LIFE AND WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEAREWilliam Shakespeare
(1564–1616),
`The Bard of Avon'
, English poet andplaywright wrote the famous 154 Sonnets and numerous highly successfuloften quoted dramatic works. He is generally considered to be the greatest of authors in any language, ancient or modern.England's celebration of their patron Saint George is on 23 April, which is alsothe day claimed to be the birth date of Shakespeare. Although birth anddeath dates were not recorded in Shakespeare's time, churches did recordbaptisms and burials, usually a few days after the actual event, but theearliest record of him was an entry of his baptism in the Holy Trinity Church,Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, on April 26, 1564. His father, JohnShakespeare (c1530-1601), first appeared in town records in 1552, when hewas fined for not removing a dunghill from his door in Henley Street. Later,his father became prominent in town affairs and was elected a chamberlainof the Stratford Corporation in 1561, alderman in 1565, and high bailiff ormayor in 1568. Mary Arden (c1540-1608), his mother, was the daughter of awealthy landowner. She had eight children in which William was the third andthe oldest son. In the mid 1570’s, his father’s fortune declined, but thefortunes lost then would later be repaired by his son William Shakespeare.Shakespeare’s first school was probably Stratford. It was an excellent freegrammar school, although no record of the fact that he actually attendedexists.On November 27, 1582, church authorities gave him permission to marryAnne Hathaway from the neighboring village of Shottery. At the time, he waseighteen and she was twenty six years old and probably pregnant. On May26, 1583, their daughter Susanna was baptized in Holy Trinity. Later his wifegave birth to twins, Hamnet and Judith, who were baptized on February 2,1585. Between the years of the twins Baptism and 1592, no records havebeen found. This was called the missing period. The actor William Beeston,whose father was a member of Shakespeare’s company, told John Aubreymany years later that Shakespeare had been a school master in the country.
POETRY:
It is generally agreed that most of the Shakespearean Sonnets were written inthe 1590s, some printed at this time as well. Others were written or revisedright before being printed. 154 sonnets and "A Lover's Complaint" werepublished by Thomas Thorpe as Shakespeare Sonnets in 1609. The order,dates, and authorship of the Sonnets have been much debated with noconclusive findings. Many have claimed autobiographical details from them,including sonnet number 145 in reference to Anne. The dedication to "Mr.W.H." is said to possibly represent the initials of the third earl of PembrokeWilliam Herbert, or perhaps being a reversal of Henry Wriothesly's initials.Regardless, there have been some unfortunate projections andinterpretations of modern concepts onto centuries old works that, while agrasp of contextual historical information can certainly lend to their depthand meaning, can also be enjoyed as valuable poetical works that havetranscended time and been surpassed by no other.Evoking Petrarch's style and lyrically writing of beauty, mortality, and lovewith its moral anguish and worshipful adoration of a usually unattainablelove, the first 126 sonnets are addressed to a young man, sonnets 127-152 toa dark lady. Ever the dramatist Shakespeare created a profound intrigue toscholars and novices alike as to the identities of these people.
TRAGEDIES:
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