William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon  on 23^rd   April 1564 to  John Shakespeare, a successful glover and alderman originally from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden, the daughter of an sophisticated landowning farmer. His actual birth date remains unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23 April, St George's Day. He was the third child of eight and the eldest surviving son. John and Mary’s children comprised of Joan (only survived two months), Margaret (she died one year later), both died from the plague “Black Death”, William (died 1616 aged 52), October 13 Gilbert (died 1612 aged 46), Joan (died 1646 aged 77), Anne (1579 died aged 7), Richard (died 1613 aged 39) and Edmund (died 1607 aged 27).
 In 1553, Shakespeare received an education at the King’s New School in Stratford, a free chartered school a quarter- mile away from his home.  With the school’s curriculum governed by England’s law (Elizabethan era), he was given an intensive education in Latin Grammar and the Classic Arts
At the age of 18, Shakespeare married an older Anne Hathaway of 26 years. The wedding took place on 27^th of November 1582 where the consistory court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage license. Six months following the marriage Anne gave birth to a daughter, Susanna, baptized 26 May 1583.  Almost two years later followed twins, son, Hamnet and daughter, Judith and they were baptized 2 February 1585.  Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596.  Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men.
Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. He then later retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later on 23^rd April 1616.
Many of Shakespeare’s plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. In 1623, two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognized as Shakespeare's

Why is he known as the Greatest Playwright

William Shakespeare is regarded as the greatest playwright to date and is often referred to as England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His surviving works, including collaborations, consists of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.  
"He was not of an age, but for all time," So wrote Ben Jonson in his dedicatory verses to the memory of William Shakespeare in 1623, “And so we continue to affirm today. No other writer, in English or in any other language, can rival the appeal that Shakespeare has enjoyed. And no one else in any artistic endeavor has projected a cultural influence as broad or as deep.”
 He was also acclaimed by The Romantics and worshipped by the Victorians  with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "Bardolatry". In the 20th century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain popular today and are constantly studied, performed and reinterpreted in different cultural and political contexts throughout the world.


Books composed by Shakespeare:  Published according to the True Original Copies (London: Printed by Isaac Jaggard & Edward Blount, 1623)-- Mr. William Shakespeare’s  Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies comprises of: The Tempest; The Two Gentlemen of Verona; The Merry Wives of Windsor; Measure for Measure; The Comedy of Errors; Much Ado About Nothing; Love's Labor's Lost; A Midsummer Night's Dream; The Merchant of Venice; As You Like It; The Taming of the Shrew; All's Well That Ends Well; Twelfth Night; The Winter's Tale; King John; Richard II; Henry IV, parts 1 and 2; Henry V; Henry VI, parts 1-3; Richard III; Henry VIII; Troilus and Cressida; Coriolanus; Titus Andronicus; Romeo and Juliet; Timon of Athens; Julius Caesar; Macbeth; Hamlet; King Lear; Othello; Antony and Cleopatra; Cymbeline;

The most illustrious theatre within the Elizabethan era was known as “The Globe Theatre.” It was constructed in 1597 then burnt down on 29^th June 1614. It was rebuilt in 1614 then demolished by the Puritans in 1644.