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Simonetta Gatto
Istituto Comprensivo di Casella (GE)
Who was William Shakespeare?
He was:
a poet
a playwright
an actor
His life
Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, in central England, in 1564 and he
died there in 1616.
When William Shakespeare was 18 years old he married Anne Hathaway and they
had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith.
Then Shakespeare went to London to work as an actor and a writer.
He wrote and acted for two important monarchs: Queen Elizabeth I and James I.
He had a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men which later was called
the King’s men.
He produced most of his work between 1589 and 1603.
Stratford-upon-Avon : Shakespeare’s house
Shakespeare’s plays
Shakespeare wrote 38 plays These have been translated into every major
language and are performed more than those of any other playwright in
the world. His plays can be divided into three groups:
• Tragedies: for example Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, and Romeo
and Juliet.
• Comedies: for example A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Twelfth
Nightand Much Ado About Nothing.
• Historical plays: for example Richard III, Henry IV and Julius Caesar.
This period is called Elizabethan from Queen Elizabeth I who reigned between
1558 and 1603.
It is considered a golden age in the history of Britain because the country was
healthy and powerful and it was a period of exploration and expansion abroad.
In this period art and literature were very important and most popular of all was
drama, thanks to Shakespeare and other artists.
Shakespeare and his plays have
inspired some modern films
• Shakespeare in Love
• Romeo and Juliet