William Shakespeare the man. Made by Chloe Hill and Tia Glanville.

William Shakespeare the man.

Made by Chloe Hill and Tia Glanville

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire and was baptised a few days later on 26 April. He was not born into a family of nobility or significant wealth.

Shakespeare attended the local grammar school, King's New School, where the curriculum would have stressed a classical education of Greek mythology, Roman comedy, ancient history, rhetoric, grammar, Latin, and possibly Greek. His earlier plays were mainly histories and comedies such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice and Richard II. The tragedy, 'Romeo and Juliet', which was also published in this period. William Shakespeare is considered by many to be the greatest playwright of all time. Shakespeare's married at the age of 18 to Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a local farmer, on November 28, 1582. She was eight years older than him and their first child, Susanna, was born six months after their wedding. Two years later, the couple had twins, Hamnet and Judith, but their son died when he was 11 years old. Having established himself as an actor and playwright, in 1594 Shakespeare became a shareholder in the Lord Chamberlain's Men, one of the most popular acting companies in London. He remained a member of this company for the rest of his career. He joined others from the Lord Chamberlain's Men in establishing the polygonal Globe Theatre on the outskirts of London. When King James came to the throne in 1603, he issued a royal license to Shakespeare and his fellow players, organizing them as the King's Men. During King James's reign, Shakespeare wrote many of his most accomplished plays about courtly power, including King Lear, Macbeth.

Shakespeare wrote more than thirty plays. These are usually divided into four categories: histories, comedies, tragedies, and romances. His earliest plays were primarily comedies and histories. During his lifetime Shakespeare became a very wealthy man with a large property portfolio. He was a brilliant businessman, forming a joint-stock company with his actors meaning he took a share in the company’s profits, as well as earning a fee for each play he wrote. Shakespeare had seven siblings: Joan, Margaret, Gilbert, another Joan, Anne, Richard and Edmund.

Sometime after 1612, Shakespeare retired from the stage and returned to his home in Stratford. On his death Shakespeare made several gifts to various people but left his property to his daughter, Susanna. The only mention of his wife in Shakespeare’s own will is: “I gyve unto my wief my second best bed with the furniture”. The “furniture” was the bedclothes for the bed. When William Shakespeare died in his birthplace of Stratford-upon- Avon, he was recognized as one of the greatest English playwrights of his era. In the four centuries since, he has come to be seen as not only a great English playwright, but the greatest playwright in the English language. Reflecting upon the achievement of his peer and sometimes rival, Ben Jonson wrote of Shakespeare, “He was not of an age, but for all time.”