Questions about Shakespeare? 

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Who was he?
 

William Shakespeare, eldest son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden Shakespeare, born 1564.

Shakespeare was born in the English town of Stratford-upon-Avon, but worked in London where the theatres were located. 

The market town of Stratford is located UPON the river AVON. 

Shakespeare's father made gloves and leather goods and was a member of the town council. His wife was the daughter of a wealthy landowner. Shakespeare's parents could afford to send him to the King Edward VI Grammar School until he was about 15 years old. 

William Shakespeare married quite young; he was 18 and his bride Anne Hathaway was 26.  She was also pregnant with their first daughter, Susanna.

William and Anne Shakespeare had three children -- Susanna born 1583 and twins Hamnet and Judith born 1585. Hamnet died when he was eleven years old.

Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet who lived in the late 1500's and early 1600's. He wrote about human nature, something that doesn't change much from century to century. 

It is uncertain exactly when Shakespeare moved to London, but by 1592 he was working and living there. 
Scholars think he probably joined the theater as an actor, or "player," and later began writing scripts.

London plays were produced and performed by theatre companies through the support of a patron. Shakespeare was a member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, a company sponsored by the Lord Chamberlain. In 1603, James I became king and the name of the company was changed to the King's Men.

After 1599, Shakespeare's plays were usually performed at the Globe Theatre located on the bank of the River Thames.  The open-air wooden theater could hold an audience of 3,000, sitting and standing, and gave two performances a day.

Scholars believe that Shakespeare first wrote the Henry VI history plays and then two comedies, The Comedy of Errors and The Taming of the Shrew, about 1589-1594.

He wrote history plays that examined politics and the power of kings.  He also wrote tragedy, comecdy, and romances.

Shakespeare also wrote poetry and songs. His best known poems are sonnets, but his poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece were his first published works.

A sonnet is a short poem, usually about love, that follows a strict formula.  A sonnet is always 14 lines long and uses a strict rhyme scheme. The last two lines of the sonnet are often a rhyming couplet, two lines that rhyme with each other.  The sonnet form was introduced to England from Italy in the 16th century.

Shakespeare's work was immensely popular during his own lifetime. Only seven years after his death, his friends and fellow company members published the First Folio collection of 23 plays in order to preserve his work. England's theatres were closed by the Puritans from 1642 to 1660, but after reopening with the Restoration of Charles II to the throne, Shakespeare's plays were adapted for performance in London. In the 1700's David Garrick produced many of Shakespeare's plays with a more natural acting style, and in the 1800's Shakespeare became enormously popular with extravagent productions focusing on historical accuracy. The next century of Shakespearean production returned to Elizabethan style and simplicity, and also saw experimentation in numerous interpretations.  Today, Shakespeare's work is performed throughout the world in all languages, on stage, on film, and on spoken-voice recordings.

"He was not of an age, but for all time!" Ben Jonson (1572-1637)

The Bare Bones
William Shakespeare
Born 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon
Parents, John Shakespeare and Mary Arden
Marries Anne Hathaway, she is 8 years older
Has 3 children
Only son, Hamnet, dies at age 11
Moves to London without family by 1592
Joins Lord Chamberlainís Men
Writes plays, songs, sonnets, poems
Plays performed at The Globe Theatre
Dies 1616
First Folio of plays published 1623