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William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

Famous English people

William Shakespeare (April 1564 – April 23, 1616 (Julian calendar), May 3, 1616 (Gregorian calendar) — has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in the English language, or indeed in any language. His ability to capture and convey the most profound aspects of human nature is regarded by many as unequalled, and the English Renaissance has often been called "the age of Shakespeare". He was among the few playwrights who have excelled in both tragedy and comedy and several of his plays contain songs that are among the finest lyric poems in English. He also wrote 154 sonnets, two narrative poems, and a handful of shorter poems. Shakespeare wrote his works between 1588 and 1613, although the exact dates and chronology of the plays attributed to him are often uncertain. His prolific output is especially impressive in light of the fact that he lived only 52 years.

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in April 1564, the son of John Shakespeare, a glove-maker, and of Mary Arden. His baptismal record dates to April 26 of that year. Because baptisms were performed within a few days of birth, tradition has settled on April 23 as his birthday. It provides a convenient symmetry: he died on that day in 1616, and, perhaps appropriately for a playwright considered to be England's greatest, it is also the Feast Day of Saint George, patron saint of England.

Shakespeare's father, prosperous at the time of William's birth, was prosecuted for participating in the black market in wool, and later lost his position as an alderman. Some evidence exists that both sides of the family had Roman Catholic sympathies.

As the son of a prominent town official, William Shakespeare probably attended the Stratford grammar school, which provided an intensive education in Latin grammar and literature. There is no evidence that his formal education extended beyond this.

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, on November 28, 1582 at Temple Grafton, near Stratford. Two neighbors of Anne, Fulk Sandalls and John Richardson, posted bond that there were no impediments to the marriage. There appears to have been some haste in arranging the ceremony: Anne was three months pregnant. After his marriage, William Shakespeare left few traces in the historical record until he appeared on the London literary scene.

On May 26, 1583 Shakespeare's first child, Susanna, was baptised at Stratford. A son, Hamnet, and a daughter, Judith, were baptized soon after on February 2, 1585.

In 1596 Hamnet died; he was buried on August 11, 1596. Because of the similarities of their names, some suspect that his death inspired Shakespeare's The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

By 1598 Shakespeare had moved to the parish of St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, and appeared top of a list of actors in Every man in his Humour written by Ben Jonson.

Shakespeare became an actor, writer and finally part-owner of an acting company known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men — the company took its name, like others of the period, from its aristocratic sponsor, the Lord Chamberlain. The group became popular enough that after the death of Elizabeth I and the coronation of James I (1603), the new monarch adopted the company and it became known as The King's Men.

Various documents recording legal affairs and commercial transactions show that Shakespeare grew rich enough during his stay in London years to buy a property in Blackfriars, London and own the second-largest house in Stratford, New Place.

In 1609 he published his sonnets, love poems variously addressed: most, replete with homoerotic innuendo, to a youth (or 'fair lord'); the remainder to a 'dark lady'. Shakespeare retired in about 1611.

Shakespeare died in 1616, on April 23. He remained married to Anne until his death and was survived by his two daughters Susannah and Judith. William Shakespeare is buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon. His grave carries his well known epitaph:

Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blest be the man that spares these stones,
But cursed be he that moves my bones.

Popular legend claims that unpublished works by Shakespeare may lie inside his tomb, but no-one has ever verified these claims, perhaps for fear of the curse included in the quoted epitaph.

Shakespeare's most famous works include the tragedies Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Hamlet; the comedies As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing; and the history Richard III.

Shakespeare's influence on the English-speaking world shows in the widespread use of quotations from Shakespearean plays, the titles of works based on Shakespearean phrases, and the many adaptations of his plays. Other signs of his continuing influence include his appearance in the top ten of the "100 Greatest Britons" poll sponsored by the BBC, the frequent productions based on his work, such as the BBC Television Shakespeare, and the success of the fictional account of his life in the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet An annotated guide to Shakespeare resources on the Internet.

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It uses material from the Wikipedia article "William Shakespeare".