The life and tines of William Shakespeare

The Early years of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon which was in Warwickshire County and is said to have been born in April 1564. This was so because in the Elizabethan era,one was baptized three days after being  born. Shakespeare is said to be baptized on the 23rd of April 1564, therefore he was suspected of being born on the 20th of April 1564 (however this was not confirmed).  In Latin, his name was Guilielmus Filius Shakspere. It means William, the son of Shakespeare. He was the third of seven children born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. John Shakespeare was an official local businessman who made gloves and purses. He was also involved in local politics. His mother Mary Arden, was the youngest daughter born to her parents, and inherited much of her father's land owning and farming estate when he died. There were no known records of Shakespeare attending school because only the names of wealthy individuals were recorded. However, it is assumed that Shakespeare attended the King's New Grammar School, because there, male students of Stratford-Upon-Avon normally attended. Because of this, there was a debate which was based on his very existance.

William Shakespeare's love life and children

In 1582 William Shakespeare got married to a woman named Anne Hathaway. A bond certificate dated 28th November 1582 suggests that 18 year old William married his older spouse Anne who was a 26 year old pregnant woman. Almost seven month after they had their first child together, Susanna. Records show that she was born in May 1583. In February 1592, it is shown that together, the Shakespeare's had Hamnet and Judith, the twins. However, sadly, Hamnet, Shakespeare's only son died in 1596, at the tender age of 11.  Anne never left Stratford-Upon-Avon and lived there for her entire life. 

 William Shakespeare and his work

In 1609, Shakespeare's sonnets were published without permission. It is considered unlikely that he wanted many of his deeply personal poems to be revealed to the outside world. It was not however the first time; in 1599, in a collection entitled "The Passionate Pilgrim" , two of his poems had been printed without Shakespeare's permission.

Records with the College of Heralds, reveal Shakespeare applied for a coat of arms. Despite a lack of proof, he was granted his request. Later in 1599 he applied for his mother’s coat of arms to be added to his own.

At age 15, Shakespeare purchased the New Place. This was one of the most prominent and desired properties in all of Stratford-Upon-Avon being the second largest house in town; the first one being the mayor's. Given his father's known financial hardship from 1576, Shakespeare must either have used his own money to buy this expensive property or his father had placed money in his son’s name. It is possible that Shakespeare might have bought this prominent property with money from his plays. It is estimated that roughly fifteen of his 37 plays would have been written and performed by 1597. Shakespeare is estimated to have written 42 plays not including his other work which included almost every aspect of human experiences. Such are comedy, tragedy, history, and poetry.

William Shakespeare: The greatest playwright

Shakespeare's works have been a major influence on subsequent theatre. Not only did Shakespeare create some of the most admired plays in Western literature, he also transformed English theatre by expanding expectations about what could be accomplished through characterisation, plot, action, language, and genre. His poetic artistry helped raise the status of popular theatre, permitting it to be admired by intellectuals as well as by those seeking pure entertainment. Shakespeare died on

The Elizabethan era

This is the era of the reign of Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603). During her reign,the graphic arts, theatre and literature flourished. William Shakespeare was the most famous writer in this time. It was the age of expansion  and exploration abroad. This period is highly viewed because of the periods before and after. England was a centralized well-organized and effective government during this period. Economically the country began to benefit greatly from this highly favored era.

The Global Theatre

A theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. Built in 1559, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Globe theatre was destroyed by fire on the 29th of June 1613. A second Globe theatre was built on the same site by June 1614 and was officially closed in 1642. Shakespeare's theatre group was called the "King's Men", and extract from the Globe theatre. Thomas Green wrote an article on Shakespeare saying that he was an "upstart pro who wanted to 'Shakescene'. A modern reconstruction of the theatre renamed "Shakespeare's Globe" was built and opened in 1997.