Inve

stig

atin

g

60 Section 1 From the Beginnings to the 1700s

D2 This document tells

you about

Shakespeare’s life.

Although it is known that William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon,Warwickshire, in the heart of rural England, only his baptism date is recorded: April

26th 1564. His father, John Shakespeare, was a glove maker and prosperousbusinessman. Shakespeare was presumably educated at the local grammar schoolwhere he would have studied classics and Latin.

The next recorded event in Shakespeare’s life is his marriage, in November1582, at the age of 18, to the 26-year-old Anne Hathaway who gave birth to a

daughter six months later. Twins, a boy and a girl, were born in 1585. The followingseven years of Shakespeare’s life remain a mystery and why and when he moved toLondon is a subject of much speculation. However, there is evidence that by 1592

he was already working as an actor and writer in the city. He was attacked in apamphlet written by a university-educated dramatist, Robert Greene, whocalled him an “upstart crow” who “supposes he is as well able to bombast outa blank verse as the best of you.”

Theatre in England had gone through a radical change in this period movingaway from the travelling players who performed religious plays or lightentertainments in inn courtyards or on makeshift stages, to established

companies with respectable patrons and the construction of London’s first publicplayhouses. From 1594 Shakespeare was known to have been a leading actor andplaywright for a company called ‘The Lord Chamberlain’s Men’ and when the Globe Theatrewas erected in 1598 as its base, he became a shareholder making considerable profitsfrom their successes. He wrote exclusively for this troupe which became the mostprestigious and popular in the city, often performing at the Court of Queen Elizabeth I,whose approval and support were essential. Shakespeare’s success as a dramatist owedmuch to his ability to provide for the diversity of his audiences which included all classesof society. He also understood the rules of Elizabethan theatre which was subject tocensorship, the scrutiny of the Court and constant opposition from city authorities andPuritans. Within these limitations Shakespeare managed to both entertain and comment onsociety, indirectly, through his vast range of characters. The fact that he wrote comedies,historical plays and tragedies, all with equal success, made him widely accessible.

In 1603, with the accession to the throne of James I, all major acting companies cameunder royal patronage and The Lord Chamberlain’s Men became The King’s Men and wereobliged to perform more frequently at Court. Shakespeare invested in another theatre, theBlackfriars, and continued to write successfully until about 1612 when he left Londonand returned to his family in Stratford, where he had bought a large house and land. Hedied on 23rd April, 1616, possibly his 52nd birthday, and is buried in Holy Trinity Church.

During his lifetime about half of Shakespeare’s plays appeared in print but not necessarilywith his permission. It was not to his advantage to have his plays published as it may haveresulted in rival companies putting on the plays or in less people attending the theatre tosee them. However, in 1623, two of Shakespeare’s colleagues from The King’s Menwere responsible for the publication of the First Folio, which was the collection of 36 ofShakespeare’s plays. The exact dates that the plays were written is uncertain but researchershave established a probable chronological order. His works include the comedies: The Comedyof Errors (1592?), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595?), Much Ado About Nothing (1598?),As You Like It (1599?), Twelfth Night (1599?), Measure for Measure (1604?), The Tempest(1611?); the histories: Henry VI parts 1, 2, and 3 (1591-95?), Richard III (late 1580s - early1590s), Henry IV parts 1 and 2 (1597?), Henry V (1598?); and the tragedies: Romeo andJuliet (1595?), Julius Caesar (1599?), Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1600, 1601?),Othello (1604?), King Lear (1605?) and Macbeth (1606?).

Shakespeare also wrote 154 sonnets and some narrative poems including Venusand Adonis (1592), and The Rape of Lucrece (1594).

William Shakespeare(1564-1616)

BIOGRAPHY

� Louis Coblitz,William Shakespeare,1847, oil on canvas(Versailles, Musée Nationaldu Châteauet des Trianons).

0909_032_062_bz5:0909_Inglese 21-01-2011 7:45 Pagina 60

Questa pagina può essere fotocopiata esclusivamente per uso didattico – © Loescher Editore