1. “Not for an age, but for all time.”
William Shakespeare
“Not for an age, but for all time.”

2. Reliable Sources of Information
Church records:
Christenings (baptisms)
Marriages
Deaths
Court records:
Lawsuits
Payments
Wills
Property ownership
Legal offenses/charges
Royal court records:
Royal decrees or commissions
Treasury invoices & receipts
Primary Source Accounts
Letters
Diaries

3. Timeline Born April 23, 1564 Stratford-upon-Avon
Baptism/christening on April 26, 1564
Holy Trinity Church parish register entry: "Gulielmus filius Johannes Shakspere" (William son of John Shakespeare).

4. Family of Origin Father: John Shakespeare Mother: Mary Arden
glover by trade (craftsman; merchant class)
held civic offices in Stratford (alderman--a member of a county council, next in status to the Mayor)
Mother: Mary Arden
Family of means with large farm/estate
William was the third of eight children (two older siblings died before he was born)

5. Education
Father’s position as Alderman included a free education for his sons in Stratford
King Edward VI Grammar School—
Studied Latin grammar from age 7 -14,
Well read in Latin & Greek literature (classical lit.),
Ovid especially influenced his writing
Able to translate both from Latin to English and vice versa (may have learned Greek)
Rhetoric—
Master of language usage
Structuring arguments

6. The Family He Made Married Nov. 27, 1582 Children: Wife: Anne Hathaway
William—18; Anne—26
Children:
Susannah—born May 25ish, 1583
(six months)
Twins, Hamnet and Judith, baptized Feb. 7, 1585
Hamnet died at 11; buried Feb. 7, 1596

7. The Road to the Family Farm
Walking map from Stratford to Wilmcote via Shottery

8. Career
Moved to London—left family behind in Stratford to make his way in the London theater scene
By 1592—well established in the theater as both actor and playwright

9. Career
Started writing plays by 1588, seven of them in production by 1592
Became famous in 1593
published Venus and Adonis,
An erotic narrative poem
By 1594—charter member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (acting company that later became The King’s Men); included
Richard Burbage, great tragic actor
Will Kempe, popular clown (comic actor and dancer)

10. Writings Poems Plays (37 in full) Narrative (early in career) Sonnets
Venus and Adonis
Rape of Lucrece
Sonnets
154
Published in 1609
Plays (37 in full)
Histories
Comedies
Tragedies
Romances (fantastical elements)

11. Prosperity
Applied to Heralds’ College for a family Coat of Arms in 1596
Signify high social standing
Father had already applied and been turned down once??
Bought New Place
Grand house in Stratford
Beautiful gardens

12. New Place

13. Timeline (contd.) 1603: Elizabeth I died
James VI of Scotland (her nephew) becomes James I of England, Scotland, and Ireland
Took over patronage of Shakespeare’s company, and they become The King’s Men
: Most of his greatest plays written—
Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Anthony & Cleopatra, et al.
1608: obtains Blackfriars Theater (next slide)
1609: Sonnets published
1613: Globe burns down
Performance of Henry VIII
Rebuilt in 1614

14. The Blackfriars 1608: The King’s Men obtain the BlackFriars Theater
roofed/indoor theater
winter home for King’s Men performances

15. Retirement ~1611: retired to Stratford March 1616: wrote his will
April 23, 1616: died
Buried in Holy Trinity Church

17. The First Folio

18. The First Folio
In 1623 (7 years after his death), two friends/members of his company collect and publish 36 of Shakespeare’s plays in a large Folio edition
John Heminge & Henry Condell
Included tribute by friendly rival Ben Jonson:
"To the Memory of My Beloved the Author, Mr. William Shakespeare and What He Hath Left Us“
“He was not of an age, but for all time!”