shakespear

Authors Biographical Data

William Shakespeare was born in the small town of Stratford-on-Avon, on April 23, 1564. His father was John Shakespeare a glove maker and his mother was Mary Arden. He may have been educated at the King Edward IV Grammar School in Stratford. There he learned a little Greek, Latin and read the Roman Dramatist.

At the age of eighteen, Shakespeare had married twenty- six year old Anne Hathaway. They had three children: Susanna who was born in 1583 and twins Judith and Hamnet in 1585. Hamnet however had died at a very tender age.

Shakespeare’s first two poems were Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. In 1594 he joined the Lord of Chamberlain’s company of actors. In 1599, he was partial owner of the Globe theatre which became the most famous theatre of its time. Most of his lauded works were written between 1589 and 1613. His sonnets however, they were not published until 1609.

He wrote several tragedies such as Othello, and Macbeth, which are prized in the world of literature. Shakespeare also wrote tragicomedies or romances such as Romeo and Juliet.

Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 and was survived by his wife and two daughters. His four grand children all died and neither of them had children. Hence, the Shakespearian family lineage had ended.

Shakespeare wrote the play Twelfth Night near the middle of his career, around 1601. Its first publication was in 1623 in his first folio.

The play surrounds the twins Viola and Sebastian who after being ship wrecked found themselves on different parts of the island of Illyria. They both think each other are dead and set forth to find ways to survive in Illyria. Sebastian was rescued by Antonio, a sea captain, and took on the ...

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...ey were rebuked.

The social class structure of the Elizabethan society is also portrayed in the play. This is evident through Shakespeare’s use of prose and verse to differentiate between the upper and lower classes. Representative of the upper class included Olivia and Orsino. The lower class was embodied by persons such as Maria, Valentine and Malvolio. Feste is also of the lower class but his language duality portrays him to the audience as not only a fool but also someone who is wise

Critical response to Twelfth Night

Critics believe Twelfth Night is nothing short of humor and lauds it as another of Shakespeare’s best work. For them the true paramount of the book lies in the fact that is humorous to read and grasps the attention of its 21st century readers who are much captivated with its Elizabethan essence and folly.

Works Cited

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