All About Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is undoubtedly one of England's most well-known and treasured authors. His plays were exceedingly popular during his life, and according to legend, they brought him and his family much fame and affluence. Since his death, however, evidence has been uncovered which suggests that the William Shakespeare of

playwright fame may not have been the same individual documented in the historical

records of Stratford-upon-Avon. According to The Shakespeare Conspiracy, a book by

Graham Phillips and Martin Keatman, the actual documentation of Shakespeare's life is

meager at best.

Of all his contemporary poets and dramatists-- such as Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, Gabriel Harvery, Thomas Nashe, John Donnes, John Fletcher, Thomas Lodge, Robert Greene, Philip Sidney, George Chapman, Thomas Heywood, Francis Beaumont, John Lyly, Ben Johnson, Thomas Kyd, George Peele, Thomas Dekker, Thomas Middleton, and John Webster-- Webster is the only playwright of whom we know less, but, unlike Shakespeare, Webster was not recognized in his day.

An examination of the few existing historical details of Shakespeare's life raises more

questions than it provides answers. According to the evidence available in our time, it

appears as if there may have been two Shakespeare's: one a grain merchant from

Stratford-upon-Avon, and the other a famous actor and playwright from London,

working under an assumed name.

Popular legend tells us that on April 23, 1564, a male child was born to Johnand Mary Shakespeare at Stratford. Of course, nobody is certain if this was the exact date on which William Shakespeare was born. The historical records of Stratford's parishshow that a child by the name of Gulielmus [fr. for William] Shakspeare was christened on

April 26th of the same year, but no birth date was ever reported (Phillips and Keatman 9). John Shakespeare was a fairly prosperous glover in the town of Stratford, and his family lived in relative comfort for the formative years of [young Guile lumps Shakespeare's] life. Because his parents were comparatively high-standing members of

Stratford society, William Shakespeare would have been able to attend the local grammar school. Most people assume that this is where Shakespeare received the formal education that is so apparent in his plays. According to Phillips and Keatman, however, there is no historical record of Shakspeare's attendance at Stratford's grammar school.

Participation was not compulsory by any means, and whether or not a child was educated depended

mainly upon the whims of his father. Irving Leigh Matus' book, Shakespeare: In Fact, states that records show Shaksper's father had not been formally educated.