The Life of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is one of the most identifiable icons of England. Shakespeare was one of the greatest and most influential playwright and poet during his lifetime. He is known as the greatest dramatist of all time due to his many poems and plays, such as “Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?” and Romeo and Juliet. However, despite being so well known in the world of literature, there is not much known about the childhood of William Shakespeare.
William Shakespeare is said to be born on April 23, 1564, although his actual birthday is not known, and was baptized at the holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564. William Shakespeare was the third child of John and Mary Arden Shakespeare with two older sisters and three younger brothers. Although much is not known about his education, scholars believe that Shakespeare went to school in King's New School, in Stratford, which taught the basics of literature. On November 28, 1582, when Shakespeare was 18, he got married to a 26 year old women, Anne Hathaway, in Worcester. After about six months of marriage, on May 26, 1583, Anne Shakespeare gave birth to their first child, a daughter by the name of Susanna. Two years later, on February 2, 1585, Anne Shakespeare had given birth to twins, Hamnet and Judith, one of which, Hamnet, died at the age of eleven due to an unknown cause. For seven years, after the birth of the twins, there is no record of William Shakespeare's life. These seven years are known as the "lost years," though it is said that Shakespeare moved to London between the mid-to late 1580s. By the 1590s, Shakespeare started to work as an actor and playwright in London. The very first play that Shakespeare wrote was cal...
... middle of paper ...
...nd sweat to get as far as he did and he is worthy of all the achievements he has received.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. "Shall I compare thee to a summers day? Sonnet 18 a poem by William Shakespeare ." Love Poems. N.p., April 1, 2004. Web. 10 Feb 2011. .
Shmoop Editorial Team. "William Shakespeare Timeline of Important Dates." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. .
"William Shakespeare Biography."Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. .
"William Shakespeare Facts." Absolute Shakespeare. N.p., 2000-2005. Web. 10 Feb 2011. .
Greenhill, Wendy, and Wignall, Paul. Shakespeare: A Life. Chicago IL: Reed Educational & Professional Publishing, 2000. Print.
William Shakespeare, born April 26th, 1564 was an English poet, playwright, and actor, mostly referred as the greatest writer in the English ¬¬language. Shakespeare is believed to have constructed thirty-eight plays, one hundred and fifty-four sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses. ."Did Shakespeare Write His Plays?") Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. Shakespeare’s father was an alderman, therefore Shakespeare did not attend any special schools or colleges. Shakespeare went to public schools. There are official documentation such as church and court records providing that Shakespeare was “real”. Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on November 28th, 1582, in Worcester, in Canterbury Province. Their first child, a girl named Susanna, born May 26th, 1583. Two year later, on February 2th, 1585, twins Hamnet and Judith were born. Hamnet later then died of unknown causes at age eleven.
According to the William Shakespeare Biography website, it all began in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, April 26th, 1564, which is said to be the time and place where William Shakespeare was baptized. Although he was baptized on April 26, his assigned birth date was April 23, 1564. His father, John Shakespeare, was a leather merchant and his mother Mary Arden, was an heiress of local land. He had two older sisters named Joan and Judith. William was the third child of Mary and John and had three younger brothers as well: Gilbert, Richard, and Edmund. Referring back to William Shakespeare Biography, “Scant records exist of William's childhood, and virtually none regarding his education.” Like the website mentioned, there are not many records of Shakespeare's childhood or education, but there are some speculations that he attended The King's New school. This school taught reading, writing, and the classics, which would make William more than qualified to attend this school judging from his plays and sonnets.
Shakespeare was said to be born on April 23, 1564, to John Shakespeare, “a glove maker and a trader of farm produce who also worked on the city council”()and Mary Arden, “the daughter of a land owner from a neighboring village,”(). He was baptised in the Trinity Church of Stratford where he eventually was laid to rest. His lifespan was within the time of the Renaissance. Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18 and had a daughter Susan and then two years later they had twins together. At 27 he decided to take a trip to London in hopes of discovering his dream as a theatrical playwright.
