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Saige Jäger

Mrs. Hayward

English 9

16 February 17

Shakespeare's Life and Accomplishments

“ Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon stage and

then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” -

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was perhaps one of the most successful and well-known writers of

his time. He is an author, playwright, father, and husband all in one. This piece will outline the

life of William Shakespeare and his accomplishment.

William father was a man of many talents. Prior to the birth of his son, William

Shakespeare, he was a successful merchant and held official positions such as a bailiff, aldermen,

and office resembling a mayor (​"William Shakespeare Biography”​). At a time, he was quite a

wealthy man, but records indicate that his fortunes declined sometime in the late 1570’s

(​"William Shakespeare Biography”​).

When looking for information about William Shakespeare’s birth, there were no birth

records that existed (​"William Shakespeare Biography”​). They say that he was born on April 23,

1564, but they are not completely sure (​"William Shakespeare Biography”​). “ His father was

John Shakespeare, who was a leather merchant, and Mary Arden a local land heiress. He had two
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older sisters, Joan and Judith, and 3 younger brothers, Gilbert , Richard and Edmund”(​"William

Shakespeare Biography”​).

“William Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564, he was baptized in

Stratford-upon-Avon, England” (​"William Shakespeare Biography”​). Around 1594 they say he

was an important part of the lord chamberlain's men company of theatrical players (​"William

Shakespeare Biography”​).He always wrote plays that capture complete range of conflict and

human emotion (​"William Shakespeare Biography”​). Some of Shakespeare’s most well-known

plays are as follows: ​Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, ​and ​Much Ado about Nothing (​ “Top

10 Shakespeare’s Plays”).

He got married on November 28, 1582, to Anne Hathaway (​"William Shakespeare

Biography”​). They were married in Worcester, in Canterbury province (​"William Shakespeare

Biography”​). Williams wife Anne was from shottery, it was a small village a mile west of

Stratford where William was from (​"William Shakespeare Biography”​). William was only 18

years old and Anne was 26, they found out she was pregnant(​"William Shakespeare

Biography”​). Susanna was their first child, she was born on May 26, 1583 (​"William

Shakespeare Biography”​). “2 years later, on February 2, 1585, twins Hamnet and Judith were

born. Hamnet later died of unknown causes at age 11” (​"William Shakespeare Biography”​).

“After the birth of the twins there are seven years of William Shakespeare's life where no

records exist. Scholars calls this period the “lost years.” One theory is that he might have gone

into hiding for poaching game from the local landlord, Sir Thomas Lucy. Another possibility is

that he might have been working as an assistant schoolmaster in Lancashire” (​"William

Shakespeare Biography”​).
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In 1597 “civil records show that at that time he purchased the second largest house in

Stratford called new house for his family. It was a 4 day ride by horse from Stratford to London

so it is believed that he spent most of his time in the city writing and acting and came home once

a year during the 40 day Lenten period when the theaters were closed”(​"William Shakespeare

Biography”​).

“He may have found work as a horse attendant at some of London's finest theaters.” “By

1597, 15 of the 37 plays were written by William shakespeare were published”(​"William

Shakespeare Biography”​).

William retired sometime after 1611​"Shakespeare's Life and Time." ​Shakespeare went

over his will on March 25 1616 “​"Shakespeare's Life and Time." ​On April 23 his presumed

birthday he died he was 52. On April 25 he was buried at Holy Trinity church in Stratford.

Shakespeare’s widow, Anne, died 1623 was buried beside him. Shakespeare's family line came

to an end with the death of his granddaughter Elizabeth in 1670” ​"Shakespeare's Life and Time."

This piece will outline the life of William Shakespeare and his accomplishments.

“Thomas Quiney married William’s daughter judith was charged in the church with fornication.

Which is generally consensual sexual intercourse between two people not married to each

other.The lady that he had done stuff with ended up pregnant and they both died soon after.

Quiney was a theater disgraced and Shakespeare revised his will to ensure that Judith's interest in

his estate was protected from possible malfeasance on Quiney’s part”

“​shakespeares-life-and-times.”
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Works Cited

"Top 10 Shakespeare Plays." , 2014, www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/topplays.html.

Accessed 7 Feb. 2017.

"Shakespeare's Life and Time." ​Royal Shakespeare Company,​ 2017,

https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeares-life-and-times. ​Wikipedia​, 4 Feb. 2017,

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare. Accessed 7 Feb. 2017.

"William Shakespeare Biography." ​Bio.,​ 2017,

www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323#synopsis. Accessed 3 Feb.

2017.