Source O
https O
//www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore O
shakespeare/shakespedia/william O
shakespeare/william O
shakespeare O
biography/ O
An O
Introduction O
William O
Shakespeare B-PER
was I-PER
a O
renowned O
English O
poet O
playwright O
and O
actor O
born O
in O
1564 O
in O
Stratford O
upon O
Avon. O
His O
birthday O
is O
most O
commonly O
celebrated O
on O
23 O
April O
(see O
When O
was O
Shakespeare O
born) B-PER
which O
is O
also O
believed O
to O
be O
the O
date O
he O
died O
in O
1616. O
Shakespeare O
was B-PER
a I-PER
prolific O
writer O
during O
the O
Elizabethan O
and O
Jacobean O
ages O
of O
British O
theatre O
(sometimes O
called O
the O
English O
Renaissance O
or O
the O
Early O
Modern O
Period). O
Shakespeare’s O
plays O
are O
perhaps O
his O
most O
enduring O
legacy O
but O
they O
are O
not O
all O
he O
wrote. O
Shakespeare’s O
poems O
also O
remain O
popular O
to O
this O
day. O
Shakespeare's O
Family O
Life O
Records O
survive O
relating O
to O
William O
Shakespeare’s O
family O
that O
offer O
an O
understanding O
of O
the O
context O
of O
Shakespeare's O
early O
life O
and O
the O
lives O
of O
his O
family O
members. O
John O
Shakespeare O
married O
Mary O
Arden O
and O
together O
they O
had O
eight O
children. O
John O
and O
Mary O
lost O
two O
daughters O
as O
infants O
so O
William O
became O
their O
eldest O
child. O
John O
Shakespeare O
worked O
as O
a O
glove O
maker O
but O
he O
also O
became O
an O
important O
figure O
in O
the O
town O
of O
Stratford O
by O
fulfilling O
civic O
positions. O
His O
elevated O
status O
meant O
that O
he O
was O
even O
more O
likely O
to O
have O
sent O
his O
children O
including O
William O
to O
the O
local O
grammar O
school. O
William O
Shakespeare O
would B-PER
have I-PER
lived I-PER
with O
his O
family O
in O
their O
house O
on O
Henley O
Street O
until O
he B-LOC
turned I-LOC
eighteen. O
When O
he O
was O
eighteen O
Shakespeare O
married O
Anne B-PER
Hathaway I-PER
who O
was B-PER
twenty I-PER
six. O
It O
was O
a O
rushed O
marriage O
because O
Anne O
was O
already O
pregnant O
at O
the O
time O
of O
the O
ceremony. O
Together O
they O
had O
three O
children. O
Their O
first O
daughter O
Susanna O
was O
born O
six O
months O
after O
the O
wedding O
and O
was O
later O
followed O
by O
twins O
Hamnet O
and O
Judith. O
Hamnet O
died O
when O
he O
was O
just O
11 O
years O
old. O
For O
an O
overview O
of O
William O
Shakespeare's O
life O
see O
Shakespeare's O
Life O
A O
Timeline O
Shakespeare O
in O
London O
Shakespeare's O
career O
jump O
started O
in O
London O
but O
when O
did O
he O
go O
there O
We O
know O
Shakespeare's O
twins O
were O
baptised O
in O
1585 O
and O
that O
by O
1592 O
his O
reputation O
was O
established O
in O
London O
but O
the O
intervening O
years O
are O
considered O
a O
mystery. O
Scholars O
generally O
refer O
to O
these O
years O
as O
‘The O
Lost O
Years’. O
During O
his O
time O
in O
London O
Shakespeare’s O
first O
printed B-LOC
works O
were O
published. O
They O
were O
two O
long O
poems O
'Venus O
and O
Adonis' O
(1593) O
and O
'The O
Rape O
of O
Lucrece' O
(1594). O
He O
also O
became O
a O
founding O
member O
of O
The O
Lord O
Chamberlain’s O
Men O
a O
company O
of O
actors. O
Shakespeare O
was O
the O
company's O
regular B-PER
dramatist I-PER
producing O
on O
average O
two O
plays O
a O
year O
for O
almost O
twenty O
years. O
He O
remained O
with O
