1.
William Shakespeare
(1564- 1616)
was an English playwright and poet. He is generally considered the greatest dramatist the world
has ever known and the finest poet who has written in the English language. Shakespeare has also
been the world´s most popular author. No other writer´s plays have been produced so many times or
read so widely in so many countries. His plays are enjoyed today as they were by the people who
saw them 400 years ago. His fame basically rests on his understanding of human nature. He created
characters that have meaning beyond the time and place of his plays.
Shakespeare wrote at least 37 plays, which have traditionally been divided into comedies,
histories and tragedies.
In addition to his deep understanding of human nature, Shakespeare had knowledge in a wide
variety of other subjects, like music, the law, the Bible, military science, art, politics, the sea,
history, hunting and sports. Yet as far as scholars know, Shakespeare had no professional
experience in any field except theatre.
Shakespeare was born to what today would be called middle-class parents. His birthplace was
the small market town of Stratford-upon-Avon. Shortly after he married at the age of 18,
Shakespeare apparently left Stratford to seek his fortune in the theatrical world of London. Within a
few years, he had become one of the city´s leading actors and playwrights.By 1612, when he seems
to have partially retired to Stratford, Shakespeare had become England´s most popular playwright.
Shakespeare contributed greatly to the development of the English language. He freely
experimented with grammar and vocabulary and so helped prevent literary English from becoming
fixed and artificial. Many words and phrases from Shakespeare´s plays have become part of our
everyday speech (fair play, catch cold, assassination, bump, lonely)
His Life in Stratford
Early years John Shakespeare, William´s father, was a glove maker who owned a shop in the town
of Stratford-upon-Avon. Stratford lies about 120 kilometres northwest of London in the county
Warwickshire. John Shakespeare was a respected man in the town and held several important
positions in the local government.
William´s Shakespeare´s mother was born Mary Arden. She was the daughter of a farmer but
related to a family of considerable social standing in the county. John Shakespeare married Mary
Arden about 1557. The Ardens were Roman Catholics, but the Shakespeares publicly belonged to
the Church of England, the state church.
William was born in Stratford in 1564, the third of eight children. The register of Holy Trinity,
the parish church in Stratford, records his baptism on April 26. According to the custom at the time,
infants were baptized about three days after their birth. Therefore, the generally accepted date for
Shakespeare´s birth is April 23.
In 1565, John Shakespeare became an alderman. Three years later, he was elected bailiff
(mayor). Later, he held several other civic posts. But toward the end of his life, John Shakespeare
had financial problems.
Beginning at about the age of 7, young William probably attended the Stratford grammar school.
The school´s highly qualified teachers were graduates of Oxford University. Students spent about 9
hours a day in school. They attended classes all year round, except for three brief holiday periods.
The teachers enforced strict discipline and physically punished students who broke the rules. The
students chiefly studied Latin, the knowledge of which was necessary for a career in medicine, law,
or the church. In addition, Latin was considered a sign of an educated person.
Marriage: In November 1582, Shakespeare received a licence to marry Anne Hathaway. She was
probably the daughter of a farmer who lived in Shottery, a village about 1.5 km from Stratford. At
the time of their marriage, Shakespeare was 18 years old and Anne was 26. Their first child,
Susanna, was baptized on May 26, 1583.
The lost years: Early in 1585, Anne Shakespeare gave birth to twins- a boy, Hamnet, and a girl,
Judith. No significant factual information exists on Shakespeare´s life for the period between
February 1585, when the twins were baptized, and 1592, when evidence indicates Shakespeare was
living in London. Scholars sometimes call this period the lost years.
Early career in London
There is some indication that Shakespeare had become well known actor and a playwright by
1592. Sometime after he arrived in Jondon, Shakespeare probably joined one of the city´s theatre
companies. We do not know which theatre company Shakespeare joined before 1594. But he was a
sharer of a company called the Lord Chamberlain´s Men in 1594. It was one of the most popular
acting companies in London. Shakespeare was a leading member of the group for the rest of his
career.
From mid-1592 to 1594, London authorities often closed the public theatres because of repeated
outbreaks of plague. At this time, Shakespeare began to write poems. He wrote two long poems
Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both dedicated to the 19-year-old Earl of Southampton,
who probably rewarded the author for the dedication. Their success did not lead Shakespeare to give
up playwriting. After the public theatres were reopened, he began again to write plays.
The years of fame.
From 1594 to 1608 Shakespeare was fully involved in the London theatre world. In addition to
his duties as a shareholder and actor in the Lord Chamberlain´s men, he wrote an average of almost
two plays a year for his company.
By the late 1590s , Shakespeare had not only become prosperous. In 1597 he bought one of the
two largest houses in Stratford. Shakespeare obviously remained a Stratford man at heart in spite of
his busy, successful life in London. In 1599, Shakespeare became one of the owners of the Globe, a
new outdoor theatre in the London suburb
In 1603, Queen Elizabeth I died and was succeeded by her cousin James VI of Scotland. As king
of England he became James I .James enjoyed and actively supported the theatre. He issued a royal
licence to Shakespeare and his fellow players, which allowed the company to call itself the King´s
Men. The company leased the Blackfriars Theatre for 21 years. The theatre stood in a heavily
populated district called Blackfriars, had artificial lighting, was probably heated, and served as the
company´s winter playhouse.
