A bit about Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in April 23rd 1564 by parents John who was a glove maker, a tanner and a wool dealer. And his mother, Mary Arden who was the daughter of a rich farmer. While owning property in Stratford and being an important figure in the Stratford area, Shakespeare's father believed it was only possible to carry a good name in the family by having many people in the family; Mary having 4 daughters and 4 sons, 3 died in infancy and William was the eldest of the boys.

He was first married at the age of 18, to his wife, Anne Hathaway who was 26 at the time of their marriage. Just like his mother, Anne was the daughter of a rich farmer. They had their first child in May 1583, following that they had twins and two years on, from 1585-1592 it was called 'the lost years' due to the fact that Shakespeare wasn't seen or heard of or any plays being written between those years. 

Researching Shakespeare I learnt that in all of his plays, something that happens in them has some sort of relevance to his own life in some shape or form, for example, his play 'Hamlet' was named after one of his son's name. As per usual, being a writer Shakespeare would have people challenging him and one of many was Robert Greene, the dramatist and writer of a tract called 'Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit' and this tract was said to have launched many attacks towards Shakespeare and against what he wrote and believed in.

Shakespeare's earlier plays consisted of many sonnets that he wrote, mostly to do with Love and Hate, 'Two Gentleman of Verona' and widely known 'Henry V' part 1, 2 and 3.

In 1594 Shakespeare became a founding member, shareholder and an actor in Lord Chamberlains Man company. Throughout his time there he would see out shows either acting in them, directing them or watching from the stands as his fellow actors acted such as Richard Burbridge who played Richard 3rd, Hamlet and King Lea. 

After retiring from writing in 1611, Shakespeare moved back to Stratford with Anne to see out the rest of his life there. Before he passed away on 23 April 1616 his will was signed off and he left a huge legacy behind him and inspired many others in the future. To make his full dream come true, in 1623 two actors from the King's Company published all of his plays and in addition to this, the first folio that contained 36 plays sold for £1 and in those days, that was a lot.