1. An Introduction to Shakespeare
The Man, the Myth, the Legend

2. Shakey’s Father
S's father was an established Stratford glove maker and leather dresser who also dealt in other commodities such as wool and grain. He is first mentioned in records in 1552, when he was fined for keeping a dunghill in front of his house.

3. Shakey’s Mother
S's mother, Mary Arden, came from a prominent Catholic family, and gave birth to little Willie sometime before Apr 26, 1564, when William was christened.

4. Birth and Death
Since it is commonly accepted that children are christened three days after birth, this places his birth date and date of death on the same day, Apr 23 (but in different years, of course).

5. Stratford-Upon-Avon

6. Stratford Cathedral Site of Shakespeare’s grave. The headstone reads:
Good frend for Jesus sake forbeare,
To digg the dust encloased heare.
Blest be ye man yt spares thes stones,
And curst be he yt moves my bones.

7. Marriage – The First Mystery
Records show the marriage of Willelmum Shaxpere, in The groom was 18, bride, Anne Hathaway, 26.

8. Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
Note the extensive garden (English love them)
The thatch roof is made of straw, which is tightly bound to keep out water

9. Children
Evidence suggests that the marriage was hastily arranged - six months after the marriage, Susanna Shakespeare was christened, and two years later the twins Judith and Hamnet were born.

10. Early Life
There are no official records from 1585 to 1592, but some have speculated that S was anything from a moneylender to gardener to sailor to coachman to Franciscan monk.
Legend has it that it was due to a deer poaching incident that Shakespeare left Stratford and went to London.

11. Shakey in London
In London, we know that S was an actor before becoming a playwright, and continued to play in his own and the plays of others even after gaining notoriety.

12. Gaining Popularity
: Shakespeare's first plays, Henry VI, Titus Andronicus (a very bloody play), and The Comedy of Errors, are the hits of the London season. They bring the interest of royalty, the violence of blood, and laughter to the stage.

13. Lord Chamberlain’s Men
1594: The Lord Chamberlain's Men is formed, and for the next ten years it is London's premier acting company. S is a full member of the company, which he serves as both actor and playwright.
Lord Chamberlain provided the money to fund the acting company.

14. A Very Good Year (and Bad)
1596: S is granted a coat of arms (once denied his father), which allows he and his son to write "Gentleman" after their names.
Also in this year, S's son Hamnet, sole male heir of the Shakespeare line, dies.

15. Success!
1599: S is made a principal in the Globe Theater, establishing him as a successful businessman.
: S's greatest period, during which he writes Twelfth Night, Troilus and Cressida, Hamlet, Othello, Julius Ceasar, Measure for Measure, King Lear, Macbeth, Coriolanus, and Antony and Cleopatra.

16. Time to Exit
Around 1610: S permanently leaves the London stage and retires to his home in Stratford, where he is an important member of the local gentry.

17. Death Becomes Him
1616: S dies (some say he was murdered, others that he died from fever caught after a night of heavy drinking, still others suggest it was congestion caused by a strenuous day of shooting - the truth is not known) and leaves his "second best bed" to his wife, sparking controversy over his sexual orientation and quality of his spouse.