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William
Shakespeare is without doubt the most famous English writer
ever. Even though he died nearly 400 years ago he is still
widely read and hugely popular, his plays are acted all
over the world. Despite his popularity at the time not much
is certain about his life and there is no real authoritative
account of his life.
Born
in April 1564 in Henley Street in the market town of Stratford
upon Avon to Mary and John Shakespeare. He was the third
child of the couple but the first to survive. He later had
two brothers Gilbert and Richard and two sisters Joan and
Mary.
His
family were quite wealthy, his father was a successful local
glove maker and his mother Mary had inherited money and
farmland. When William was 4 his father became High Bailiff
of Stratford.
Only
boys went to school at this time, William's first school
was called Petty School, when he was seven it is believed
that he went to the local grammar school until, at the age
of twelve, he left to help his father who had run into financial
trouble. At school he studied the bible and history and
learned to speak Latin, in top classes pupils had to speak
Latin. At the age of eighteen William met Anne Hathaway
who was the daughter of a local farmer, she was a little
older than William at 26. They married in November 1582
and moved in with William's parents in Stratford. In May
1583 Anne gave birth to their first child Susanna, she was
followed two years later by twins, one a boy, Hamnet, the
other a girl, Judith. By the age of 21 William had fathered
3 children.
Shortly
after this William left Stratford, leaving his family behind.
The reason for him leaving is not clear; some people think
that he became a teacher, while others believe that he went
to work for a lawyer, another story is that he was caught
poaching Sir Thomas Lucy's deer from Charlecote Park near
Stratford and had to run away.
Sometime
between 1585 and 1592,William arrived in London. He looked
for work and found a job in the theatre. Plays at this time
were quite different from plays now and were always shown
in the daytime. Also only men were allowed to act, the parts
of women were played by boys. William loved the theatre
and began to act and write his own plays. His plays were
very popular with the audiences of the time. Most successful
playwrights at this time, like Christopher Marlowe, were
University educated, William was not and for this reason
many people looked down on him.
Once
a year he would return to Stratford to see his wife and
family. In 1592 the plague struck in London. Theatres were
closed down to stop the disease spreading amongst the tightly
packed audiences. At this time William wrote poetry like
'The Rape of Lucrece' which he wrote for the Earl of Southampton.
He wrote a further 154 sonnets for friends and family.
In 1594
the theatres reopened and William started writing plays
again. He carried on acting as well as writing 2 or 3 plays
a year and belonged to a group called Lord Chamberlain's
Men. The group acted regularly at the court of Queen Elizabeth.
William even wrote the play 'The Merry Wives of Windsor
for the Queen.'.
By the
age of 33 William was making lots of money and was very
famous. He bought the second biggest house in Stratford
called New Place and often went to visit his family there.
He bought more and more land as well as a share in London's
finest theatre The Globe which was on London's South Bank.
A replica of this theatre has been rebuilt very near to
the site of the original and Shakespeare plays are shown
there today.
When
Queen Elizabeth died in 1603 James I became the king. He
ordered William's company to change their name to the King's
Men. They often acted at the King's court and William wrote
the play 'Macbeth' especially for the King. The group
also acted at the wedding of King James's daughter.
In June
1613, William's play 'Henry VIII' was put on at the
Globe. During the play a live cannon shot out a burning
ball of paper which landed on the thatched roof of the theatre.
The whole building caught fire and within an hour it had
burnt to the ground. After the fire William decided to retire
and to move back to Stratford with his family. He was 49
and had written a total of 37 plays.
In 1616
he wrote his will and left his land and property to his
family and some money to the poor people of Stratford. He
died on the 23rd of April 1616 at the age of 52. He was
buried two days later in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.
Shakespeare's
Life
1564
- April Born William Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon
1582 - November. Marries Anne Hathaway
1583 - May. Daughter Susanna is born
1585 - Twins Hamnet and Judith born
1585-92 - Moves to London and becomes an actor and
playwright
1592 - Plague epidemic in London which causes the
theatres to be closed
1593 - Christopher Marlowe dies
1594 - Theatre reopens
1595 - Romeo & Juliet written
1596 - Son Hamnet dies
1597 - Buys New Place in Stratford
1599 - Globe theatre built
1603 - Queen Elizabeth dies. James I crowned King
and orders William's Company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men,
to become The King's Men
1613 - Globe burns down. Shakespeare retires
1616 - April 23rd. Dies
1623 - First Folio collection of William&'s plays
is published
Information
compiled by Jubilee Books
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