William Shakespeare Research Paper

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Just about everyone knows who William Shakespeare is, correct? Most everyone who’s been through high school has had to read and dissect Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet. But although everyone knows of Shakespeare, how much do any of us really know anything about him? William Shakespeare was born in Stratford on or around April 23, 1564, although we can’t be sure as there were no official birth records at that time. He was the third born child of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, following two sisters Joan and Judith, and preceding three brothers Gilbert, Richard, and Edmund. (A&E Networks) Around the age of six or seven, he entered the local grammar school - a good school for its day, although it allowed only boys. He graduated at the age …show more content…

Shakespeare composed his sonnets between 1593 and 1601, although they weren’t published until 1609. This publication, The Sonnets of Shakespeare, consisted of 154 poems. The first section, 1-126, were addressed to a beloved friend while the last section, 127-154, were addressed to a malicious yet fascinating “Dark Lady” whom he loves in spite of himself. (Academy of American Poets) Almost all of Shakespeare's sonnets examine the “inevitable decay of time, and the immortalization of beauty and love in poetry.” (Academy of American …show more content…

Some of his invented words, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, include arch-villain, birthplace, bloodsucking, courtship, dewdrop, downstairs, fanged, heartsore, hunchbacked, leapfrog, misquote, pageantry, radiance, schoolboy, stillborn, watchdog, and zany. (Academy of American Poets) Sometime around 1612, Shakespeare retired from the stage and returned to his home in Stratford. Although his son had died, Shakespeare was content back in the countryside as he was with his family-a family that had recently grown with a new child from each of his daughters. Shakespeare eventually died from a fever on April 23, 1616, thus ending the life of one of the greatest playwrights that history has ever seen. (Schoenbaum, S. pg. 281) All in all, William Shakespeare was a fantastic playwright who surprised everyone by making a name for himself even though he came from a poor family and did not receive a college education. With almost 40 published plays and over 150 published sonnets, Shakespeare certainly did a wonderful job of making himself known and also using his fortune to help his family. He was overall a great and memorable part of

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