the O
company O
for O
the O
rest O
of O
his O
career O
during O
which O
time O
it O
evolved O
into O
The O
King’s O
Men O
under O
the O
patronage O
of O
King O
James O
I O
(from O
1603). O
During O
his O
time O
in O
the O
company O
Shakespeare O
wrote O
many O
of O
his O
most O
famous B-PER
tragedies I-PER
such O
as O
King O
Lear O
and O
Macbeth O
as O
well O
as O
great O
romances O
like O
The O
Winter’s O
Tale O
and O
The O
Tempest. O
For O
more O
about O
Shakespeare's O
patrons O
and O
his O
work O
in O
London O
see; O
Shakespeare's O
Career O
Shakespeare's O
Works O
Altogether O
Shakespeare's O
works O
include O
38 O
plays O
2 O
narrative O
poems O
154 O
sonnets O
and O
a O
variety O
of O
other O
poems. O
No O
original O
manuscripts O
of O
Shakespeare's O
plays O
are O
known O
to O
exist O
today. O
It O
is O
actually O
thanks O
to O
a O
group O
of O
actors O
from O
Shakespeare's O
company O
that O
we O
have O
about O
half O
of O
the O
plays O
at O
all. O
They O
collected O
them O
for O
publication O
after O
Shakespeare O
died O
preserving O
the O
plays. O
These O
writings O
were O
brought O
together O
in O
what O
is O
known O
as O
the O
First O
Folio O
('Folio' O
refers O
to O
the O
size O
of O
the O
paper O
used). O
It O
contained O
36 O
of O
his O
plays O
but O
none O
of O
his O
poetry. O
Shakespeare’s O
legacy O
is O
as O
rich O
and O
diverse O
as O
his O
work; O
his O
plays O
have O
spawned O
countless O
adaptations O
across O
multiple O
genres O
and O
cultures. O
His O
plays O
have O
had O
an O
enduring O
presence O
on O
stage O
and O
film. O
His O
writings O
have O
been O
compiled O
in O
various O
iterations O
of O
The O
Complete O
Works O
of O
William O
Shakespeare O
which O
include O
all O
of O
his O
plays O
sonnets O
and O
other O
poems. O
William O
Shakespeare O
continues O
to O
be O
one O
of O
the O
most B-PER
important I-PER
literary I-PER
figures O
of O
the O
English O
language. O
New O
Place; O
a O
home O
in O
Stratford O
upon O
Avon O
Shakespeare’s O
success O
in O
the O
London O
theatres O
made O
him O
considerably O
wealthy O
and O
by O
1597 O
he O
was O
able O
to O
purchase O
New O
Place O
the O
largest O
house O
in O
the O
borough O
of O
Stratford O
upon O
Avon. O
Although O
his O
professional O
career O
was O
spent O
in O
London O
he O
maintained O
close O
links O
with O
his O
native O
town. O
Recent O
archaeological O
evidence O
discovered O
on O
the O
site O
of O
Shakespeare’s O
New O
Place O
shows O
that O
Shakespeare O
was O
only O
ever O
an O
intermittent O
lodger O
in O
London. O
This O
suggests O
he O
divided O
his O
time O
between O
Stratford O
and O
London O
(a O
two O
or O
three O
day O
commute). O
In O
his O
later O
years O
he O
may O
have O
spent O
more O
time O
in O
Stratford O
upon O
Avon O
than O
scholars O
previously O
thought. O
Watch O
our O
video O
for O
more O
about O
Shakespeare O
as O
a O
literary O
commuter O
On O
his O
father's O
death O
in O
1601 O
William O
Shakespeare O
inherited O
the O
old O
family O
home O
in O
Henley O
Street O
part O
of O
which O
was O
then O
leased O
to O
tenants. O
Further O
property O
investments O
in O
Stratford O
followed O
including O
the O
purchase O
of O
107 O
acres O
of O
land O
in O
1602. O
Shakespeare O
died O
in O
Stratford O
upon O
Avon O
on O
23 O
April O
1616 O
at B-PER
the I-PER
age O
of O
52. O
He O
is O
buried O
in O
the O
sanctuary O
of O
the O
parish O
church O
Holy O
Trinity. O