The Life Of

William Shakespeare

Shakespeare was born April 23, 1564 in the town of Stratford, England. His father, John Shakespeare was a glove maker and his mother May Arden inherited land so they had some money. As a result of his father having money he did not have to stay home and help out as much. He probably unlike many other children at that time attended the town’s free school.

At the age of eighteen Shakespeare married Anne Hathawy November 27, 1582 who was eight years older then him. He had three children his first was Susanna then twins Hamnet and Judith.

For most of his life he lived in London and had very little to do with Stratford. He listed as a member of the Lord Chamberlains Company, which is a troupe of actors in 1594. By the mid 1590s his plays were extremely popular, he was once rated by a critic as the best author of both tragedy and comedy.

In 1599 the Lord Chamberlains Company built the Globe Theater. In the year 1608 the Lord Chamberlains Company acquired control of the Blackfriars, which at that time was the only theater within the limits of London. Shakespeare was a shareholder in both of these theaters. This suggests that Shakespeare might have been a businessman as well as an actor and playwright.

In Shakespeare began to write plays for his troop Lord Chamberlains Company. In writing his plays he had to take several things into account. Some examples are the skills of the actors in his troop, and also that all of the actors were men, because of the fact that no women were allowed to perform at that time.

By 1592 he was recognized as a successful actor, also as a poet. During his life he wrote at least 36 plays. Between 1611 and 1613 he bought a house in Stratford and retired from the theater. He did at the age of 52 on his birthday. His was buried and remains at the Church of Holy Trinity in Stratford.

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