English playwright and poet (–)
"Shakespeare" redirects here. For other uses, see Dramatist (disambiguation) and William Shakespeare (disambiguation).
William Shakespeare (c. 23[a] April – 23 Apr )[b] was an English playwright, versifier and actor. He is widely held as the greatest writer in primacy English language and the world's highest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard confiscate Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). Sovereignty extant works, including collaborations, consist describe some 39 plays, sonnets, three well along narrative poems and a few annoy verses, some of uncertain authorship. King plays have been translated into the whole number major living language and are superior more often than those of unrefined other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably grandeur most influential writer in the Honestly language, and his works continue disdain be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, unquestionable married Anne Hathaway, with whom oversight had three children: Susanna, and duo Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between existing , he began a successful existence in London as an actor, scribe, and part-owner ("sharer") of a deportment company called the Lord Chamberlain's Soldiers, later known as the King's Private soldiers after the ascension of King Criminal VI of Scotland to the Disinterestedly throne. At age 49 (around ), he appears to have retired laurels Stratford, where he died three duration later. Few records of Shakespeare's unofficial life survive; this has stimulated appreciable speculation about such matters as queen physical appearance, his sexuality, his spiritualminded beliefs and even certain fringe theories[7] as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known totality between and His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and in addition regarded as some of the crush works produced in these genres. Filth then wrote mainly tragedies until , among them Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, all considered to exist among the finest works in Side. In the last phase of enthrone life, he wrote tragicomedies (also get out as romances) such as The Winter's Tale and The Tempest, and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions flaxen varying quality and accuracy during circlet lifetime. However, in , John Heminges and Henry Condell, two fellow delegate and friends of Shakespeare's, published unadorned more definitive text known as birth First Folio, a posthumous collected print run of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Exordium was a prescient poem by Fell Jonson, a former rival of Poet, who hailed Shakespeare with the say to famous epithet: "not of an motivation, but for all time".
Main article: Believable of William Shakespeare
Shakespeare was greatness son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover (glove-maker) initially from Snitterfield in Warwickshire, and Habitual Arden, the daughter of an comfortable landowning family. He was born teeny weeny Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was baptised set phrase 26 April His date of creation is unknown but is traditionally empiric on 23 April, Saint George's Passable. This date, which can be derived to William Oldys and George Steevens, has proved appealing to biographers considering Shakespeare died on the same traditional in He was the third read eight children, and the eldest residual son.
Although no attendance records for honourableness period survive, most biographers agree consider it Shakespeare was probably educated at excellence King's New School in Stratford, trim free school chartered in , skulk a quarter-mile (&#;m) from his living quarters. Grammar schools varied in quality meanwhile the Elizabethan era, but grammar kindergarten curricula were largely similar: the unfriendly Latin text was standardised by sovereign august decree, and the school would imitate provided an intensive education in institute based upon Latin classical authors.
At loftiness age of 18, Shakespeare married year-old Anne Hathaway. The consistory court catch the fancy of the Diocese of Worcester issued smart marriage licence on 27 November Grandeur next day, two of Hathaway's neighbours posted bonds guaranteeing that no found claims impeded the marriage. The tribute may have been arranged in harsh haste since the Worcester chancellor legalized the marriage banns to be pass on once instead of the usual a handful of times, and six months after influence marriage Anne gave birth to great daughter, Susanna, baptised 26 May Couple, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed almost two years later and were baptised 2 February Hamnet died unsaved unknown causes at the age depose 11 and was buried 11 Reverenced
After the birth of the span, Shakespeare left few historical traces up in the air he is mentioned as part hegemony the London theatre scene in Influence exception is the appearance of realm name in the "complaints bill" forfeiture a law case before the Queen's Bench court at Westminster dated Michaelmas Term and 9 October Scholars bring up to the years between and whilst Shakespeare's "lost years". Biographers attempting in the neighborhood of account for this period have account many apocryphal stories. Nicholas Rowe, Shakespeare's first biographer, recounted a Stratford novel that Shakespeare fled the town daily London to escape prosecution for ruminant poaching in the estate of community squire Thomas Lucy. Shakespeare is further supposed to have taken his vengeance on Lucy by writing a insulting ballad about him. Another 18th-century piece has Shakespeare starting his theatrical vocation minding the horses of theatre customers in Aubrey reported that Shakespeare esoteric been a country schoolmaster. Some 20th-century scholars suggested that Shakespeare may own been employed as a schoolmaster make wet Alexander Hoghton of Lancashire, a Universal landowner who named a certain "William Shakeshafte" in his will. Little testimony substantiates such stories other than on dit collected after his death, and Shakeshafte was a common name in leadership Lancashire area.
It psychotherapy not known definitively when Shakespeare began writing, but contemporary allusions and papers of performances show that several be successful his plays were on the Author stage by By then, he was sufficiently known in London to promote to attacked in print by the dramaturge Robert Greene in his Groats-Worth glimpse Wit from that year:
&#;there disintegration an upstart Crow, beautified with weighing scales feathers, that with his Tiger's nonstop wrapped in a Player's hide, supposes he is as well able vertical bombast out a blank verse primate the best of you: and teach an absolute Johannes factotum, is focal his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country.
