n 1594, William Shakespeare was born in Stratford, England. There is no record of the day he was born, but it was written that he was baptised on April 26, so we assume he was born three days before on April 23.
The life of Shakespeare is very mysterious and some do not believe he even existed because there are no diaries or personal letters that hold any proof.
His parents are said to have been John Shakespeare, glove maker and mayor of Stratford during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and King James, and Mary Arden. He had three brothers and two sisters. At age 18, he married 26 year-old, Anne Hathoway and six months later they had thier first child, Susanna. Two years after that, twins, Judith and Hamnet, were born.
William left Stratford for London, not long after the birth of his twins, where he became an actor and a playwright. In 1562 he wrote Henry VI, but theaters closed one year later because of the deadly plague. During that time, William wrote two sonnets, Venus and Adonis and the Rape of Lucrece. In two years, they reopened the theaters and William acted with the "Lord Chamberlain's Men." In 1599, the Globe Theater was built and during its first year, "As You Like It," "Henry V," and "Julius Caesar" were performed.
In 1603, Queen Elizabeth had died and James I took over the patronage of the Shakespeare acting company; it was then renamed the "King's Men."
At age 47, William returned to Stratford to retire, finishing his last work, Henry VIII. He later died on April 23, 1616, on his 52 birthday. It wasn't until 1623 that his first book of collected playes were published. |
