William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare's Early Life William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small town in England. He was raised by Catholic parents. Shakespeare had an older sister, Joan. All that is known of her is the day she was baptized and that she died from the plague. At 18, Shakespeare decided to marry his three month pregnant maid who was 26 years old. Never finished education No one knows for sure how Shakespeare died. It is recorded in the diary of John Ward, the vicar of the Holy Trinity Church that "Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and it seems drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted." This entry was written 50 years after Shakespeare's death making it less credible outbreak of typhus lends credibility to Ward's entry

Shakespeare's Professional Life We know very little about Shakespeare during a period of time in his life. That time is called the "Lost Years". This period of time can be separated into two parts It is commonly believed that Shakespeare spent the 7 years of the second part of his "Lost years" practicing his drama skills for writing and acting. He also spent that time working tirelessly to collect sources for what he was going to write about. Shakespeare was young when he started working, he was considered himself as a actor and a re writer of plays. When Shakespeare first started writing, his first original poems were not dramatic. There are implications that Shakespeare wrote parts 1, 2, and 3 of Henry VI (his first play) between 1590 and It is also said he acted in them. Shakespeare had a patron, Henry Wriothesley the third Earl of Southampton ( ), who supported him as a young writer. Shakespeare dedicated his poem Venus and Adonis to the Earl. It was beautiful and sensuous but pagan. This poem was published in 1593 and was one of the first of his non- dramatic ones. In 1592, Shakespeare was accused of plagiarism by Robert Greene, because Greene was envious of Shakespeare.

Shakespeare's The Life of a Playwright It would have been hard for Shakespeare to be accepted as a writer. Playwrights were not seen as literary experts. Poets were more respected. He had worked as an actor which would not have helped his reputation as a poet or playwright. Being a playwright was a dangerous job, more so if you were Catholic at the time. If they explored too far into certain issues and topics they could be jailed or tortured.

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