William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was surely the world's most performed and admired playwright. He was well known in his time, and like many artists his fame continues to grow after his death. His plays dealt with many controversial topics, from racism to witchcraft- perhaps adding to the appeal of his plays in general. Shakespeare led an amazing life for his time, a time when actors and actresses were looked down upon and discriminated. He helped to change this stereotype and altered the world perception of theatre forever. In this report, I will outline many areas of Shakespeares life, including His birth, marriage and children, parents and family, education, as well as his death.
Birth and early years 1564
William Shakespeare the famous playwright was born in April, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, about 100 miles northwest of London. According to the records of Stratford's Holy Trinity Church, he was baptized on April 26. It was customary to baptize infants within days of birth, and because Shakespeare died 52 years later on April 23, and-most significantly-since April 23 is St. George's day, the patron saint of England, it has become traditional to assign the birth day of England's most famous poet to April 23 ( Website). As with most sixteenth century births, the actual day was never officially recorded, but along with most remarkable men the power of myth and symmetry has proven irresistible, so April 23 it has become.
Parents and Family
Shakespeare's parents were John and Mary Shakespeare, who lived in Henley Street, in Stratford. John, the son of Richard Shakespeare, was a whittawer (a maker, worker, and seller of leather goods such as purses, belts and gloves) and a dealer in agricultural commodities. He was a solid, middle class citizen at the time of William's birth, and a man on the rise. He served in Stratford government successively as a member of the Council (1557), co nstable (1558), chamberlain (1561), alderman (1565), and finally high bailiff (1568)--the equivalent of town mayor. About 1577 John Shakespeare's fortunes began to decline for unknown reasons. There are records of some debts he may have had, but of course, none can be verified for certain. In 1586 he was replaced as alderman for shirking responsibilities, and in 1592 was reprimanded for not coming to church for fear of process of debt ( A Documentary).
Mary, the daughter of Robert Arden, had a total of eight children with John Shakespeare. William was the third child and the first son of the family.
Education
Records for the Stratford grammar school from the time Shakespeare would have attended have been lost, but attend he undoubtedly did since the school was built and maintained expressly for the purpose of educating the sons of prominent citizens. The sons of burgesses attended free (Study and research guide).
The curriculum commenced with the hornbook in order to learn the English alphabet, and thereafter was largely devoted to learning the Latin grammar. School began at dawn and proceeded most of the day, with breaks for meals, six days a week. How long Shakespeare attended the school is not known, but from his obvious mastery and love for the Latin authors, the grammar school must have at least begun the process that he later mastered.
No one knows how long Shakespeare remained at the Stratford Grammar School, but Nicholas Rowe reports that ...the want of his assistance at Home, forc'd his Father to withdraw him from thence. (Rowe, Some Account of the Life, [2) (Website). Rowe's source was the actor Thomas Betterton, who made a journey to Warwickshire on purpose to gather up what remains he could, of a name for which he had so great a veneration (Website). We cannot be certain, but it would seem likely that William was apprenticed to his father's business in the usual way, perhaps some time aro und 1577 when John Shakespeare's fortunes seem to take a turn for the worse.
The other significant educational opportunity Elizabethans had was mandatory attendance at church, where they were exposed to either the Geneva Bible or the Bishops' Bible. Church attendance also brought them under the influence of The Book of Common Prayer, Foxe's Acts and Monuments, and homilies and preaching ( Study and research guide).
In any event, part of William's early education must be the ways of business he would have learned around his father's shop. Concerning this period, there is a legend reported in Aubrey's Brief Lives (Aubrey was a seventeenth century gentleman known as a gossip and raconteur--1681) that ...his father was a Butcher, & I have been told heretofore by some of the neighbors, that when he was a boy he exercised his father's Trade, but when he kill'd a Calfe, he would do it in a high style, & make a Speech (Study and research guide). As unlikely as this b ehavior seems from someone who shows empathy for animals in his poetry the detail of having been apprenticed to his father may be correct.
