Elga bartsch biography of william shakespeare
Shakespeare's Biography
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Shakespeare's Last Will and Testament
For all his fame and celebration, William Shakespeare remains a mysterious figure with regards to personal history. There are just two primary sources for information on the Bard: his works, and various legal and church documents that have survived from Elizabethan times.
Naturally, there are many gaps in this body of information, which tells us little about Shakespeare the man.
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, allegedly on April 23, Church records from Holy Trinity Church indicate that he was baptized there on April 26, Young William was born of John Shakespeare, a glover and leather merchant, and Mary Arden, a landed local heiress.
William, according to the church register, was the third of eight children in the Shakespeare household&#;three of whom died in childhood. John Shakespeare had a remarkable run of success as a merchant, alderman, and high bailiff of Stratford, during William's early childhood. His fortunes declined, however, in the late s.
There is great conjecture about Shakespeare's childhood years, especially regarding his education.
Elga bartsch biography of william shakespeare William Shakespeare, often hailed as the greatest dramatist of all time, was an influential English poet, playwright, and actor from the Renaissance era. Shakespeare's family life remains largely obscured by time, yet records indicate that his children played vital roles during and after his life. Whatever the answer, by 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. While little is known about the dynamics of their marriage, Anne received a relatively modest bequest in his will, leading to speculation about their relationship; yet, this suggests a complexity often typical of marriages during that era.Scholars surmise that Shakespeare attended the grammar school in Stratford. While there are no records extant to prove this claim, Shakespeare's knowledge of Latin and Classical Greek would tend to support this theory. In addition, Shakespeare's first biographer, Nicholas Rowe, wrote that John Shakespeare had placed William "for some time in a free school." John Shakespeare, as a Stratford official, would have been granted a waiver of tuition for his son.
As the records do not exist, we do not know how long William may have attended the school, but the literary quality of his works suggests a solid educational foundation.
Biography of arthur conan doyle Shakespeare's career jump-started in London, but when did he go there? Did you know? They collected them for publication after Shakespeare died, preserving the plays. Following the death of his father in , he inherited the family home, and in , he bought approximately acres of land for a substantial sum.What is certain is that William Shakespeare never proceeded to university schooling, which has contributed to the debate about the authorship of his works.
The next documented event in Shakespeare's life is his marriage to Anne Hathaway on November 28, William was 18 at the time, and Anne was 26—and pregnant. Their first daughter, Susanna, was born on May 26, The couple later had twins, Hamnet and Judith, born February 2, and christened at Holy Trinity.
Hamnet died in childhood at the age of 11, on August 11,
For the seven years following the birth of his twins, William Shakespeare disappears from all records, finally turning up again in London some time in This period, known as the "Lost Years," has sparked as much controversy about Shakespeare's life as any period.
Rowe notes that young Shakespeare was quite fond of poaching, and may have had to flee Stratford after an incident with Sir Thomas Lucy, whose deer and rabbits he allegedly poached. There is also rumor of Shakespeare working as an assistant schoolmaster in Lancashire for a time, though this is circumstantial at best.
It is estimated that Shakespeare arrived in London around and began to establish himself as an actor and playwright.
Evidently Shakespeare garnered some envy early on, as related by the critical attack of Robert Greene, a London playwright, in "an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tiger's heart wrapped in a player's hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes fac totum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country."
Greene's bombast notwithstanding, Shakespeare must have shown considerable promise.
By , he was not only acting and writing for the Lord Chamberlain's Men (called the King's Men after the ascension of James I in ), but was a managing partner in the operation as well. With Will Kempe, a master comedian, and Richard Burbage, a leading tragic actor of the day, the Lord Chamberlain's Men became a favorite London troupe, patronized by royalty and made popular by the theatre-going public.
Shakespeare's accomplishments are apparent when studied against other playwrights of this age.
His company was the most successful in London in his day. He had plays published and sold in octavo editions, or "penny-copies" to the more literate of his audiences.
Never before had a playwright enjoyed sufficient acclaim to see his works published and sold as popular literature in the midst of his career. In addition, Shakespeare's ownership share in both the theatrical company and the Globe itself made him as much an entrepeneur as artist. While Shakespeare might not be accounted wealthy by London standards, his success allowed him to purchase New House and retire in comfort to Stratford in
William Shakespeare wrote his will in , bequeathing his properties to his daughter Susanna (married in to Dr.
John Hall). To his surviving daughter Judith, he left £, and to his wife Anne left "my second best bed." William Shakespeare allegedly died on his birthday, April 23, This is probably more of a romantic myth than reality, but Shakespeare was interred at Holy Trinity in Stratford on April In , two working companions of Shakespeare from the Lord Chamberlain's Men, John Heminges and Henry Condell, printed the First Folio edition of his collected plays, of which half were previously unpublished.
William Shakespeare's legacy is a body of work that will never again be equaled in Western civilization.
His words have endured for years, and still reach across the centuries as powerfully as ever.
Elga bartsch biography of william shakespeare in 400 words Shakespeare's earnings from his plays and poetry were substantial, particularly after gaining patronage from prominent figures such as Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton. Sign Up. William Shakespeare was a renowned English poet, playwright, and actor born in in Stratford-upon-Avon. Through his enduring contributions, Shakespeare has cemented his status as one of history's greatest playwrights, whose works continue to resonate with and inspire generations.Even in death, he leaves a final piece of verse as his epitaph:
Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbeare
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.
Biographical Links
- Mrs. Shakespeare: Anne Hathaway
- What we don't know about Anne Shakespeare could fill a book.
Or several, judging from the published speculation focused on her life and marriage.
- Shakespeare's "Lost Years"
- William Shakespeare may be the most famous writer in Western literature, but his whereabouts from to are a mystery. The ensuing speculation has spawned many interesting theories without producing much hard evidence.
- Introducing Mr.
William Shakespeare
- Leigh T. Denault presents a great succinct biography sketch of Shakespeare.
- Searching for Shakespeare
- Searching for Shakespeare is an online mseum exhibition curated by the Centre of Archaeology at Staffordshire University in collaboration with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
- Shakespeare Biography
- From Absolute Shakespeare; describes all that is known about Shakespeare's life from available documentation including court and church records, marriage certificates and criticisms by Shakespeare's rivals.
- Shakespeare's Biography (Shakespeare Online)
- An in-depth and accurate biography of William Shakespeare.
- Shakespeare Documented
- This is the largest and most authoritative collection of primary-source materials documenting the life of William Shakespeare (), bringing together all known manuscript and print references to Shakespeare, his works, and additional references to his family, in his lifetime and shortly thereafter.
- Shakespeare's Life (Folger Shakespeare Library)
- From the website of the world-renowned Folger Shakespeare Library, the largest collection of Shakespeare materials and other Renaissance works.
- Shakespeare's Life and Times
- Who was William Shakespeare?
What was life like in Stratford-upon-Avon and London when he was alive? Get the answers to these and other questions about Shakespeare's life from the venerable Royal Shakespeare Company.
- The Shakespeare Paper Trail: The Early Years
- The BBC presents Michael Wood's search through the limited historical record of Shakespeare's early life in Stratford.
- William Shakespeare&#;Biography
- The William Shakespeare page at
- William Shakespeare&#;Biography and Works
- An brief biography of William Shakespeare from The Literature Network.
- William Shakespeare&#;English Author
- Encyclopædia Britannica's biography page of William Shakespeare