The years 1599 to 1608 were a period of extraordinary literary activity for Shakespeare. During
these days, he wrote several comedies and almost all the tragedies that have made him famous. In
1609, a London publisher named Thomas Thorpe published a book called Shakespeare´s Sonnets,
which contained more than 150 sonnets that Shakespeare had written over the years.
His last years
On Feb 10, 1616, Shakespeare´s younger daughter Judith,married. Six weeks later, Shakespeare
revid his will. Within a month he died. He was buried inside the Stratford parish church, Holy
Trinity Church. His munument records the day of death as April 23, the generally accepted date of
his birth.
Shakespeare´s son, Hamnet, died in 1596 at the age of 11. The playwright´s daughter Susanna
had one child,Elizabeth, who bore no childe. Judith gave birth to three boys, but they died before
she did. Shakespeare´s last direct descendant, his granddaughter, Elizabeth, died in 1670.
2.
Shakespeare
In April 1564 a son was born to John and Mary Shakespeare at Henley Street, Stratfordupon-Avon. His mother was the daughter of Robert Arden, an important farmer in
Warwickshire. His father was a rich citizen whose business was making and selling leather
gloves.
The parents did not guess that their son, William, was going to be such an important
figure in English poetry and drama, and that his plays would still be acted four hundred
years later- not only in England, but all over the world.
While still a teenager of nineteen, William married Anne Hathaway, a farmer´s
daughter some years older than himself.
We don´t know how he earned his living during these early ears. He may have helped
his father in the family business or he may have been a country schoolmaster for a time.
During these years his three children were born: Susannah, the eldest, then twins- a
son,Hamnet and another girl, Judith. In 1587 Shakespeare went to work in London,
leaving Anne and the children at home. One story says this is because he killed some deer
which belonged to a rich landowner nearby, and that he had to run away from the law.
Shakespeare soon began to act and to write plays. By 1592 he was an important member
of a well-known acting company, and in 1599 the famous Globe Theatre was built on the
south bank of the river Thames. It was in this theatre that most his plays were performed
and, like all Elizabethan theatres, it was a round building with the stage in the centre open
to the sky. If it rained, the actors got wet. If the weather was too bad, there was no
performance.
By 1603, the year when Queen Elizabeth I died, Shakespeare was already the leading
poet and dramatist of his time. He continued to write for the next ten years, but in 1613 he
finally stopped writing and went to live in Stratford where he died in 1616. He is buried in
Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon.
Ben Jonson, who lived from 1572 to 1637, and who was also a famous writer of plays,
called Shakespeare „Sweet Swan of Avon“. Shakespeare has been known as the „Swan of
Avon“ ever since.
3.
William Shakespeare
is considered to be the greatest playwright in European literature.
He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon on 23 April 1564, six years after
Elizabeth I became Queen. His father,John Shakespeare, was probably a glover
and wool-merchant and for a time mayor of Stratford.
William went to the local grammar school, where he learned English, some Latin
and a little Greek.He never attended university. At the age of fourteen he left
school and worked with his father for several years. When he was eighteen and a
half he married a farmer’s daughter Ann Hathaway from Shottery, who was eight
years older.(The marriage was on 27 November 1582) They had three children-
Susanna (baptized on 26 May 1583 !) and the twins Hamnet and Judith ( born
1585,Hamnet died 1596).
When William was 22, he went to London, leaving his wife and children in
Stratford. Here WS became a player and joined the company called „The Lord
Chamberlain´s Men“. The company was made up of about a dozen actors (no
actresses at all). Each player played 2-3 roles in a single play.WS began to write
plays and became famous as a dramatist. In 1599 he bought the Globe Theatre.
Besides his plays WS wrote also 154 wonderful sonnets.His last play „The
Tempest“ was probably written in 1611. In 1612 he bought a large house and
settled down in Stratford. After a few quiet years he died and was buried in
Stratford. It happened after spending an enjoyable evening with his friends, on
23 April 1616- the same day as his birth. (birthday party ?)
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, which fall into three categories: comedies,
tragedies and histories.
Since the 17th century WS´s work has been performed more often than any other
dramatist´s. His drama is often said to be the „mirror of life“. The greatest aspect
of his genius was his understanding of human nature, and his characters are
seen as real today as they were when they first appeared on the stage. His
command of language has no equal. Computer studies tell us that he used more
words than any other writer. His plays are divided into five acts and are written in
blank verse.
The best-known of his comedies are
A Midsummer Night´s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, The
Winter´s Tale, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About
Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, The Comedy of Errors.
Among Shakespeare´s tragedies may be named :
Macbeth, Othello, Hamlet, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet
History plays:
Julius Caesar, The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra, Pericles, Richard II,
Richard III, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VIII, Coriolanus.
Some quotations from Shakespeare:
From Hamlet: „To be , or not to be - that is the question“
„Something is rotten in the state of Denmark“
„Frailty, thy name is woman!“
From Henry VIII: „Two women placed together make cold weather.“
From As You Like It: „All the world´s a stage,/ And all the men and women merely
players.
From Romeo and Juliet: „ Good night,good night, parting is such sweet sorrow
That I shall say good night till it be morrow.“