

William Shakespeare is known as one of the
most influential writers in the English
language. Strangely, much of his life is a
mystery.
Most of what we know about this man comes
from registrar records, court records, wills,
marriage documents, accounts from other
playwrights, and his tombstone.


Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford,
England. This fact is considered true because
his infant baptism was documented as taking
place on April 26th, 1564.
The exact day is unknown, but it is assumed
that the year was 1564. It is SUPPOSED that
his birthdate was April 23rd due to typical
baptism traditions at the time, but there is no
proof.



William Shakespeare’s parents were John and
Mary Shakespeare, and he was the third child.
The first two children were girls named Joan and
Margaret, both of whom died before William
was born
After William came Gilbert, who unfortunately
died in 1612, and Richard who died in 1613.
Edmund followed, living from 1580-1607, being
the sixth child. William's oldest sister Joan
outlived her famous playwright brother. Out of
his seven siblings, only one sister and four of his
brothers survived to adulthood.



Shakespeare’s parents were married in 1557.
His father, John, was a very important man in
Stratford. He was a businessman who dabbled
in leather tanning and “whittawering,” which is
working with white leather to make various
items such as saddles and purses. He also
bought and sold grain and is sometimes said to
have been a glover (one who makes gloves).
Additionally, John Shakespeare was one of
fourteen town council members.


William’s mother was the youngest child of
her parents. Her maiden name was Mary
Arden. Despite being the youngest, Mary
inherited most of her father’s estate when he
died.
Needless to say, William came from a
successful background.


About this, we do not know much. We do
know that the sons of prominent members of
the town attended King’s New Grammar
School to learn reading and writing, so it is
assumed that Shakespeare attended this
school. Unfortunately, we have no certain
proof.
The lack of evidence further indicates that
William never attended a University.

Whether or not Shakespeare attended
school, he was obviously educated somehow
due to the content matter in his plays.



A bond certificate dated November the 28th,
1582, reveals that Shakespeare married a
woman named Anne Hathaway.
He was 18 years old. She was 26 and
pregnant.
Seven months later, the two had their first
daughter, Susanna. Anne Shakespeare never
left Stratford for the remainder of her life.



Baptism records tell us that the twins Hamnet
and Judith were born in 1592. Shakespeare’s
only son (Hamnet) died at age.
Shakespeare’s family was abnormally small
for the time period. Most married couples
produced many offspring due to the high
child mortality rate.
Stories say that the William and Anne were
unhappily married.


Most believe that Shakespeare left his home
to look for work in London, a four days ride
from Stratford for about twenty years to
pursue his playwriting.
He is thought to have returned back to his
family in 1609.
See ya!

No one knows exactly what William was
doing during these undocumented years.
Some believe he fled Stratford after being
caught hunting illegally. Another legend says
he cared for horses outside of playhouses in
London.

By 1592, Shakespeare was in London as an
established playwright.

Over the next few years, the playhouses in
London were shut down due to plague.
During this time, William wrote his first two
poems, “Venis and Adonis” and “The Rape of
Lucrece.”

Despite having published many plays by this
time, William made his first great monetary
gain in 1605 when he bought leases of real
estate surrounding Stratford. His investment
doubled in value and earned him an
estimated 60 pounds income each year.
Some believe that this money allowed him to
focus on his playwriting alone.


In 1598, the famous Globe Theatre was built.
Shakespeare was involved with this theater
for the rest of his life, owning shares in the
company and gaining money from its profits.
In 1607, the Globe Theatre was burned. A
modern day reconstruction of the building
was built in 1997 called “Shakespeare’s Globe
Theatre.”



Around 1607, a group of famous writers
began to meet at the Mermaid Tavern in
Cheapside.
The club was formed by Sir Walter Raleigh
and included members such as Ben Jonson
and Thomas Fuller.
Shakespeare and Jonson reportedly often
had verbal battles to test one another’s wit.


Shakespeare died on April 23rd, 1616 at age 52
and was buried at the Holy Trinity Church in
Stratford. He infamously left his wife with his
“second-best bed” and nothing else. He gave
most of his estate to his oldest daughter
Susanna
The poet’s direct line of descendants ended
54 years later when Susanna’s daughter
Elizabeth died in 1670.




Good friend, for Jesus´ sake forbeare
To digg the dust enclosed here!
Blest be ye man that spares thes(e) stones
And curst be he that moues (moves) my bones.

There is no evidence that any of the portraits
of Shakespeare are accurate! The closest
evidence we have is from a fellow playwright
Ben Jonson, who said that a specific portrait
of Shakespeare was a “fair likeness.”


Shakespeare came from a fairly average
middle-class family, so many scholars think it
is impossible that he could have written his
plays.
For a long time, many believed that Sir
Francis Bacon was the true author.


Other theories include many other famous
Elizabethan era poets and even a large group
of people.
Most scholars today accept Shakespeare’s
legitimacy. Whether he wrote them or not,
the fact remains that these plays are among
the greatest literature ever written.