William Shakespeare’s work is known throughout the world and has been performed in countless hamlets, villages, cities and metropolises for more than 400 years. And yet, the personal history of William Shakespeare is somewhat a mystery. There are two main sources that provide us with a basic outline of his life. One source is through the plays, poems and sonnets he wrote, and the other source is from official documents, such as church and court records. But these sources can give only so much, they only tell us about specific events that happened that happened in his life, not much about the person experiencing them. William Shakespeare was a successful poet and playwright during the Elizabethan era, and became the most popular dramatist of his age.
Even though there are no known birth records for William Shakespeare, there are records of a baptizing that indicate he was born on or near April 23, 1564. (--) Shakespeares parents, John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, had five other children, Joan and Judith his two older sisters, and Gilbert, Richard and Edmund, his three younger brothers. John Shakespeare was a leather merchant and Mary arden was a local land heiress. Shakespeare’s father, John Shakespeare became a successful merchant and held official positions as alderman and bailiff, which is kind of like the mayor, before William was born. However in the late 1570's , John's wealth decreased.(--)
There are very few records of Williams childhood that exist, and barely any about his education. Scholars suspect he attended the King's New School, in Stratford, where he was most likely thought reading, writing and the classics. He would have most likely been qualified for free tuition due to the fact that he was the ...
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... they were no longer close. Still, there is barely any evidence that they had a difficult marriage, so it makes it hard to believe that theory. Some scholars observe that the term " second-best bed" refers to the marital bed, and the "first-best bed' refers to a bed used for guests.
Questions rose about the true authorship of Shakespeare's plays 105 years after he died. Literary critics and scholars began to suggest names like Christopher Marlowe, Edward de Vere and Francis Bacon:they were men that had a more known background; as the real authors of the plays. These ideas came from the fact that there isnt a lot of information about Shakespeare's life and due to the death of contemporary primary sources. Records from the Holy Trinity Church and Stratford government show that there was a William Shakespeare but none of them show he was playwright or an actor.
The ability of an author to capture the interest of the audience has and will always be an important factor in the art of storytelling and even the expression of research or related material. When an author is able to seize the attention of any partaking of their work, curiosity will develop which will lead to the wonder of what the conclusion my bring about. Not only is it important to snatch the audience’s attention in the beginning, it is necessary to hold it prisoner throughout the tale. Authors do this by having an interesting plot development in which many unexpected details come into play and the course of the story is thrown from the norm and into the conflict. Shakespeare was a master of this art in the work he produced throughout his life and was able to create stories of humor and those of tragedy. For example, his play King Lear is a terrible tragedy in which many awful things take place and the story ends by disastrous means. While in the play Much Ado About Nothing, very little conflict is present and if it is, it is resolved quickly and the play concludes with the joyfulness of marriage nuptials. His ability to develop plot and story in a way in which the audience who love to devour, Shakespeare will in a way immortalize himself, “Shakespeare proved himself to be both the "soul of the age" his works reflected and adorned and the consummate symbol of the artist whose poetic visions transcend their local habitation and become, in some mysterious way, contemporaneous with ‘all time.’” (Andrews) As stated, Shakespeare went beyond his time and created traditions, symbols, sayings, and even stories that people today will remember forever. King Lear and Much Ado About Nothing are each examples of Shakespeare's detailed ...
William Shakespeare has become landmark in English literature. One must be familiar with the early days of English literature in order to comprehend the foundation of much of more modern literature’s basis. Shakespeare’s modern influence is still seen clearly in many ways. The success of Shakespeare’s works helped to set the example for the development of modern dramas and plays. He is also acknowledged for being one of the first writers to use any modern prose in his writings.
