William Shakespeare

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

William Shakespeare, an English actor, poet and playwright, was born to John Shakespeare and mother, Mary Arden. Shakespeare’s exact birth date is unknown, but he was baptised on 26^th April 1564, in Stratford-Upon-Avon, where he was born. All that is known of Shakespeare’s youth is that he may have attended the Stratford Grammar School, although there aren’t any records to prove it. However, it is recorded that at the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26 year old, Anne Hathaway in 1582. The year after their marriage, she gave birth to their daughter, Susanna, followed by twins, Judith and Hamnet, two years later.

Shakespeare’s recognition as an actor, poet and playwright, came seven years later, when Robert Greene made reference to him as “an upstart crow”, in A Groatsworth of Wit.  In his time, William Shakespeare had written 13 comedies, 13 Historical Plays, 6 Tragedies, 4 Tragicomedies, as well as about 154 Sonnets. Some of his plays include:

The Taming of the Shrew

Julius Caesar

Much Ado about Nothing

Romeo and Juliet

The Tragedy of King Lear

Twelfth Night

He is considered the greatest writer of all time and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. This may be so because of his vast collection of works displayed in the aforementioned. Also, his plays have been translated into basically every major living language, and have been performed more often than those of any other playwright in the world.

William Shakespeare joined with The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, one of the most successful acting troupes in London. The troupe lost the lease for the theatre, in which they performed, and had to build their own theatre across the Thames, south of London, which they called “The Globe”.  The new theatre opened July of 1599, during the Elizabethan Era, with the Motto “Totus mundus agit historionem”, which means a whole world of players.

Shakespeare wrote fewer plays after 1606-1607 and none are accredited to him after 1613. Shakespeare died on 23^rd April, 1616 and was survived by his wife and two daughters.