William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was a famous playwright and poet during the Renaissance. He is considered the greatest dramatist and writer of all time. He is often called England’ national poet and the “Bard of Avon” or the “Swan of Avon.”
William Shakespeare was bom roughly around April 23, 1564 and scholars assume that this is the day he was born. He was born during the Renaissance era at the Holy Trinity church in Stratford-upon-Avon which is located about 100 miles northwest from London. He was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. He had 5 other siblings. His father became successful right before his birth and held official positions.
Scholars derived from the scant records present of William Shakespeare that he might have gone to the King’s New School in Stratford. They have also surmised that by being an authority figure’s son he would have been given a free tuition. Also, from present records, scholars derived that William Shakespeare left formal education at the age of fourteen because his father fell from some favor and that put an end to his sons’ education.
This is the part where scholars lost track of William Shakespeare. We can assume what he did till 18 years of age which was probably helping his family by cobbling, baking and farming and more because, he showed exceptional knowledge about common occupations. At the age of 18, he was married to Anne Hathaway who was 26 years then. They had three children- Susanna (1583-1649) and twins Judith (1585-1662) and Hamnet (1585-1596).
After the twins’ birth, records of William Shakespeare of 7 years have been lost also known as “the lost years” by historians. But it’s believed that that he arrived in London in the mid- late 80’s as a horse attendant to some local theater groups.
It’s believed that by 1592, William Shakespeare earned himself a reputation by composing his first few plays- Henry IV Parts 1, 2 and 3, the Two gentlemen of Verona and Titus Andronicus. The first of William Shakespeare published works were 2 poems- “Venus and Adonis” and “The rape of Lucrece,” Both the publications were dedicated to his patron, Henry Wriothesely. By 1597, he already published 15 of 37 plays.
Some documentations from the mid 90’s show that William Shakespeare was a managing partner of an important acting company in London, the Chamberlain’s men (later changed to the King’s men). This group was under the patronage of Lord Chamberlain and had starred Richard Burbage as their lead actor. William Shakespeare became their regular dramatist and produced at least 2 plays a year. He also a part of the syndicates to the owners of “the Globe” and the Blackfriars theaters. And in 1599, along with his business partners, he built the Globe theater.
Throughout 1590-1613, he wrote around 37 plays and based them all around several main themes- tragedies, tragicomedies, histories and comedies. His earliest works were histories and comedies while, his tragedies and tragicomedies were done 1600. Some of his most famous plays are- Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1, 2 and 3, Julius Ceaser, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, among others. He was also a well-known poet and has composed at least 154 sonnets based on various themes.
The scant records there of Shakespeare sometimes makes people question whether he really ever existed. Sometimes, his work is questioned whether he was the one who wrote it. And some believe that the works are actually of other writers with a more-known backgrounds.
Bibliography
- https://www.octaneseating.com/the-impact-of-william-shakespeare-on-theater
- https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-did-shakespeare-influence-renaissance-480526
