Shakespeare
Listen to many, speak to a few.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born in 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon. The register of Stratford’s Holy Trinity Church records Shakespeare’s baptism on 26 April. He is traditionally said to have been born on 23 April. William’s father, John, trained as a glove-maker and married Mary Arden, the daughter of Robert Arden, a farmer from the nearby village. John and Mary set up home in Henley Street, Stratford, in the house now known as Shakespeare’s Birthplace.
It is not much known about the early life of William Shakespeare. There isn’t enough proof that he had a proper education. Some researchers even think that someone else used Shakespeare’s name for his own works. It is not known when exactly and why William Shakespeare arrived to London.
Anyway, when he was growing up, drama was a significant part of Stratford’s social life. Not only did local people put on amateur shows, but the town was visited regularly by London-based companies of actors and Shakespeare may have joined one of them. He probably arrived in London around 1586. He was a well paid actor, but reached the fame with his play writing.
From 1594, Shakespeare’s plays were performed only by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a company owned by a group of players, including Shakespeare, that soon became the leading playing company in London. After the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, the company was awarded a royal patent by the new king, James I, and changed its name to the King’s Men.
In 1599, a partnership of company members built their own theatre on the south bank of the River Thames, which they called the Globe. In 1608, the partnership also took over the Blackfriars indoor theatre. The company made him a wealthy man. Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 on his own birthday.
His 37 plays vary in type – historical romances, light, fantastic comedies, some are tragedies, all including the comical and the farcical. The plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.
Comedy:
- All’s Well That Ends Well
- As You Like It
- The Comedy of Errors
- Cymbeline
- Love’s Labours Lost
- Measure for Measure
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
- The Merchant of Venice
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Much Ado About Nothing
- Pericles, Prince of Tyre
- Taming of the Shrew
- The Tempest
- Troilus and Cressida
- Twelfth Night
- Two Gentlemen of Verona
- Winter’s Tale
Tragedy
- Antony and Cleopatra
- Coriolanus
- Hamlet
- Julius Caesar
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- Othello
- Romeo and Juliet
- Timon of Athens
- Titus Andronicus
History
- Henry IV, part 1
- Henry IV, part 2
- Henry V
- Henry VI, part 1
- Henry VI, part 2
- Henry VI, part 3
- Henry VIII
- King John
- Richard II
- Richard III
Poetry
- The Sonnets
- A Lover’s Complaint
- The Rape of Lucrece
- Venus and Adonis
- Funeral Elegy by W.S.