William Shakespeare was born in the year 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, which is in the United Kingdom. William was the third born child in the Shakespeare family, son to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, and brother to Gilbert, Richard, Edmund, Joan and Judith. William’s father, John, was a successful merchant, however WIlliam’s birth seemed to impoverish the family, with John’s wealth decreased by a substantial amount. William attended a school for the underprivileged and received a basic education. By 1592, William had begun his career as actor and playwright and had his first few performances published. By 1597, he had 17 more of his plays published as public performances. By this time, Shakespeare was known as one of the richest people in England, as he bought the second largest house in Stratford-upon-Avon. In 1599, Shakespeare and his group built their own theatre near the Thames river. They decided to call the theatre The ‘Globe’. Shakespeare’s first plays performed at ‘The Globe’ were Richard II,Henry VI parts 1,2 and 3. These plays were all Histories and comedies and he did not begin to make tragedies until 1600. Shakespeare’s later plays, before his death were called tragicomedies. These, as from the title, were tragedies involved with some humour.
"Shakespeare Sonnet 18 - Shall I compare thee to a summer's day." Shakespeare Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
Shakespeare, William. "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?." 1894. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. By X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 6th ed. Boston: Longman, 2010. 501. Print. Compact Edition.
Though William Shakespeare is recognized as one of literature's greatest influences, very little is actually known about him. What we do know about his life comes from registrar records, court records, wills, marriage certificates and his tombstone. Anecdotes and criticisms by his rivals also speak of the famous playwright and suggest that he was indeed a playwright, poet and an actor.
William Shakespeare was a writer who became famous for his plays. It was thus that his works were great entertainment for the Kingdom. Shakespeare was number 3 of 8 children and was also educated at one of the free schools in England. He studied Grammar, Arts and Sciences, his studies were so much difficult at his young age because he was forced to work with his father in the kingdom. And it was there that he met a woman named Ann who was 26 years of age who later became pregnant, and for that reason because of the moral question, she was forced at age 18 to get married after they announced her pregnancy.
"Shakespeare Sonnet 18 - Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day." Shakespeare-online.com. Amanda Mabillard, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. .
England's most talented and well know poet and dramatist was born on April 23, 1564, at Stratford-upon-Avon, located in the cetre of England. His father, John, was a glove-maker and wool dealer involved with money lending. His mother Mary Arden was the daughter of a Farmer. William was the third out of eight children whom all died young. His father became Mayor in 1568, after serving on the town council for many years.
“William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was and English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s preeminent dramatist” (vodppl.upm.edu 2). He was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK, he also passed away in his hometown. “When Shakespeare died in 1616 the event was barely noticed” (Epstein 7). “Shakespeare’s family was initially prosperous but began having financial difficulties in the 1570’s” (Allen 325). “Shakespeare gained his education by attending the local grammar school, King’s New School, where the curriculum stressed a classic education of Greek mythology and roman comedy”(shakespeareinamericancomunites.org 1). He never carried his educational career to a higher level as in a university. “William Shakespeare was not recognized as an actor, poet, and playwright until 1592” (Allen 346).
“William Shakespeare." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Vol. 14. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 142-145. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.
William Shakespeare was a very talented man known for his various works of literature. His works include poems, plays, and sonnets. His works are then broken down into tragedies, comedies, and histories. Shakespeare left this world centuries ago, but his writings continue to live throughout the world today. He has greatly impacted the world of literature and his existence will forever be remembered.
In his time, Shakespeare was the most popular playwright of London. As time passed, his smartness covers all others of his age; Jonson, Marlowe, Kyd, Greene, Dekker, Heywood—none had the craft or the kindness of character. He was the master of poetry writing and he did it well. He created the most vivid characters of the Elizabethan stage. His usage of language, both high and low, shows a remarkable fun and insight. His themes fit all generation even to this day.