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synopsis: william shakespeare was an important actor and writer in england during the late 1500s. over the time of about 20 years, shakespeare wrote plays that captured the complete range of human feelings. the works of william shakespeare have been performed countless times for more than 400 years. still, little is known about shakespeare's life itself.
early life
there is no record of william shakespeare's birth. there is a record of his church baptism, though. based on this, scholars believe his birthday is april 23, 1564.
there is also very little information about shakespeare's education. scholars say he most likely attended the king's new school in his hometown of stratford, england. this school taught reading and writing, as well as greek and latin languages.
married life
william shakespeare married anne hathaway on november 28, 1582. their first child was born in 1583. two years later, they had twins.
there are no records of the seven years after the birth of the twins. scholars call this period of time the "lost years." no one is sure what he was doing during this time.
theatrical beginnings
there is evidence that by 1592, shakespeare was working as an actor and a playwright in london. by the early 1590s, he was managing an acting company in london called the king's men. the king's men was a very popular group.
establishing himself
by the late 1590s, shakespeare had published around 15 plays. he even sold some of his writings. he also built his own theater, called the globe. he bought some property, too. that made him a lot of money, which allowed more time to write his plays.
writing style
shakespeare's early plays were written in the traditional style of that time. however, shakespeare had a good imagination. he adapted the traditional style. shakespeare wrote using lines that had five pairs of syllables. the first syllable in each pair was short, and the second one was longer. this is called iambic pentameter.
early works: histories and comedies
most of william shakespeare's first plays were histories. they show the destructive results of weak rulers. he also wrote several comedies, which were funny and lighthearted plays. they were witty and charming, and they often involved love.
later works: tragedies and tragicomedies
after 1600, shakespeare wrote many tragedies, which are plays with unhappy endings. these include "hamlet," "king lear" and "macbeth." possibly the best known of these plays is "hamlet," which explores betrayal and what happens when people make bad decisions.
in shakespeare's final period, he wrote several pieces that were more serious than the comedies but had a happier ending than the tragedies. they are known as tragicomedies.
legend has it that william shakespeare died on his birthday, april 23, 1616, but many scholars believe this is untrue. church records show he was buried at trinity church on april 25, 1616.
disagreements and contributions
about 150 years after his death, scholars began to say that someone else had written shakespeare's plays. they were suspicious because there were so few details about his life. the scholars also questioned how someone could write so well with so little education.
the most serious doubts about his writing began in the 1800s. this was a time when love for shakespeare and his works was at its greatest. many people said that a man named edward de vere actually wrote the plays that were credited to shakespeare. they pointed to de vere's broad knowledge of aristocratic society, his education and his writing style.
still, most shakespearean scholars say that shakespeare wrote all his own plays. they point out that other playwrights of the time also had sketchy histories and came from modest backgrounds. they argue that the king's new school in stratford could have taught him to write well.
what seems to be true is that shakespeare was a respected man who wrote plays, and acted in some, in the late 1500s and early 1600s. he was recognized as a legendary playwright beginning in the 1800s.
today, his plays are very popular and are constantly studied and performed. shakespeare's characters and plots are original because they present real people in many situations. this is why his plays have remained so popular 400 years after his death.
