William Shakespeare Biography
We don’t much is known about the ancestry of Shakespeare, apart from the fact that he came of a good family that owned a small estate in land. John Shakespeare, his father, was a merchant of Stratford on Avon, in Warwickshire. There he was born in 1564. His mother’s family members. He were rich, notable farmers. Undoubtedly, he was educated at the Free Grammar school of Stratford. There he studied mostly Latin Language and Literature.
At about thirteen years of age, he left school. This was probably because his father experienced a turn in his fortune. At eighteen, however, he married Anne Hathaway who was eight years older than the. They had two daughters and a son. A few years later, he left his family in Stratford and went to London.
In London, Shakespeare worked as an actor and a member of one of the oldest theatrical companies. “The Theatre”, which was erected in 1576. Richard Burbage, who erected it, later became a famous actor, and Shakespeare served under his leadership. The Former also presented plays in many other London Theatre including “The Globe”, where most of Shakespeare’s plays were written. But their respective dates were estimated from various sorts of evidence such as differences in dramatic skill and in meter. His earliest dramas were simple comedies or tragedies. Subsequent ones were couples, as he blended comedy with tragedy (tragic-comedy). In later years, he used blank verse much more frequently than of rhyme. Shakespeare’s literary period is divided into four periods.
The first (1590-1595) is the period of experimentation when he wrote the two long poems VENUS AND ADONIS and THE RAPE OF LUCRECE, whose richness in romance make the typical of the Renaissance. Others were some drama ranging from the historical play on HENRY VI to the fascinating romantic comedy A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (1599-1608) and the love tragedy ROMEO AND JULIET. In the second period (1599-1608) his plays dealt with English history such as HENRY IV and HENRY V. He wrote six other interesting comedies and farces, including AS YOU LIKE IT.
This was also when he penned his most beautiful SONNETS which are superior to those written by his contemporaries – Christopher Marlower and Ben Johnson. The third period s (1600-1610) witnessed the writing of his five great s tragedies, JULIUS CAESAR, HAMLET, MACBETH, OTHELO AND KING LEAR.
However, his mood, as expressed in the play of the fourth d and last periods (1608-1611) was one a serene thoughtfulness. Shakespeare’s last works, such as the lovely romantic plays CYBERLINE, A WINTER’S TALE AND THE TEMPEST demonstrate a skillful style and sublime mastery of character portrayal.
As a great and matchless dramatist, may be, he reserved these best drama for his final utterances. He died in Stratford in 1616.
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