William Shakespeare

#1. Birth Place and Date

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon. Although his birthdate is unknown, he was baptized on April 26, 1564. It is safe to assume that his birthdate is was three days prior because it was tradition for Christians to baptize their children three days after birth.

#2. Family

Williams father, John Shakespeare, left the village of Snitterfield to take up an apprenticeship in Stratford-upon-Avon as a glove maker. He had many jobs, such as alester, constable, burgess, alderman, and many more, that brought him up in the social class, and sometime in between 1556 and 1558 he married Mary Arden. Shakespeares mother, Mary, had two children prior to him who died as infants. The first child, Joan, was born in 1558, and the second child, Margaret, was born in 1562. Two years after Shakespeare was born, his brother, Gilbert, was born. Gilbert stayed in his hometown as a harbor dasher, and later died at the age of 45. Shakespeare's younger sister, Joan was born in 1569 and married a hatter named William Hart. Joan  remained in the Stratford area, had four children, died in 1646. Shakespeare had two more younger siblings, although not much is known about them except that one died eight years after birth, and the other lived to be 39.

#3. Childhood and Life

Based on his many comments through his school years, it is thought that Shakespeare may not have enjoyed school. When Shakespeare got pulled from school because of his father's wealth decline, it was possible that  through the influence of his mother, Shakespeare was placed as a servant in a home of nobel relations and was exposed to higher learning and the society of aristocracy.

#4. Hobbies, Interests, and Activities

In 1585 Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway, twin babies were born. Around 1589 he joined the combined companies of Lord Strange's Men and the Admiral's Men. During the worst of the plague in 1593 Shakespeare's first book was published. He then began writing poetry that was meant to appeal to a selected audience of university students, lawyers, coutries,  and nobility.  He also wrote sonnets, and became the "ordinary poet"  for Lord Chamberlain's Men in 1594. Since Shakespeare was doing so well, he realized his life-long dream and became a "gentleman", which means a man of superior social position or noble birth.

#5. Anecdotes

The play “ The Two Gentlemen of Verona” was Shakespeare's first attempt at a romantic comedy and was also what sparked his pattern of giving female characters superiority in love. In giving female characters superiority, Shakespeare gave male characters unreliable and ridiculous characteristics. Shakespeare wrote “King John” and “Richard II” between 1594 and 1596, and during that time he wrote his most famous play “Romeo and Juliet”. Although he spent most of the year in London working in the theater business, Shakespeare moved his wife and two daughters into New Place.

#6. Career

Shakespeare worked as an apprentice in his fathers glove shop until 1585, and around 1589 he joined the combined companies of Lord Chamberlains Men and Admirals Men, and published his first book in 1593. “Venus and Adonis” and “ The Rape of Lucrece” were dedicated to nineteen-year-old Henry Wriothesley, the earl of Southampton. Around the time Shakespeare wrote and published “Venus and Adonis” and “ The Rape of Lucrece”, he also started working on a series of sonnets.

#7. Reasons for Fame

Some of Shakespeare’s living was made by writing poetry, which appealed to the higher class, such as: lawyers, university students, couriers, and nobility. Shakespeare wrote sonnets that became popular due to the variation on tradition. Starting in 1594 Shakespeare became the “ordinary poet” for Lord Chamberlains Men, and wrote plays giving the superiority to the female character, while making the male character seem unreliable and ridiculous. Two of Shakespeare’s most famous plays are “A Midsummer Nights Dream” and “Romeo and Juliet”.   

#8. Later Life\Old Age

Although Shakespeare's play writes attracted a lot of attention, his life was riddled with troubles. One his life difficulties was his fathers death in 1601. Due to his father’s death, Shakespeare became one of the biggest landowners in Stratford-upon-Avon, by inheriting his father’s home, his birthplace on Henley street, as well as the rest of his father’s estate.

#9. Death

Shakespeare died on his fifty-second birthday, on the St. George’s Day, England’s patron saint, in 1616. The Stratford register records Shakespeare’s burial two days later. He buried as “William Shakespeare; gent”.