Finally, as part of Shakespeare's early education and influences, the Warwickshire countryside cannot be ignored. The plays and poetry are full of images taken from nature, gardening, agricultural pursuits, and country folklore. For example, in Henry V we find this description of the land:
Her vine, the merry cheerer of the heart,
Unpruned dies; her hedges even-pleach'd,
Like prisoners wildly overgrown with hair,
Put forth disorder'd twigs; her fallow leas
The darnel, hemlock, and rank fumitory,
Do root upon, while the coulter rusts,
That should deracinate such savagery;
The even mead, that erst brought sweetly forth
The freckled cowslip, burnet, and green clover,
Wanting the scythe, all uncorrected, rank,
Conceives by idleness, and nothing teems
But hateful d ocks, rough thistles, kecksies, burs,
Losing both beauty and utility.
This sort of learning could not be gleaned from books and schooling ( Website 2).
Marriage
On November 28, 1582 the Bishop of Worcester issued the marriage bond for William Shakespeare and Ann Hathwey of Stratford. This was almost beyond doubt Anne Hathaway, daughter of Richard Hathaway of Shottery - a gathering of farm houses near Stratford.
Richard Hathaway's will does not specify a daughter Anne, but names her Agnes, a name used interchangeably for Anne in the sixteenth century. He was a substantial, Warwickshire farmer with a spacious house and fields.
The banns were asked only once in church, rather than the customary three times, because the bride was some three months pregnant and there was reason for haste in concluding the marriage. She was eight years older than her new husband William. We can only wonder if Shakespeare was speaking for himself in A Midsumm er Night's Dream:
Lysander: The course of true love never did run smooth;
But either it was different in blood...
Or else misgraffed in respect of years--
Hermia: O spite! too old to be engage'd to young.
Or in Twelfth Night:
Duke: Then let thy love be younger than thyself,
Or thy affection cannot hold the bent;
For women are as roses, whose fair flow'r
Being once display'd doth fall that very hour.
(Study and research guide)
The only mention of his wife in Shakespeare's will is the famous bequest of his second best bed. Whether as a fond remembrance or a bitter slight is not known.
Children
Whatever subsequent feelings, on May 26, 1583 their first daughter Susanna was baptised. Two years later twins were also born, Hamnet and Judith. The twins were most likely named after Hamnet and Judith Sadler, apparently lifetime friends to Shakespeare and remembered in his will.
It is usually assum ed by scholars that Shakespeare resided in Stratford at the Henley street residence these years, at least through 1585, but his manner of life and activities are not known and have become the subject of many speculations. (Website)
Death 1616
Undoubtedly Shakespeare's son-in-law, Dr. Hall, attended him at his death. The nature of his final illness is remains unknown. A legend has grown up based on an entry in John Ward, a Stratford vicar's diary. Ward wrote that Shakspear Drayton and Ben Jhonson had a merry meeting and it seems drank too hard for Shakespear died of a feavour there contracted. The problem is that the report came from a diary half a century after Shakespeare's death, and cannot be confirmed otherwise (Website 2). Undoubtedly Ward was a local gossip and knew Judith Shakespeare in her later years, but we cannot know if this story amounts to anything more than just and idle rumor.
Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616 and was buried in the chan cel of Holy Trinity Church April 25. On the slab over his grave appear the words:
GOOD FREND FOR JESUS SAKE FORBEARE,
TO DIGG THE DUST ENCLOASED HEARE.
BLESTE BE Ye MAN Yt SPARES THES STONES,
AND CURST BE HE Yt MOVES MY BONES.
To this day, the inscription mentioned has been honored, and Shakespeares body remains at rest.
Conclusion
Shakespeare lead a very interesting and eventful life. This report helped to inform about the life that he lead, yet it is only able to scratch the surface of the events that he influenced in his lifetime. Shakespeare managed to impact thousands of people by turning theatre into a respectable and admirable profession instead of a discriminated one. At the same time, he created many works that remain to be arguably the best ever written. His writings continue to be a benchmark in modern theatre, which are yet to be surpassed.
Bibliography
Bergeron, Sousa. Shakespeare: A Study and Research G uide. New York: Del Publishing Co., 1973.
Schoenbaum, Arthur. William Shakespeare: A Documentary Life. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson., 1968
The Complete Works of Shakespeare. 2 May 1999
The Shakespeare Quarterly. The Shakespeare Association of America. 29 April 1999
Shakespeare, William. Encarta 95. CD-ROM. Microsoft, 1995.
Dr. M. Cooper provides research and term paper assistance at http://www.TermPaperAdvisor and http://www.TermPapersMadeEasy.com.
Author:: Mike Copper
Keywords:: shakespeare biography, shakespeare history, Shakespeare-plays
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