William Shakespeare Essay, Research Paper

In the year of 1564 the man known as William Shakespeare was born, in

Stratford-upon-Avon, England. The exact date of birth is unknown but is

traditionally celebrated on the 23 of April. To Englanders this day is known as

The Feast of St. George. The third-born of eight children to John Shakespeare

and Mary Arden Shakespeare, William was their eldest son. John Shakespeare was a

glove-maker and a tanner. Earlier in his life John had served a term as the

mayor of Stratford, was a town councilman, one of Stratford?s justices of

peace, and an ale taster. John, unfortunately, could not write. In 1601, when

William was 37 years old, John Shakespeare died. William inherited what small

portions of land John had come to own in his lifetime, being the eldest of John

and Mary?s sons. Very little is known about Mary Arden Shakespeare?s life.

Although, she is known to have come from a wealthy family. Mary?s family also

paid John a very gracious dowry. William Shakespeare went to an excellent

grammar school in Stratford-upon-Avon. Two Oxford graduates were instructors

there. Shakespeare was fortunate to get both of them as teachers. Their names

were Simon Hunt and Thomas Jenkins. William Studied the languages of Greek and

Latin. He had also acquired a razor sharp awareness of both mankind and nature.

This is believed to be his last type of formal education. On the day November

27, 1582, when Shakespeare was a mere 18 years of age, he was wed to Anne

Hathaway. She was 28 when they got married. Their first child was a girl by the

name of Susanna, born May 26, 1583. Two years later William and Anne had twins

named Judith and Hamnet. Tragically, Hamnet died at the age of 11. It is not

known why he died Between the years of 1585 and 1592 there is no evidence of

Shakespeare?s or the rest of his family?s lives. "The Hidden

Years" are what many call this time period in Shakespeare?s life. It is

believed that he may have been running from the law or was the apprentice of a

butcher. A man named John Aubry was told by another man by the name of

Christopher Beston that Shakespeare was simply working as a school teacher in

London up until 1592. Beginning in the year 1592, in London, he was starting to

become known as an established playwright. In 1593 Henry Wriothsley became

William Shakespeare?s patron and sponsor. Shakespeare was also a writer,

director, actor, and stockholder in "The King?s Men" company.

William was acting for this company, which became the world?s largest and most

famous acting company only because Shakespeare was acting and working for them.

Written in 1593 was Shakespeare?s first long poem, called "Venus and

Adonius". Then in 1594 William wrote his second long poem called "Rape

of Lucrece". These two poems were written when the theatres were closed

because of the highly contagious epidemic plague. William Shakespeare began

writing plays in the late 1590?s. Writing "The Taming of the Shrew",

"The Comedy of Errors", "As You Like It", "Much Ado

About Nothing", and "The Two Gentlemen of Verona". Most of these

plays were comedies. The only tragedy he wrote at that time was "Romeo and

Juliet". 1599 brought the construction of the Globe, which was built by

Shakespeare?s company. The most well-known of his tragedies were performed

there. The plays acted out were "Hamlet", "Othello", "Macbeth",

and "King Lear". "To be, or not to be-that is the question:

Whether ?tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous

fortune…" ("Hamlet" in Hamlet) and "But soft, what light

through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun. …"

("Romeo" in Romeo and Juliet) are two of Shakespeare?s most famous

quotes. Ever since William Shakespeare became a well-known playwright he had

been a wealthy man, bringing in money from many different sources. With all the

money in his possession he had decided to buy a big house in Stratford for his

family. This house was called New Place. In the year of 1610 Shakespeare retired

from theatre and returned to Stratford to be with his family. His will was

written on March 25, 1616. Nearly one month later, on his 52 birthday, William

Shakespeare died. He was buried at the Church of the Holy Trinity in

Stratford-upon-Avon. Like his son, Hamnet, William?s cause of death was

unknown. Many friends and family believed that he knew that his life was coming

to an end, but didn?t want anybody to know. Seven years after William?s

death, in 1623, he had his first folio published. It included 154 sonnets, 36

plays, and 2 two long poems. Friends of William Shakespeare put together his

folio so that nobody could take his work as their own.

473

1. Torstenson,Casey. "William Shakespeare". Internet 2. Shah, Ravi

P."Life of Shakespeare". Internet,1997 3.

Booth,Beth."Shakespeare?s Life". Internet 4. Editors of the Grolier

Universal Encyclopedia. "Shakespeare", Stratford Press,Inc: New

York,1966