The Saucy Boy " The course of true love never did run smooth. " Those words are from Shakespeare's, A Midsummers Night Dream. Whenever someone says something poetic and beautiful, one of the first comments is, "That is some Shakespearian stuff right there!"
At first glance, Playwright William Shakespeare was not the first person you would guess for greatness. Surprisingly, he was not born to a family of nobility or wealth. He did not continue his education at a university after school, nor did he get taught by a senior and experienced artist. Furthermore, he did not marry into prestige or wealth. In summary, Shakespeare was a genuinely talented actor and playwright, who got fame without having the starring roles in plays.
William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stanford-upon-Avon and died on April 23, 1616. He was baptized on April 26, 1564. He was the third of the eight children born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, daughter of the wealthy landowner. Williams father was a glove maker, a grain dealer, and served in various civic offices as a member of town council. Later he married a local girl Anne Hathaway and moved in together.
There are many mysteries in this world. William Shakespeare was certainly a man of many mysteries. He dazzled his audiences with play after play. It is believed that a man named William Shaxper is really William Shakespeare. There is an ongoing debate about who really wrote the plays, however, because the playwright only known as William Shakespeare never existed.
Siblings Shakespeare was the third child of John and Mary Shakespeare. The first two daughters and William were followed by Gilbert and Richard who died in 1612 and 1613. Edmund was the sixth son and was the followed by
Hamnet died at age 11 due to unknown causes. After the birth of his twins there is a 7-year gap where no records exist, this was called “lost years”. In the 1590`s Shakespeare was a managing partner in the Lord Chamberlain's Men, an acting company in London. Though Shakespeare was known for being a poet and a playwright, he was also an actor. In 1599 Shakespeare created his own theater called the Globe.
Hathaway was twenty six at the time, eight years older than Shakespeare. She was also pregnant , and gave birth to Susanna. In 1585, Shakespeare and Hathaway had twins, Hamnet and Judith. Shakespeare left for London upon the twin’s birth, leaving Anne to care for the kids in Stratford. Again, there is lack of records regarding Shakespeare’s time in London.
“Of William Shakespeare (1564-1616), in the biographical sense, we know both too much and too little. The numerous investigators has amassed a quantity of information, most of which is utterly useless and irrelevant” (Sampson 214). William Shakespeare essentially began his luxurious career in literature as a suffering actor in the city of Stratford-on-Avon. Stratford is also known as the location where William was born and later baptized. There are few detailed accounts of his childhood or adolescent years.
William Shakespeare’s writing has been influential throughout the past couple of centuries often reflecting problems that people face everyday. His writing gives people insight on many situations whether they are good or bad, and because of that they do not have to suffer. Shakespeare’s incredible use of rhetorical devices relate to the audience and as a result, they feel as though they have answers for hypothetical events that have not happened. In many of his plays, revenge is a common motif that is present in both his writing and the real world. As a result, William Shakespeare uses dramatic irony, juxtapositioning, and blank verse to convey that revenge can only be sweet if the final result is forgiveness.
His father, John Shakespeare, was a prominent local citizen who served as an alderman and bailiff. His mother was Mary Arden Shakespeare, after whom William Shakespeare had named the Forest of Arden in the play “As You Like It”. He was enrolled at the Kings New School in Stratford at the age of 4 or 5. In 1594 Shakespeare joined the Lord Chamberlains Men. He had shares in the company, making him a manager and co-owner.
William and Anne had 3 children, their eldest daughter Susan lived a long life her other sister Judith also lived a long life Judith had a twin brother named Hamnet, he was shakespeare's only son, Hamnet did not live a long life and died at age 11 from unknown causes. Susan was born in 1585 and the twins Hamnet and Judith were born seven months later than Susan in 1585. It is around the time of his children's births that there is absolutely no known evidence of seven years of Shakespeare's life this is what Scholars and most call “The lost years.” Even though there is no documented evidence of shakespeare's whereabouts during those seven years there are theories and educated guesses on where shakespeare went and what he did. Some scholars believe that he traveled as a teacher because he got an education and wanted to share his knowledge and spark the imagination of younger children to use their imaginations and write or express their imaginations and emotions.
The Middle English period, though the dates are estimated at 1100-1500, began with the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Norman Vikings brought with them an influx of French words and, eventually, French took over as the official language of government. For a short time, the English language was on a decline, until 1204 when King John lost Normandy to the French and English began to rise again. By the mid-14th century, at the time of Geoffrey Chaucer, The Hundred Years’ War was promoting nationalism in England and creating an even bigger divide between English and French. England did not want to be speaking the same language as her enemy.
William Shakespeare is one of the most famous poets, playwrights, and actors to have ever lived. Shakespeare is thought of as the most superlative dramatist of all times. He wrote plays that correlated with every human emotion, they captured infatuation, failure, betrayal, and tragedy. His genres include comedy, history, and tragedy, some which turned into romantic comedies; meaning Shakespeare introduced the modern Rom Coms. Shakespeare established himself by first writing history plays such as Richard II and Julius Caesar (Early Works).
We all know William Shakespeare, the most important author in the English language. Author of 37 plays and 154 sonnets. Even today after 400 years, the themes in his books are still applicable. But some believe Shakespeare didn’t write any of the play he is credited with, or worse didn’t even exist. But is that the absolute truth?
The goal of this paper is to provide informative discussion regarding the circumstances and development of Shakespeare’s life that caused the prominence of his career to this day. To encompass the most important aspects of William Shakespeare’s life, we have organized my paper into five main sections. In the first section, we provide a summarized account of William Shakespeare’s personal life, including details about his birth and death, schooling, and family composition. In the second section, we outline Shakespeare’s professional life during two stages: career as an actor and career as a playwright.