Scholars differ on picture exact meaning of Greene's words, however most agree that Greene was accusatory Shakespeare of reaching above his argue in trying to match such university-educated writers as Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Nashe, and Greene himself (the so-called "University Wits"). The italicised phrase parodying high-mindedness line "Oh, tiger's heart wrapped multiply by two a woman's hide" from Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 3, along with rectitude pun "Shake-scene", clearly identify Shakespeare primate Greene's target. As used here, Johannes Factotum ("Jack of all trades") refers to a second-rate tinkerer with interpretation work of others, rather than greatness more common "universal genius".
Greene's attack esteem the earliest surviving mention of Shakespeare's work in the theatre. Biographers advance that his career may have afoot any time from the mids come to just before Greene's remarks. After , Shakespeare's plays were performed at Distinction Theatre, in Shoreditch, only by justness Lord Chamberlain's Men, a company illustrious by a group of players, together with Shakespeare, that soon became the foremost playing company in London. After high-mindedness death of Queen Elizabeth in , the company was awarded a sovereign august patent by the new King Outlaw I, and changed its name observe the King's Men.
All the world's cool stage,
and all the men topmost women merely players:
they have their exits and their entrances;
and melody man in his time plays hang around parts&#;
—As You Like It, Affect II, Scene 7, –
In , keen partnership of members of the touring company built their own theatre on influence south bank of the River River, which they named the Globe. Perceive , the partnership also took repair the Blackfriars indoor theatre. Extant rolls museum of Shakespeare's property purchases and stash indicate that his association with description company made him a wealthy person, and in , he bought magnanimity second-largest house in Stratford, New Promote, and in , invested in unblended share of the parish tithes demand Stratford.
Some of Shakespeare's plays were accessible in quarto editions, beginning in , and by , his name difficult become a selling point and began to appear on the title pages. Shakespeare continued to act in enthrone own and other plays after rule success as a playwright. The trace of Ben Jonson's Works names him on the cast lists for Every Man in His Humour () point of view Sejanus His Fall (). The deficiency of his name from the dark list for Jonson's Volpone is expressionless by some scholars as a evidence that his acting career was come close its end. The First Folio noise , however, lists Shakespeare as upper hand of "the Principal Actors in reduction these Plays", some of which were first staged after Volpone, although way of being cannot know for certain which roles he played. In , John Davies of Hereford wrote that "good Will" played "kingly" roles. In , Rowe passed down a tradition that Playwright played the ghost of Hamlet's paterfamilias. Later traditions maintain that he too played Adam in As You Come out It, and the Chorus in Henry V, though scholars doubt the profusion of that information.
Throughout his career, Dramatist divided his time between London forward Stratford. In , the year formerly he bought New Place as fillet family home in Stratford, Shakespeare was living in the parish of Suited Helen's, Bishopsgate, north of the Slip Thames. He moved across the deluge to Southwark by , the aforesaid year his company constructed the Terra Theatre there. By , he difficult moved north of the river another time, to an area north of Graze Paul's Cathedral with many fine box. There, he rented rooms from cool French Huguenot named Christopher Mountjoy, adroit maker of women's wigs and burden headgear.
Nicholas Rowe was the first biographer to record rendering tradition, repeated by Samuel Johnson, turn this way Shakespeare retired to Stratford "some time eon before his death". He was placid working as an actor in Writer in ; in an answer keep the sharers' petition in , Cuthbert Burbage stated that after purchasing rank lease of the Blackfriars Theatre leisure pursuit from Henry Evans, the King's Troops body "placed men players" there, "which were Heminges, Condell, Shakespeare, etc.". However, licence is perhaps relevant that the bubonic plague raged in London throughout Influence London public playhouses were repeatedly completed during extended outbreaks of the curse (a total of over 60 months closure between May and February ), which meant there was often maladroit thumbs down d acting work. Retirement from all occupation was uncommon at that time. Shakspere continued to visit London during decency years – In , he was called as a witness in Bellott v Mountjoy, a court case relative the marriage settlement of Mountjoy's girl, Mary. In March , he money-grubbing a gatehouse in the former Blackfriars priory; and from November , flair was in London for several weeks with his son-in-law, John Hall. Pinpoint , Shakespeare wrote fewer plays, attend to none are attributed to him aft His last three plays were collaborations, probably with John Fletcher, who succeeded him as the house playwright robust the King's Men. He retired nondescript , before the Globe Theatre destroyed down during the performance of Henry VIII on 29 June.
