Biography of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born in 1564, supposedly on 22 or 23 April, in
Stratford-upon-Avon. His father, John, who was a prosperous glover there, preparing and selling soft leather, became alderman and later high bailiff.
Shakespeare was educated at Stratford Grammar School. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway - eight years older than he and already, she was pregnant.
Six months later their daughter Susanna was born. They had twins, a boy Hamnet and a girl named Judith, two years later.
There are no records of Shakespeare's life during the seven years that followed, ‘the lost years'. But by 1592 he was already an established actor and playwright in London. He joined the Lord Chamberlain's Men in 1594, working as a leading actor and dramatist. By 1599 this all-male company of experienced and talented players - no women appeared on the stage until the Restoration - had built their own theatre, the Globe. Its owners were seven member of the company, including Shakespeare himself, who shared in its profits. For the next decade the Globe, on the Thames at Bankside, was to be London's chief theatre, and the home of Shakespeare's work. Many of his greatest plays were written during these ten years, and were acted there. Both Queen Elizabeth, and after her
James I, showed the company many favors.
In 1613, during a performance of Henry VIII, the Globe was destroyed by fire. But the Lord Chamberlain's men, by now called the King's Men, had four years earlier leased a second, smaller playhouse, the Blackfriars. This was an indoor theatre, unlike the Globe which was open to the sky, and it had the technical facilities for scenic effects - a fact which probably accounts for the spectacular element in Shakespeare's late plays.
In 1612, Shakespeare, it seems, went home. His son Hamnet had died when only eleven, but his two daughters were in Stratford-upon-avon with his wife
Anne. He was now a wealthy man and had, as long before as 1597, bought a
The Old Globe Theatre had many rules, but most of them changed after it was destroyed in a fire in 1613. One of the rules that dramatically changed was the system that...
There was lack of professional bands of actors. Therefore those bands which found most success were patronized by the court. The Earls of Essex, Pembroke and others all had their own bands. Certain troops became so famous that people thronged to see them, therefore leading to the opening of theatres. The first playhouse "the theatre" opened in 1577 and the famous "the Globe" opened in 1599.
first famous theater on record is none other than the Globe Theater. This wasn't your everyday
The Globe was the most important structure to Shakespeare's drama because most of his plays were to be performed on the stage of the Globe. Those plays written by Shakespeare include: Hamlet, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, King Lear, Othello, and Julius Caesar. These plays that had a huge effect on our literature had an even larger effect on the people of London. Plays were important to the residents of London because they were an efficient way of getting a message to many people and entertain them at the same time. The playhouses commonly drew thousands, who saw a supposedly fictitious play often with a political undertone.
You can go to the newer modeled globe theater in london and actually see what it was like. Like for example the ground on the newer model used to have peanuts on the ground untill one day when a kid had a allergic reaction and had to replace over a ton of peanuts and replaced it with grass. You can also take tours around and see the different places that the people sat at and where the actors would change costumes. In conclusion the globe theater is surrounded by history like one of the most well known and famous playwright/actor made his legacy there you may know him. His name was William shakespeare. And the creations that he made will go down in history as one of or maybe the greatest work in play/acting
William Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest playwright of all time, even though many facts about his life still remain a mystery. In his lifetime Shakespeare wrote 36 plays and 154 sonnets. The following paragraphs will included the key moments known about William Shakespeare's life, birth through death.
William Shakespeare’s intellectual use of the English language is what brought him prosperity throughout his lifetime, and what brings us to tears and laughter in the modern world. The life of Shakespeare is of great importance to English literature because of his many contributions including poetry, stories, and plays. However, many people do not know that he also owned a business. “William Shakespeare was a professional actor, a businessman, and a playwright. Today, nearly four hundred years after his death his plays are still performed” (Greenhill and Wignall 4).
William Shakespeare spent the later years of his life in London, England. This part of his life deserves to be noted, because of his outstanding accomplishments towards society. A big part of Shakespeare’s accomplishments derive in the city of London. William Shakespeare’s life in London consisted of the lost years, involvements with the Globe Theater, creations of brilliant Early works, articulate writing styles that catch the eye, and controversies about whether Shakespeare was educated enough to construct plays the way that he did in this short time period.
