William Shakespeare 1564-1616

Shakespeare’s influence No other writer’s plays have been produced so many times or read so widely. Had enormous influence on culture throughout the world. Contributed greatly to the development of the English language. He even invented words. For example: cold-blooded, bedroom, and advertise.

Shakespeare’s influence, cont. His plays attract diverse audiences all over the world. His plays are still the most popular today, even though they were written over 300 years ago His plays and poems have been reprinted and published countless times.

Shakespeare’s writing Shakespeare’s plays (37 of them) are usually divided into three categories: History, Comedy, and Tragedy. He also was a poet, specializing in the Shakespearean sonnet (hence, the name).

Shakespeare’s Life Shakespeare was born in 1564, the third of eight children. He grew up in Stratford, near London. His father was a glove maker, his mother the daughter of a farmer.

Early Years Shakespeare attended the Stratford Grammar School, where he spent about nine hours a day studying. Shakespeare probably spent his free time enjoying the lively events that often went on in his hometown of Stratford.

Marriage and Children Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1582, a daughter of a farmer from Stratford. Together they had twins: A boy named Hamnet, and a girl named Judith.

Theater Life Shakespeare became well known in London theatrical life by 1592. He joined a theater company (name unknown) around 1592.

Theater Companies Throughout England at the time, competition arose between theater companies. Shakespeare joined the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a group which he influenced for the rest of his life.

Competing Theaters At the time, each company had their own theater. They competed against each other. The two most famous were The Globe and The Rose.

The Globe Theater In 1599, Shakespeare and six associates became owners of The Globe. It was one of the largest theaters, seating over 3,000 people.

The Plague During the time, there were continuous outbreaks of the plague. Because of this, theaters were often closed down. While theaters were closed, Shakespeare turned his attention to writing sonnets

The King’s Men King James I offered Shakespeare and co. an opportunity to perform plays again. He created the King’s Men, which gave them permission to put on plays in return for entertaining the king on a regular basis.

The Anti-Shakespearian Theories Shakespeare has often been labeled as a “man of mystery,” because so little is known about him. Because of this, numerous theories have arisen which attempt to discredit him for writing his plays.

The Folio Theory Shakespeare’s plays were written in different folios, or copies. Many of these copies are worded differently within plays. This has led people to believe that more than one person collaborated with Shakespeare.

The anti-Stratfordian Theory Still many others do not believe that Shakespeare could have possibly written his plays because of his social status—he was too “common.” And the town that he came from was too poor. They believe that he wasn’t wealthy or educated enough to write such enlightening works.

The “man of mystery” Despite these theories, most scholars believe that it was indeed Shakespeare who wrote the works. Regardless, the plays and writings of Shakespeare are still widely read and related to the themes of today.