William Shakespeare William Shakespeare Twelfth Night Introduction

His life William Shakespeare ( ) Born in Stratford-upon-Avon The exact date of his birth is unknown, but some believe he was born on April 23, 1564 By the age of seven, William was able to read and write He attended Stratford grammar school until he was 15, where he would have studied Greek and Latin literature and Christian ethics (including knowledge of the Bible) William was an intellectual, though he didn't attend university for various reasons. This upset some of his fellow playwrights because they believed that a dramatist should be educated

William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway (he was 18, she was 26) Anne was already three months pregnant Children: Susanna, Judith and Hamnet - Hamnet died at the age of 11

Now, with a family of three and a wife to take care of, Shakespeare took off to London He became quite a successful player in London

In January 1593, the plague forced many London theaters to close Became key member of an acting troupe known as “Lord Chamberlain’s Men” Performed at the Globe Theater The theater held 2500 people

William Shakespeare died in Stratford-upon- Avon: the same date that he was born, April 23, 1616 at the age of 52

William Shakespeare composed what many believe is the most extraordinary body of work in the history of world drama He wrote 36 plays and 154 sonnets

Words, words, words Shakespeare's surviving works add up to a staggering 884,647 words and 118,406 lines Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play, clocking in at 4,042 lines. His shortest is The Comedy of Errors, with 1,787 According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Shakespeare coined more than 500 new words, many of which are still commonly used in English speech –Popular Will-isms include: amazement, bump, lonely, countless, useful, radiance and lackluster