William Shakespeare (1564-1616)



Dramatist and poet, born at Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, on 22nd or 23rd, and baptised on 26th April, 1564. He was educated with his brother Gilbert at Stratford Grammar School, where he learned Latin from Lilly's Grammar, English, writing, and arithmetic.
The next certain fact in his history is his marriage in November, 1582, when he was 18, to Ann Hathaway, daughter of a yeoman at the neighbouring hamlet of Shottery, and 8 years his senior. The birth, in May, 1583, of his eldest child Susannah (who is said to have inherited something of his wit and practical ability, and who married a Dr. John Hall), followed in the next year by that of twins, Hamnet and Judith, and the necessity of increased means, led to his departure from Stratford, whence he travelled on foot to London, where the next 23 years of his life were mainly spent.
It was not long before he had opportunities of showing his capacities as an actor, with the result that he shortly became a member of one of the chief acting companies of the day, which was then under the patronage of the Earl of Leicester, and after being associated with the names of various other noblemen, at last on the accession of James I. became known as the King's Company.
By 1595 Shakespeare was famous and prosperous; his earlier plays had been written and acted, and his poems Venus and Adonis, and Lucrece, and probably most of the sonnets, had been published and received with extraordinary favour.
He had also powerful friends and patrons, including the Earl of Southampton, and was known at Court. He had also resumed a close connection with Stratford, and was making the restoration of the family position there the object of his ambition. In accordance with this he induced his flourished to apply for a grant of arms, which was given, and he purchased New Place, the largest house in the village. He had enjoyed the favour of Elizabeth, and her death in 1603 did nothing to disturb his fortunes, as he stood quite as well with her successor.
His company received the title of the "King's Servants," and his plays were frequently performed before the Court. But notwithstanding this, the clouds had gathered over his life. The conspiracy of Essex in 1601 had involved several of his friends and patrons in disaster; he had himself been entangled in the unhappy love affair which is supposed to be referred to in some of his sonnets, and he had suffered unkindness at the hands of a friend.

links:  - Shakespeare's Life and Times  - Shakespeare Resource Center  - The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust