Biography of william shakespeare in points
John was a successful glover and leather merchant who also dabbled in local politics. Over the years, John held several public offices, including that of alderman and eventually bailiff mayor of Stratford. Growing up in a relatively comfortable household, young William had access to opportunities that many in his time did not. This classical training exposed him to great works of Roman and Greek writers such as Ovid, Seneca, and Plutarch.
His early exposure to these philosophical works shaped his plays and poetry, infusing them with classical themes and diverse plots. The Foundation and Maturing of the Bard Growing up in Stratford also exposed young William to the everyday life of a bustling market town. The local fairs, traveling performers, and theatrical productions that visited the town likely sparked his interest in storytelling and performance.
While Stratford was a relatively small community, it sat near larger cultural hubs like Warwick and Coventry. Shakespeare may have encountered mystery plays and moral dramas there, both influencing his dramatic style.
Biography of william shakespeare in points
As Shakespeare matured, these experiences formed the foundation of his future career as a playwright and poet. His education gave him the tools and his environment nurtured his creativity. Thus, allowing him to observe human nature and society up close and personally. At 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, an event that significantly shaped and prepared him for what was to come.
The marriage was arranged quickly, as their first child, Susanna, was born just six months later on May 26, Life for the growing family in Stratford-upon-Avon must have been both busy and challenging, particularly with Shakespeare balancing his family duties while nurturing his developing talents. Shakespeare is also supposed to have taken his revenge on Lucy by writing a scurrilous ballad about him.
As used here, Johannes Factotum "Jack of all trades" refers to a second-rate tinkerer with the work of others, rather than the more common "universal genius". Biographers suggest that his career may have begun any time from the mids to just before Greene's remarks. In , the partnership also took over the Blackfriars indoor theatre. Extant records of Shakespeare's property purchases and investments indicate that his association with the company made him a wealthy man, [52] and in , he bought the second-largest house in Stratford, New Place , and in , invested in a share of the parish tithes in Stratford.
In , the year before he bought New Place as his family home in Stratford, Shakespeare was living in the parish of St Helen's , Bishopsgate , north of the River Thames. There, he rented rooms from a French Huguenot named Christopher Mountjoy, a maker of women's wigs and other headgear. His writings have been compiled in various iterations of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, which include all of his plays, sonnets, and other poems.
William Shakespeare continues to be one of the most important literary figures of the English language. Although his professional career was spent in London, he maintained close links with his native town. This suggests he divided his time between Stratford and London a two or three-day commute. In his later years, he may have spent more time in Stratford-upon-Avon than scholars previously thought.
Watch our video for more about Shakespeare as a literary commuter: On his father's death in , William Shakespeare inherited the old family home in Henley Street part of which was then leased to tenants. Further property investments in Stratford followed, including the purchase of acres of land in Shakespeare died in Stratford-upon-Avon on 23 April at the age of In this same year, his son Hamnet died of unknown causes, aged eleven.
It was in this area Shakespeare and his business partners Kempe and Burbage built their own theater on the south bank of The Thames river, which they called the Globe Theater. In , Shakespeare purchased leases of real estate near Stratford for pounds, which doubled in value and earned him an income of 60 pounds a year. This made him an entrepreneur as well as an artist, and scholars believe these investments gave him the time to write his plays uninterrupted.
In his older daughter, Susanna, married and his mother died the following year. His sonnets were published in He rejoined his wife and two surviving children. By this time he also had a granddaughter, Elizabeth, daughter of Judith. Retirement for Shakespeare was not a matter of sitting around in slippers and letting the world pass him by.
He had a portfolio of properties and many business interests, including some in the corn and malt trades.