Shakespeare's life and biography
Shakespeare was born on the 26th of April 1564 and died the 23rd of April 1616. He was an English Poet, Playwright and actor. He was born and brought up in Stratford-Upon-Avon.
Family
Shakespeare's father, was called John and he was a glove-maker. He was involved in the local community and he held a number of public offices, from borough ale-taster to bailiff. Being a bailiff was one of the highest positions you could hold in Stratford at the time. From about 1577, when William was 13, John Shakespeare suffered financial problems and had to spend his time trying to keep the home and family intact. This meant he stepped down from local government. Things did improve for the family though from around 1596. John died in 1601.
Shakespeare’s mother was Mary Arden. She was the youngest of 8 daughters, and she inherited her father's farm, now called Mary Arden's House which is now popular with tourists.
Mary had 8 children however, several of them died young which was not unusual during the period. She died in September 1608.
Shakespeare's siblings were:
- Joan, born 1558, died before 1569.
- Margaret, born 1562, died 1563.
- Gilbert, born 1566, died 1612.
- Joan, born 1569, married William Hart, died 1646.
- Anne, born 1571, died 1579.
- Richard, born 1574, died 1613.
- Edmund, born 1580, died 1607.
Shakespeare's Personal History
Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets are world famous, being performed all over the world, in different languages and settings, and even being turned into films and TV adaptations. His work has never really fallen out of fashion with the public, and every student ends up studying some of his works at school all over the UK.
However, the personal history of William Shakespeare is somewhat of a mystery. There are two primary sources that provide historians with a basic outline of his life. One source is his work and the other is official documentation from the period such as church and court records. All of these pieces of evidence only give a series of pictures into what his life was like and do not give us any detail or any words directly from him about his life and work. There are also gaps where there isn't any documentation to tell us where he was living or working or what he was doing. We do know though, that from around 1594 onwards he was an important member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men company of players and from there his career took off. We also have to guess somewhat at how his personal life influenced his plays as we have no record of this. Even without this detailed knowledge however his works have continued to be performed for nearly 500 years.
Relationships
At the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26 year old Anne Hathaway on 27 November 1582 and they had three children. They got married in a hurry and it is thought this was because Anne was already pregnant. Neither family were very pleased at the relationship. After only three years of marriage, Shakespeare left his family and moved to London. Once he moved to London he may have had affairs as a lawyer, John Manningham, 'wrote in his diary that Shakespeare had a brief affair with a woman during a performance of Richard III.'
Some people also believe that Shakespeare might have been bisexual because several of his poems, that might have been published without his permission, address "a young man known as the 'Fair Lord' or 'Fair Youth'."
The world he lived in
The world which Shakespeare lived in while in Stratford would have been generally comfortable but simple. He would have been expected or encouraged to follow in his father’s footsteps or to find even better employment, particularly as he received an education. So, when he decided to focus on theatre, this would have caused his parents some concern. At the time, being an actor or a playwright was not something that paid well or that was thought of as a gentleman’s job. Despite his ability to choose his own path, we know that he still had to submit to some traditional values, for example, by marrying Anne Hathaway when she may have been pregnant. The death of many of his siblings at a young age also indicate that the world he lived in was often no different that of anyone else’s. He and his family would have been at as much risk of getting illnesses or injuries that medicine couldn’t treat at the time as someone else. They may have been at less risk of disease in Stratford because it would have been less crowded and dirty than in a city like London.
Once Shakespeare moved to London, he would eventually make more money, which would have made life easier for him. However, he would not have made the kind of money that he would have done today. He would have had more access to goods, but would have also been at a greater risk of disease and crime.
Questions surrounding his work
Some people believe that not all of the works we say are written by Shakespeare, were actually written by him. For example, some people doubt that one man could write so many plays, sonnets, and poems in his lifetime. Other people think that Shakespeare may have stolen ideas or whole plays off other writers, for example Marlowe, who he had an ongoing feud with. There are also people who think that some works are mistakenly attributed to him thanks to missing records.
Some of these views arise because of the differences between his works. For example, today, it is unusual to have an author that writes crime, fantasy, romance and horror. However Shakespeare did just this, from tragedies like Romeo and Juliet, to quirky romances like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and then comedies and politically charged thrillers.
For me, it doesn’t matter so much as you either enjoy the works or you don’t, but I can see why it is an important issue for some people like researchers.
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