William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is a famous author who was born on April 26, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom. His grew up with five siblings and his parents, John and Mary. Shakespeare went to King Edward VI school that taught reading, writing, and Latin. Surprisingly, never attended a university. At age eighteen he married Anne Hathaway who was seven or eight years older than him. Susanna, their first child, was born in 1583. Shortly after in 1585, their twins Hamnet and Judith were born. Hamnet died at age eleven for causes that are unknown.

Shakespeare started off his career as an actor in London by 1592. While acting with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men acting company, he grew a love for poetry. He started to compose his works between 1593 and 1601. At first, he was writing for a theater called Globe Theater. Shakespeare’s earlier works were histories and comedies like “As You Like It” and “Twelfth Night” His later works were typically tragedies like “Hamlet”, “King Lear”, “Othello”, and “Macbeth”. William’s writing style started as the conventional style of writing for his day. Later, he began to adapt it to his unique liking. Many people thought that his writing was not his own, but stolen from other authors.

His first two poems that got published were “Venus and Adonis” in 1593 and “The Rape of Lucrece” in 1594. “Henry VI, Part II” was his first play to get published at around the same time. By 1597, about 15 of his 37 plays had already been published. Shakespeare had his own theater built by 1599 and started acting in his own plays. Though there were many written parts for women, there were only ever men actors in his plays. The last play Shakespeare wrote was Two Noble Kinsmen.

Around 1614, William Shakespeare retired in his career of acting. Many people believe William died on his birthday, but scholars disagree. Church records say William Shakespeare died of age in April of the year 1616 and was buried two days later at a Stratford church. Many of his things went to his daughter Susanna in his will. He only left his wife his “second-best-bed” in his will.

Shakespeare, though over four hundred years old, is still very prevalent to this day. Screenwriters, authors, and producers are using his works in today’s entertainment. There have been many famous adaptations to his well known works. His plays and poems are studied by universities, high schools, and working people everyday. Not only did Shakespeare write immortal plays and poems, but he also added over 1,700 words to the English language like “swagger” and “gust”. William Shakespeare’s legacy will continue on in literature for decades.

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