Shakespeare's Biography

Biography of William Shakespeare:
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) ---The date of his actual birth is up to debate, though it is believed that he was born on April 23. Shakespeare also perished on this very same day 52 years later. He was a British poet, player, playwright, and very talented in all three fields. He is known to have written 38 plays. As a young man, William was a student of a local grammar school in his home of Stratford. In 1582, Shakespeare married to a young woman by the name of Anne Hathaway. He was 18 and his wife 26 at the time of this event. They had three children, a daughter Susanna, and twins: Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died at the age of 11. Following the birth of his twins, William disappeared from record, reappearing in London, England in 1592. It was here where he began to build his career as an actor and playwright. Shakespeare’s first tragedy, Titus Andronicus, was written in 1593. Soon after, the theatres closed due to the plague for 1593 and much of 1594. It was during this time that Shakespeare wrote two narrative poems for the Earl of Southampton. The majority of William’s poems were 154 sonnets. By 1594, Shakespeare was acting, writing, and managing the play of, "King's Men." This became a world famous play, extremely popular to the people of London, England. The success that Shakespeare had is very apparent when compared to other playwrights of this age. His company was the most accomplished in the city of London in his day. A number of his plays were published and sold in octavo editions, or "penny-copies" to the more literate of his audiences. Never before had a playwright been so highly recognized that it was sold as literature. Though Shakespeare could not be considered wealthy, by London standards, his prosperity allowed him to purchase New House and retire in comfort to Stratford in 1611. Shakespeare wrote his will in 1611, handing down his properties to his daughter Susanna. Susanna married in 1607 to Dr. John Hall. To his surviving daughter Judith, he left £300, and to his wife Anne he left "my second best bed." It is said that William Shakespeare died on his birthday, April 23, 1616, although this is probably more of a romantic myth than reality. Shakespeare was interred at Holy Trinity in Stratford on April 25. In 1623, two working companions of Shakespeare from the Lord Chamberlain's Men, John Heminges and Henry Condell, printed the First Folio edition of the Collected Works, of which half the plays contained were previously unpublished. The First Folio also contained Shakespeare's sonnets. William Shakespeare leaves a legacy of unrivaled creativity and intelligence in poetry, acting, and as a playwright. Many aspects of William Shakespeare’s life are questionable such as if he wrote all the plays attributable to him. However the fact that we cannot provide sufficient evidence that he did not write all of his plays, allows Shakespeare to remain the greatest playwright of all time.