William Shakespeare, poet and playwright, utilized humor and irony as he developed specific language for his plays, thereby influencing literature forever. “Shakespeare became popular in the eighteenth century” (Epstein 8). He was the best all around. “Shakespeare was a classic” (8). William Shakespeare is a very known and popular man that has many works, techniques and ways. Shakespeare is the writer of many famous works of literature. His comedies include humor while his plays and poems include irony. Shakespeare sets himself apart by using his own language and word choice. Shakespeare uses certain types of allusions that people always remember, as in the phrase from Romeo and Juliet, “star-crossed lovers”.
The Globe Theatre was where Shakespeare had most of his plays performed. It had many decorations to make it look appealing and to try and to make it seem expensive and luxurious. The Globe Theatre was built in just 6 months between 1597 and 1598 just outside central London. The Thames River separated it from St Paul’s cathedral. The Globe was made in a round circular shape. This meant that at least one actor would have their back to the audience, however, this would not have mattered because the audience came mainly to hear the play – not to see it. When you were buying a seat for the theatre, the most expensive seats would not be the ones with the best view, they would be the closest ones in order to hear better. Also, these seats would be facing towards the audience, which means that everyone would see them, meaning fame. The Globe would usually be packed with decorations and ornaments. These would have nothing to do with the play, it was used to make the theatre look more attractive/expensive. Lots of people would come to see the plays. They would do this because Shakespeare’s plays were not published at that time so the public would want to see it...
Among the many famous writers we have studied this year is William Shakespeare. Shakespeare's life was assuredly most intriguing. Seeking answers, we had simple questions we wanted to determine. What were his morals? His passions? His legacy? When studying Shakespeare, we found that his life revolved around the Globe Theatre. Naturally we wanted to see why Shakespeare spent so much of his life involved in the Globe. The first Globe lasted from 1599-1613. Additionally, this structure was called the "wooden o" playhouse. Before the Globe, there was another "Theatre", which many people do not realize. "The Theatre" prospered for 21 years. Refusing to renew the players' lease, the landowner Giles Allen caused an unexpected problem for the players. James Burbage had recently died and his two sons, Richard and Cuthbert became managers. Although Allen owned the land, the sons owned the Theatre, and they wanted their valuable timber. In desperation, the brothers decided to take action. They leased land across the river and they waited until Christmastime to strike, when they could be sure Allen was away on vacation. At night they began to dismantle the Theatre piece by piece and floated it across the river Thames. With the timber, the brothers and their friends reconstructed their cherished playhouse. Because of the saying "the whole world is a stage" they would call it the Globe Theatre. By the middle of 1599 the Globe opened and was a huge success. Audiences were packed in "the house with a thatched roof", sometimes even so much as three thousand people could be held at once. For sixpence the rich sat in the Lord's Rooms to get a better view, which were on the top half of the Globe. For threepence they sat on cushions in the Gentlemen's Rooms. For twopence they perched on hard wooden benches, but most were called "groundlings" who paid a penny to stand in the yard beneath the open roof. Interestingly enough, there were two trap doors, the trap door to heaven and the trap door to hell. Since the players already had to pay for the structure most of the actors actually lived in the Theatre. During a play of Henry the V, a spark from a cannon accidentally caught the thatched roof on fire and the whole Globe was burned down in less than an hour. Yet within a year a second Globe was built and completed in 1614 but the Puritans tore it down in 1644.
Oberon gives us many set-piece descriptions: of the "bank whereon the wild thyme blows", of the "fair vestal" whom Cupid's bolt failed to hit, and of Titania's "seeking sweet favours for this hateful fool" (Bottom), among others. Here Shakespeare shows us what can be done "in this kind", lest the failure of Pyramus and Thisbe lead us to the conclusion that the theatre can only depict what can literally be brought on stage. In watching a play filled with references to moonlight, darkness, day-break we do well to recall that it was first performed in open-air theatres in daylight!
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.
Throughout the United States and the entire world people are aware of Shakespeare; however, many people wonder why society wants their citizens to continue to read William Shakespeare’s plays and poems. Shakespeare continues to influence today’s environment and brings people together by speaking of a common author that most people know. All across the world, students must read at least one of Shakespeare’s works; which often develop those children who read his works into better writers. During the Elizabethan Era, William Shakespeare experienced an uneventful childhood and had a basic education; however, his life still seems to be shrouded with mystery and raises the argument that he was not only the most successful, but also the most mysterious playwright, actor, and poet from that time period.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live during the Elizabethan Era? To see the works of great playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson firsthand? The theater was one of the cornerstones of Elizabethan life, and many people knew the works of Shakespeare and Jonson. While Shakespeare was arguably the greatest of the time, many other playwrights, including Jonson, flourished during this time period.