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William Shakespeare: Life and Works Overview

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. He attended grammar school where he learned Latin and became familiar with classical literature. At age 18, he married Anne Hathaway and they had three children together. In 1586, Shakespeare moved to London to pursue a career in theatre, starting out by holding horses for theatre patrons. He went on to become a successful playwright and poet, writing some of the most renowned works in English literature including 37 plays and 154 sonnets. Some of his most famous plays include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream

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144 views2 pages

William Shakespeare: Life and Works Overview

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. He attended grammar school where he learned Latin and became familiar with classical literature. At age 18, he married Anne Hathaway and they had three children together. In 1586, Shakespeare moved to London to pursue a career in theatre, starting out by holding horses for theatre patrons. He went on to become a successful playwright and poet, writing some of the most renowned works in English literature including 37 plays and 154 sonnets. Some of his most famous plays include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream

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Pumica Paul
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare
(1564-1616) Shakespeare was born 23rd of April 1564, the same day as the day of his death, 52 years later - at Stratford on Avon, a small town in Warwickshire, in the heart of England. His father, John Shakespeare, was a glover, a wooddealer and perhaps a butcher. About 1565 John Shakespeare was elected to various public offices. His mother, Mary Arden, was born into a farmers family residing in Warwickshire as well. Her people were better off than her husbands. William Shakespeare led the life of an ordinary country boy. He attended the free Latin grammar school of his native town until the age of 14. There, as he was customary at that time, he was tough the classical languages and became familiar with the great Latin writers. Shakespeares first poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece evince his classical learning. At the age of 18 (in 1582) William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, 8 years his senior. His wife was the daughter of a farmer in a village near by. They had 3 children: Susanna, the eldest and the twins Hamnet and Judith. We find Shakespeare in London 1586. He went to the Capital to try his fortune there. The story goes that in London he started earning his living by tending the horses of the gentlemen who came riding to the playhouse. a horse keeper a stage boy a prompter a play mender an actor a playwright By the turn of the century Shakespeare was a prosperous man so that he had money to spare to pay his father debts and to buy a coat of arms for him. In 1600 Shakespeare bought the largest house in Stratford known as New place. He died on the 23rd of April 1616 and was buried in the chancel of his parish church at Stratford. No name was engrave on tombstone butfor the lines which as the tradition goes he himself had prepared before his death. They warn the passers-by not to dig his bones. By 1623, a monument was setup on the wall above the grave. Shakespeares heritage consists of 2 long poems, a sequence of 154 sonnets and 37 plays. His activities as a poet and playwright covers over 24 years. The first creative period 1590 - 1600-1601 Venus and Adonis The Rape of Lucrece Sonnets The plays: Henry VI in 3 parts (1590-1591) Richard III The Taming of the Shrew (1592) The Comedy of Errors
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

The Two Gentleman of Verona Loves Labours Lost Romeo and Juliet A Midsummer Nights Dream Richard II King John The Merchant of Venice Henry IV in 2 parts Much Ado about Nothing Henry V The Merry Wives of Windsor As You Like It Julius Caesar (a roman play) Twelfth Night The second creative period 1600-1601 - 1608 Shakespeares great tragedies Hamlet Othello King Lear Macbeth Timon of Athens The Roman plays: Antony and Cleopatra Coriolanus Comedies: Alls Well That Ends Well Troilus and Cressida Measure for Measure The third creative period 1608-1612 Cymbeline (1609) The Winters Tale The Tempest To this period also belongs: Pericles, Prince of Tyre Henry VII but their authorship is doubtful.

William Shakespeare

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