William Shakespeare.
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William Shakespeare: Life
and curiosities.
• William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon (1564-
1616). Fact 1: It is though that he was born the 23th April
because he was baptised the 26th, and the tradition of the
time was to do it the 3rd day after being born.
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• He married Ann Hathaway (1582). Fact 2: His
wife was 8 years older than him and she was
pregnant when they got married. They got a
daughter and twins, one of them called
Hamnet.
• Fact 3: There are more than 80 variations
recorded for the spelling of Shakespeare’s
name. “Willm Shaksp,” “William Shakespe,”
“Wm Shakspe,” “William Shakspere,”
”Willm Shakspere,” and
“William Shakspeare”.
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• He left for London and
became an actor and a
professional playwright in
1592.
• He joined the Company of
Chamberlain’s men and
remained a member until
the end of his days, mainly
working for the Globe
Theatre. Fact 4: During his
life Shakespeare performed
before Queen Elizabeth I
and, later, before James I
who was an enthusiastic
patron of his work.
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• During his lifetime, he wrote at least 37 plays,
154 sonnets and a number of poems. In
addition there are a number of lost plays and
a plays that Shakespeare collaborated on.
Fact 5: It is said he was buried with his innedit
works.
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• There are more than 60 characters who die in
his plays.
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• Fact 6: Some investigators
admit that he didn’t write his
plays. Some scholars have
maintained that Shakespeare
did not write the plays
attributed to him, with at
least fifty writers having been
suggested as the “real”
author. However, the evidence
for Shakespeare having
written the plays is very
strong.
• Female roles were written for
men. Women weren’t allowed
to act in plays.
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• He retired to Stratford in 1611.
• Shakespeare’s burial at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford
Upon Avon is documented as happening on 25th April
1616. In keeping with traditions of the time it’s though he
was buried two days after his death, meaning Shakespeare
probably died 23rd April 1616 – his 52nd birthday. Fact 7:
Shakespeare penned a curse for his grave, daring anyone to
move his body from that final resting place. His epitaph
was:
Good friend for Jesus’ sake forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here:
Blest be the man that spares these stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones.
Though it was usual to dig up the bones from previous graves
to make room for others, the remains in Shakespeare’s
grave are still undisturbed.
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His works
• Only half of Shakespeare’s
plays appeared in print in
his lifetime. They are known today because two of his
fellow actors recorded and published them
posthumously under the name «First Folio».
• His plays weren’t printed in the order they were
written.
• He wrote:
Phase 1 1590-1595: Comedy of Errors, The Taming of
the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet.
Phase2 1595-1600: Midsummer Night’s Dream, The
merchant of Venice, Much Ado about Nothing.
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Phase 3 1600-1605: Hamlet.
Phase 4 1604-1605: Othello, Macbeth, King
Lear, Anthony and Cleopatra (the great
tragedies)
Phase 5 1608-1612: The Winter’s tale, The
Tempest. (reconciliation plays)
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Shakespeare’s language
• The phrase Shakespeare language
has come to mean both the state of
the English around 1600 and
Shakespeare’s use of it.
• He made up 1.700 new words and
expressions, or at least he was the
first in writing them in English. For
instance: amazement, arrogance,
assassination, bloody, generous,
road, suspicious.
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The Globe Theatre
• The Globe Theatre was built between 1597 and 1599 in
Southwark on the south bank of London’s River Thames.
• William Shakespeare was a shareholder who owned 12.5% of
The Globe Theatre.
• The Globe Theatre burnt down in 1613 when a special effect
on stage went wrong. A cannon used for a performance of
Henry VIII set light to the thatched roof and the fire quickly
spread, taking less than two hours to burn down completely.
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• It was rebuilt on the same spot in 1614.
• The Puritans brought an end to The Globe Theatre in 1642
with an order suppressing all stage plays. In 1644 it was
turned into tenement housing, ending 85 years of turbulent
history.
• In 1997 a third version and faithful reconstruction of The
Globe Theatre was built as “Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre”,
close to the original site in Southwark.
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