A characteristic writer and playwright of the Elizabethan period, William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in England in 1564. His father John Shakespeare started his career as a tanner but progressed through various roles and positions in life from a burgess (representative of a town) to a bailiff (equivalent to a Mayor). His mother Mary Arden was the daughter of a landowner and belonged to one of the most prominent families of Warwickshire.
Precise details about Shakespeare’s schooling and education are not known. He had little formal education, attended Stratford’s Grammar School but did not attend a university. Despite his lack of formal education, Shakespeare was well versed in classical learning. His voracious reading and his career as an actor exposed him to various kinds of literary and historical sources as base for his plays.
At the young age of eighteen, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway who was eight years older than him and carrying his child. They had three children- Susanna, Hamnet and Judith but only two of his daughters survived. While his family lived in Stratford, Shakespeare embarked on his career as an actor, writer and part-owner of Lord Chamberlain’s Men, an acting company in London. He gained financially from his career and invested much of his wealth in properties in Stratford, where he also retired during the end of his lifetime.
Shakespeare’s literary life can be divided into four main periods: Pre-1594 (King Richard III, The Comedy of Errors, etc.), 1594–1600 (King Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, etc.), 1601–1608 (Macbeth, King Lear, etc.) and Post-1608 (Cymbeline, The Tempest, etc.). Apart from 38 plays, he also wrote 154 sonnets. His first collection of works was published posthumously in 1623.
Poems
- The Seven Ages of Man by William Shakespeare
- The Quality of Mercy by William Shakespeare
- Shakespeare’s Sonnets
- Friends and Flatterers by William Shakespeare
- 25 Best William Shakespeare Sonnets
- Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind by William Shakespeare
Stories from Shakespeare
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
- All’s Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare
- As You Like It by William Shakespeare
- Cymbeline by William Shakespeare
- Hamlet by William Shakespeare
- King Lear by William Shakespeare
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
- Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare
- Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
- Othello by William Shakespeare
- Pericles, Prince of Tyre by William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
- The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
- The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
- The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
- The Tempest by William Shakespeare
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare
- The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare
- Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare
- Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
More on Shakespeare
- Short Biography of William Shakespeare
- 35 Best William Shakespeare Quotes
- Summary of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice
- 4 Types of Shakespeare’s Plays
- Summary of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest
- Summary of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth
- Summary of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
- Summary of Shakespeare’s The Seven Ages of Man
- Analysis of Shakespeare’s ‘The Seven Ages of Man’