Supervision Submitted By

Dr. Nisha Singh Asif Ali

Department Of English

& Other Foreign Languages

 Mahatma Ghandhi Kashi Vidyapith
Chapter-1
University Varanasi

Enrollment No.-KA2K23/100617087 Session :-2023-2024

ABOUT WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR

Introduction :-

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor of the

Renaissance era. He was an important member of the King's Men company of theatrical players
from roughly 1594 onward. Shakespeare's writings capture the range of human emotion and
conflict and have been celebrated for more than 400 years.

There are two primary Sources that provide historians with an outline of his
life. One is his work the plays, poems and sonnets and the other is official documentation such
as church and court records. However these provide only brief sketch of specific events in his
life and yield little insight into the man himself.

Born :-
No birth exist, but an old church record indicates that a William Shakespeare
was Holy Tinity Church in Stratford-Upon-Avon on April 26, 1564 from this it is believed he
was come on hear April 23, 1564 and this is the date scholars acknowledge as Shakespeare's
birthday.

Family :-
 Shakespeare was the third Child of John Shakespeare, a leather Merchant and
Mary Arden, a local landed heires, Shakespeare had

two older sister Joan and Judith and three younger brother Gilbert, Richard and Edmund.
1

Before, Shakespeare's birth his father became a successful merchant and held official position
as alderman and bailiff an office resembling a mayer. However, records indicate John's fortunes
declined sometime in the late 1570s.

Childhood and Education :-

Scant record exist of Shakespeare's Childhood and virtually none regarding his
education. Scholars have surmised that he most likely attended the king's New School in
Stratford, which taught reading, writing and the classics.

Being a public official's child. Shakespeare would have undoubtedly qualified for free tuition
But this uncertainty regarding about the authorship of his work.

Wife and Education :-

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582 in Worcester in

Canterbury Province. Hathaway was from Shutter a small village a mile west of Stratford,
Shakespeare was 18 and Anne was 26 and as it turns out pregnant. Their first Child a daughter
they named Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583. Two years later, on February 2,

2
Shakespeare knew how to handle his audience. He wrote both for queen and peasant. He was
the creator of emotion in the play house and never has anyone also stood as the tall for as long
as he has regarding this quality.

The Death of Shakespeare :-

On April 23, 1616 English poet and playwright William Shakespeare died in
his home town of Stratford Upon-Avon-at the age of fifty-two. His death occurred on or near
his birthday, which may have been the source of a later legend that he fell ill and died after a
night of heavy drinking with two other writers, Ben Jonson and Michael Drayton.

**********

The Shakespeare 20, 1592 edition of the stationers Register includes an article
by London play Wright Robert Greene that takes3 a few jobs at Shakespeare, "There is an upstart
crow beautified with our feathers, that with his tiger's heart wrapped in a player's hide, suppose
he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you and being an absolute
Johannes factotum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country, Greene wrote of
Shakespeare.

Early in his career, Shakespeare was able to attract the attention of Henry
Wriothesley the Earl of Southampton to whom he dedicated his first and second published
poem: "Venus and Adonis" (1593) and "The Rape of Lucrece" (1594)

By 1597, Shakespeare had already written and published and sold as popular
literature. Civil records show that of this time he purchased the second-largest house in
Stratford, called New House for his family.

It was a four day ride by horse from Stratford to London, so it's believed that
Shakespeare spent most of his time in the city writing and acting and come home once a year
during the 40-day Lenten period, the theaters were closed.

Globe Theater :-

By 1599, Shakespeare and his business partner's built their own theater on the
South bank of the Thomas river which they called the Globe Theater.