1. Shakespeare: His Life and Times
The Renaissance Period
Elizabethan Era
(Queen Elizabeth)
Adapted from

2. Early Life Born 1564—died 1616 In Stratford-upon-Avon
born around April 23,1564. We know this from the earliest record: his baptism which happened on Wednesday, April the 26th, 1564 Therefore, it is celebrated three days earlier.
In Stratford-upon-Avon
Parents: John and Mary Arden Shakespeare
Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner
John—glovemaker, local politician
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3. Location of Stratford-upon-Avon
As reproduced in William Rolfe, Shakespeare the Boy (1896).
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4. Education Probably attended King’s New School in Stratford
His school day was long and rigorous
Educated in:
-Rhetoric -Logic
-History -Latin
Shakespeare dropped out of ‘middle school’ when his father lost his fortune
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5. Married Life
Married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, who was pregnant at the time with their first daughter
Had twins in Hamnet & Judith
Hamnet died from the plague at age 11
Sometime between , he moved to London and began working in theatre.
The years are know as ‘The Lost Years’
No one know where he was, or what he was doing during those years

6. Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
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7. His Work 14 comedies 10 histories 10 tragedies 4 romances
He goes to London where he writes his first plays.
38 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare
14 comedies
10 histories
10 tragedies
4 romances
Possibly wrote three others
Collaborated on several others
154 sonnets (mostly written between 1596 and 1603)

8. His Work He is not only a playwright but an actor as well.
The theatres close down because of the plague in He writes book-length poems at this time called Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece
When the theaters reopen, he writes more plays and becomes a charter member of Lord Chamberlain’s Men

9. The Rebuilt Globe Theater, London

10. Shakespeare’s Major Works
The Comedy of Errors Henry VI (three parts) Richard III Titus Andronicus The Taming of the Shrew The Two Gentlemen of Verona "The Rape of Lucrece" "Sonnets" Love's Labor's Lost
Romeo and Juliet
Richard II A Midsummer Night's Dream King John "Venus and Adonis" The Merchant of Venice Henry IV (Part I) Henry IV (Part II) Much Ado About Nothing Henry V
1599 Julius Ceasar
As You Like It Twelfth Night
Hamlet The Merry Wives of Windsor "The Phoenix and the Turtle" Troilus and Cressida All's Well That Ends Well Othello Measure for Measure Timon of Athens
King Lear
Macbeth Antony and Cleopatra Coriolanus Pericles O - Cymbeline 161O-1I - The Winter's Tale 161I - The Tempest Henry VIII The Two Noble Kinsmen

11. In 1603, Queen Elizabeth dies and King James I becomes the new ruler of England. Lord Chamberlain’s Men are renamed to The King’s Men and Shakespeare writes tragedies.
In 1608, he moves back to Stratford.
Other events

12. He dies on April 23, 1616 his burial being recorded in the Stratford Holy Church Register two days later. He was 52.
Not exactly sure what he died from
History says he drank too much wine and ate too many pickled herrings
In his will, Shakespeare left money, horses, stables, etc. to his two sons-in-law
But only left his wife one thing- the “second-best bed”
Was he trying to make a point?
Shakespeare’s Death

13. Shakespeare is buried in Holy Trinity Church in his birth village of Stratford.
His grave is covered by a flat stone that bears an epitaph warning of a curse to come upon anyone who moves his bones.
His First Folio was published posthumously by two members of the King’s Men
Shakespeare’s Death