William Shakespeare Research Paper

William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. He was the third out of eight children to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, daughter of a farmer. He probably attended the Stratford grammar school when he was young and Oxford when he got older. He started writing poems and worked as an actor. At age 18 he married Anne Hathaway who was 26 on November 27, 1582. Only about a year into their marriage, they had their first child Susanna on May of 1583. Then in early 1585, they had twins, Judith and Hamnet. But Hamnet died in 1596 at the age of 11. He died on April 23, 1616 and his body was buried inside Stratford Parish Church. His last direct descendent was his granddaughter Elizabeth died in 1670. Shakespeare wrote many plays and sonnets/poems in his life. His first works were poems. His first work to be published was Venus and Adonis in 1593. Another one of his early works would be The Rape of Lucrece, published in 1594. In the late 1500’s it was fashionable for authors to write sonnets. Shakespeare’s first 126 sonnets are addressed to a young noble men and the next 26 are to a woman but they were never identified. His plays were published in Folios

He became England's most successful playwright. Another one of his accomplishments was that him and his associates built the Globe theatre in 1599. It had 3 levels of galleries and was 32 feet high. He built it for people with a broad social background like merchants, craft workers, and members of upper class. It could hold about 3000 people. Shakespeare also helped shape the english language for the modern world. His works have been updated for modern generations. His works are still being read by younger generations. Another accomplishment were his many plays. Some of the most popular ones are Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth. Even though he is dead, his works are still being read and watched all over the