Who Was Shakespeare?

The Man

William Shakespeare was supposedly born April 23, 1564 to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, a couple living in Stratford-upon-Avon.  John Shakespeare was a glover, successful leather merchant, alderman, and high bailiff of Stratford.  His mother, Mary Arden, was a land-owning local heiress.  The couple was relatively prosperous during William’s early life, but any wealth faded around 1570.

William was the third of eight children. Records from Holy Trinity Church prove that he was baptized at that church on April 26, 1564, three days after his alleged birth date.

Scholars believe that William attended a free grammar school in Stratford, as evidenced by his knowledge of both Latin and Classical Greek. Although they don’t know how long William was in school, these scholars are certain that he did not receive any university-level schooling.

William, 18, married 26 year old Anne Hathaway. Together, they had three children: a daughter named Susanna, and a set of twins named Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died when he was only 11 years old.

After making his way to London, William began to establish himself as an actor and playwright. By 1594 he had joined Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a troupe patronized by royals, and wrote/acted in many of their plays. Lord Chamberlain’s Men quickly became the most successful company of their time.

William sold his plays, showing an immense amount of success, and designed the Globe. He accumulated enough money to buy a new house and retire in Stratford in 1611.

The Myth

Not very much is known about William Shakespeare. (We don’t even know his real birthday.) There are substantial chunks of his life missing from historical records. For instance, there is a 7-year period of time, called the “Lost Years”, after the birth of his twins where Shakespeare virtually disappeared. Some speculate that Shakespeare had to do time for poaching rabbits and deer, while others suggest that he was an assistant schoolmaster in Lancashire. This period of time, among others (like his childhood and education), are scarcely known about.

All of this speculation has caused quite a bit of controversy. Uncertainty regarding his schooling, for example, has caused people to suspect that he may not have been capable of writing such great plays.

The Legend

Shakespeare’s legacy is huge. Consisting of at least 37 plays, Shakespeare’s body of work has lasted over 400 years, and is still alive today. It would be safe to say that almost every English speaker in the modern world knows at least one of Shakespeare’s plays, or at least Shakespeare is.

This being said, there is somewhat of a stigma to reading Shakespeare. They are all written in Old English, needless to say, so they are often very hard to understand and, more importantly, to interpret. Thus, when a student hears that they will be assigned a piece by Shakespeare, their initial reaction is to sigh with agony.

For me, reading Shakespeare is still a very daunting task. However, I don’t hate it as much as I thought I would. This school year, I have learned that there are several resources that can help me understand the text in a different way than I originally read it. I find it helpful to watch live-action renditions of the play after I have read through it to help me better visualize the play’s action. I usually have to read through the text twice to acquire a complete understanding of section, though.