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William Shakespeare: Who was he?
Who Was William

Shakespeare?
William Shakespeare
(baptized on April 26, 1564
to April 23, 1616) was an
English playwright, actor
and poet also known as the
“Bard of Avon” and often
called England’s national
poet. Born in Stratford-
upon-Avon, England, he was
an important member of
the Lord Chamberlain’s
Men Company of theatrical players from roughly 1594
onward. Written records give little indication of the way in
which Shakespeare’s professional life moulded his artistry. All
that can be deduced is that, in his 20 years as a playwright,
Shakespeare wrote plays that capture the complete range of
human emotion and conflict.
William Shakespeare’s Plays

While it’s difficult to determine the exact chronology of
William Shakespeare’s plays, over the course of two decades,
from about 1590 to 1613, he wrote a total of 37 plays
revolving around several main themes: histories, tragedies,
comedies and tragicomedies.
Early Works: Histories and Comedies
With the exception of the tragic love story Romeo and Juliet,
William Shakespeare's first plays were mostly histories. These
included Henry VI (Parts I, II and III), Richard II, Henry V and
Julius Caesar.
Shakespeare also wrote several comedies during his early
period: the witty romance A Midsummer Night's Dream, the
romantic Merchant of Venice, the wit and wordplay of Much
Ado About Nothing, the charming As You Like It and Twelfth
Night. Other plays written before 1600 include Titus
Andronicus, The Comedy of Errors, The Two Gentlemen of
Verona, The Taming of the Shrew, Love’s Labour’s Lost, King
John, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry V.
Works after 1600: Tragedies and Tragicomedies
It was in William Shakespeare's later period, after 1600, that
he wrote the tragedies Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and
Macbeth. In his final period, he wrote several tragicomedies.
Among these are Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale and The
Tempest. Though graver in tone than the comedies, they are
not the dark tragedies of King Lear or Macbeth because they
end with reconciliation and forgiveness. Other plays written
during this period include All’s Well That Ends Well, Measure
for Measure, Timon of Athens, Coriolanus, Pericles and Henry
VIII.
Childhood and Education
Few records exist of Shakespeare's
childhood, and virtually none
regarding his education. Scholars
have surmised that he most likely
attended the King's New School, in
Stratford, which taught reading,
writing and the classics. Being a
public official's child, William would have undoubtedly
qualified for free tuition. But this uncertainty regarding his
education has led some to raise questions about the
authorship of his work and even about whether or not
William Shakespeare ever existed.
Shakespeare’s Writing Style

William Shakespeare's early plays were written in the
conventional style of the day, with elaborate metaphors and
rhetorical phrases that didn't always align naturally with the
story's plot or characters. However, Shakespeare was very
innovative, adapting the traditional style to his own purposes
and creating a freer flow of words. With only small degrees of
variation, Shakespeare primarily used a metrical pattern
consisting of lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter, or blank
verse, to compose his plays. At the same time, there are
passages in all the plays that deviate from this and use forms
of poetry or simple prose.
Shakespeare’s Early Career
By 1592 Shakespeare had begun working as
an actor, penned several plays and spent
enough time in London to write about its
geography, culture and diverse personalities
with great authority. Even his earliest works
evidenced knowledge of European affairs and
foreign countries, familiarity with the royal
court and general erudition that might seem
unattainable to a young man raised in the
provinces by parents who were probably
illiterate. For this reason, some theorists have suggested that
one or several authors wishing to conceal their true identity
used the person of William Shakespeare as a front. (Most
scholars and literary historians dismiss this hypothesis,
although many suspect Shakespeare sometimes collaborated
with other playwrights.)
Shakespeare’s Death
Shakespeare died at age 52 of unknown causes on April 23,
1616, leaving the bulk of his estate to his daughter Susanna.
(Anne Hathaway, who outlived her husband by seven years,
famously received his “second-best bed.”) The slabstone over
Shakespeare’s tomb, located inside a Stratford church, bears
an epitaph—written, some say, by the bard himself—warding
off grave robbers with a curse: “Blessed be the man that
spares these stones, / And cursed be he that moves my
bones.” His remains have yet to be disturbed, despite
requests by archaeologists keen to reveal what killed him.

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William Shakespeare: Who was he?

Who Was William

William Shakespeare’s Plays

Shakespeare’s Writing Style

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