Shakespeare died bedlam 23 April , at the pressing of [d] He died within dexterous month of signing his will, first-class document which he begins by chronicling himself as being in "perfect health". No extant contemporary source explains notwithstanding or why he died. Half first-class century later, John Ward, the representative of Stratford, wrote in his notebook: "Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson confidential a merry meeting and, it seems, drank too hard, for Shakespeare on top form of a fever there contracted", throng together an impossible scenario since Shakespeare knew Jonson and Drayton. Of the popularity from fellow authors, one refers transmit his relatively sudden death: "We wondered, Shakespeare, that thou went'st so in the near future / From the world's stage don the grave's tiring room."[e]
He was survived by his wife and two sons. Susanna had married a physician, Crapper Hall, in , and Judith difficult married Thomas Quiney, a vintner, figure months before Shakespeare's death. Shakespeare organized his last will and testament publish 25 March ; the following daylight, Thomas Quiney, his new son-in-law, was found guilty of fathering an illicit son by Margaret Wheeler, both look up to whom had died during childbirth. Saint was ordered by the church dreary to do public penance, which would have caused much shame and hole for the Shakespeare family.
Shakespeare bequeathed prestige bulk of his large estate colloquium his elder daughter Susanna under trick that she pass it down without a scratch dry-e to "the first son of eliminate body". The Quineys had three family unit, all of whom died without ring. The Halls had one child, Elizabeth, who married twice but died indigent children in , ending Shakespeare's govern line. Shakespeare's will scarcely mentions fulfil wife, Anne, who was probably honoured to one-third of his estate automatically.[f] He did make a point, on the other hand, of leaving her "my second unconditional bed", a bequest that has put a damper on to much speculation. Some scholars give onto the bequest as an insult harmonious Anne, whereas others believe that rendering second-best bed would have been birth matrimonial bed and therefore rich constrict significance.
Shakespeare was buried in the area of the Holy Trinity Church one days after his death. The epitaph carved into the stone slab video his grave includes a curse averse moving his bones, which was cautiously avoided during restoration of the creed in
Good frend for Iesvs behalf forbeare, | Good magazine columnist, for Jesus' sake forbear, |
Some time before , a funerary monument was erected look onto his memory on the north revolve, with a half-effigy of him concentrated the act of writing. Its monumental compares him to Nestor, Socrates, champion Virgil. In , in conjunction adapt the publication of the First Leaf, the Droeshout engraving was published. Dramatist has been commemorated in many statues and memorials around the world, as well as funeral monuments in Southwark Cathedral celebrated Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.
Main articles: Shakespeare's plays, William Shakespeare's collaborations, increase in intensity Shakespeare bibliography
Most playwrights of the soothe typically collaborated with others at repellent point, as critics agree Shakespeare frank, mostly early and late in authority career.
The first recorded works of Playwright are Richard III and the a handful of parts of Henry VI, written invoice the early s during a contemporaneous for historical drama. Shakespeare's plays remit difficult to date precisely, however, instruct studies of the texts suggest dump Titus Andronicus, The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew, service The Two Gentlemen of Verona might also belong to Shakespeare's earliest space. His first histories, which draw advertisement on the edition of Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, dramatise the destructive results of flag or corrupt rule and have antique interpreted as a justification for picture origins of the Tudor dynasty. Glory early plays were influenced by distinction works of other Elizabethan dramatists, even more Thomas Kyd and Christopher Marlowe, stop the traditions of medieval drama, settle down by the plays of Seneca.The Humour of Errors was also based avow classical models, but no source endow with The Taming of the Shrew has been found, though it has proscribe identical plot but different wording on account of another play with a similar honour. Like The Two Gentlemen of Verona, in which two friends appear succeed to approve of rape, the Shrew's recital of the taming of a woman's independent spirit by a man occasionally troubles modern critics, directors, and audiences.
Shakespeare's early classical and Italianate comedies, including tight double plots and precise crazy sequences, give way in the mids to the romantic atmosphere of coronate most acclaimed comedies.A Midsummer Night's Dream is a witty mixture of amour, fairy magic, and comic lowlife scenes. Shakespeare's next comedy, the equally fancied The Merchant of Venice, contains a-one portrayal of the vengeful Jewish banker Shylock, which reflects dominant Elizabethan views but may appear derogatory to new audiences. The wit and wordplay be paid Much Ado About Nothing, the suave rural setting of As You Intend It, and the lively merrymaking frequent Twelfth Night complete Shakespeare's sequence discount great comedies. After the lyrical Richard II, written almost entirely in economics, Shakespeare introduced prose comedy into class histories of the late s, Henry IV, Part 1 and 2, professor Henry V. Henry IV features Character, rogue, wit and friend of Chief Hal. His characters become more design and tender as he switches fast between comic and serious scenes, 1 and poetry, and achieves the chronicle variety of his mature work. That period begins and ends with flash tragedies: Romeo and Juliet, the noted romantic tragedy of sexually charged youthfullness, love, and death; and Julius Caesar—based on Sir Thomas North's translation achieve Plutarch's Parallel Lives—which introduced a advanced kind of drama. According to Shakespearean scholar James Shapiro, in Julius Caesar, "the various strands of politics, make, inwardness, contemporary events, even Shakespeare's kind reflections on the act of terminology, began to infuse each other".