Due to the confusion of a minor mistake from Shakespeare’s time, his true birth date, along with where his education took place remains a mystery. The only things that biographers have to hold onto are suspicions as to where these events could’ve been observed. His suspected is birthday is observed by the public as Saint George’s Day, April 23rd. With only a day given, his exact birth year remains a questionable theory. It is believed that Shakespeare actually attended the school closest to his home in Stratford, known as the “King’s New School”, where he studies grammar. He didn’t choose to continue his studies by going forward into a university. Since there is hardly any factual information about Shakespeare, due to a slight “error”, suspicion arises. ...
William Shakespeare was one of the most memorable play writers in history. However, William may have been given false credit. Many people believe that he may not author the plays. In fact, there is much evidence that shows that he did not author the plays.
From baptism records, we know William's father was a John Shakespeare, said to be a town official of Stratford and a local businessman who dabbled in tanning, leatherwork and whittawering which is working with white leather to make items like purses and gloves. John also dealt in grain and sometimes was described as a glover by trade.
Recome, Robert. "Re: Biography: Shakespeare." Online posting. 6 July 1999. shak-L. Shaksper: The Global Electronic Conference. 27 June 1999. http://www.arts.ubc.ca/english/iemls/shak/shak-L.html
Most biographies written about William Shakespeare attempt to explain his life chronologically from birth to death. These accounts aim to describe his life through discussing his works and accomplishments. The problem with this pattern is that there are only so many ways humans can rewrite the same facts about the same person. Contrary to most papers about Shakespeare, the essay titled “What Was He Really Like?”, written by Stanley Wells, focuses internally on who Shakespeare was as an ordinary person. Instead of discussing when Shakespeare got married or explaining his life in relation to his works, Wells delves into the personality of the famous playwright. Stanley Wells encourages the reader of “What Was He Really Like?” to look at William Shakespeare in a new light.
Through comedy and tragedy Shakespeare reveals the vast expanses and profound depths of the character of life. For him they are not separate worlds of drama and romance, but poles of a continuum. The distinction between tragedy and comedy is called in question when we turn to Shakespeare. Though the characters differ in stature and power, and the events vary in weight and significance, the movements of life in all Shakespeare's plays are governed by the same universal principles which move events in our own lives. Through myriad images Shakespeare portrays not only the character of man and society but the character of life itself.
Since the four centuries that have passed since Shakespeare’s times, several theories have been developed which claim that others may be the legitimate authors of his works. The playwrights usually focused on are Francis Bacon, Edward de Vere, William Stanley, Roger Manners and Christopher Marlowe. Other theories support the fact that perhaps sev...
Since the 19th century, the mysterious circumstances surrounding the authorship of William Shakespeare of his many poem and plays has made many scholars and people as the same question: did Shakespeare write his works? Though Shakespeare is known as a poet, playwright, and considered widely as the greatest writer in the English language, Shakespeare’s background is very unclear. In addition, the lack of evidence indicating he was even a writer, cause skeptics to believe William Shakespeare of Stratford-Upon-Avon was, in fact, not the mastermind behind the Shakespeare Canon. Regardless, many literary historians and Shakespearean scholars do not find any reason to suspect that anyone except the William Shakespeare from Stratford-Upon-Avon wrote
Shakespeare has created stories that are so powerful, emotional, comedic, tragic and romantic that they are still continuously remembered and studied in the modern era. Though the essence of his talents does not lie in the simple themes behind his plays, but more so in
One of the main reasons that Shakespeare plays are world renown is because they represent enduring symbols of life’s trials and tribulations in popular culture. His plays have been reinterpreted in many cultures throughout the world. His works were written on such basic human themes. The dialogs of works transferred into seamless plays and films. He created his stories from historical events and literary works while adding tales that holds the interests of his audience. Because of this student are encouraged to read his phenomenal works of English literature in order to comprehend the foundation of modern literary
William went to a junior school before going to the Grammar School when he was 7. There he learned how to speak and write Latin. No one knows what he did after he left school at the age of 14.
After overcoming the troubles of becoming an actor and a playwright, William Shakespeare has become well renowned. His works reach to people all around the world despite the language barriers and different races and cultures. For centuries, the popularity of his work...