for the Tudors, largely culled from an essay justifying the Tudor revolt written by Sir Thomas More. Not that it helped him much more. Poor Dickie got the bird and poor Thomas got the chop.
