William Shakespeare’s work is known throughout the world and has been performed in countless hamlets, villages, cities and metropolises for more than 400 years. And yet, the personal history of William Shakespeare is somewhat a mystery. There are two main sources that provide us with a basic outline of his life. One source is through the plays, poems and sonnets he wrote, and the other source is from official documents, such as church and court records. But these sources can give only so much, they only tell us about specific events that happened that happened in his life, not much about the person experiencing them. William Shakespeare was a successful poet and playwright during the Elizabethan era, and became the most popular dramatist of his age.
Even though there are no known birth records for William Shakespeare, there are records of a baptizing that indicate he was born on or near April 23, 1564. (--) Shakespeares parents, John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, had five other children, Joan and Judith his two older sisters, and Gilbert, Richard and Edmund, his three younger brothers. John Shakespeare was a leather merchant and Mary arden was a local land heiress. Shakespeare’s father, John Shakespeare became a successful merchant and held official positions as alderman and bailiff, which is kind of like the mayor, before William was born. However in the late 1570's , John's wealth decreased.(--)
There are very few records of Williams childhood that exist, and barely any about his education. Scholars suspect he attended the King's New School, in Stratford, where he was most likely thought reading, writing and the classics. He would have most likely been qualified for free tuition due to the fact that he was the ...
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... they were no longer close. Still, there is barely any evidence that they had a difficult marriage, so it makes it hard to believe that theory. Some scholars observe that the term " second-best bed" refers to the marital bed, and the "first-best bed' refers to a bed used for guests.
Questions rose about the true authorship of Shakespeare's plays 105 years after he died. Literary critics and scholars began to suggest names like Christopher Marlowe, Edward de Vere and Francis Bacon:they were men that had a more known background; as the real authors of the plays. These ideas came from the fact that there isnt a lot of information about Shakespeare's life and due to the death of contemporary primary sources. Records from the Holy Trinity Church and Stratford government show that there was a William Shakespeare but none of them show he was playwright or an actor.
Abstract: The debate over the legitimacy of the authorship of Shakespearean works has been disputed for centuries. While many scholars have held beliefs that Shakespeare's works have been written by figures such as Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, William Stanley, and others, the most heated debate today is between William Shakespeare and Edward DeVere, the Earl of Oxford. Each side of this debate has many followers, the Stratfordians, or those who claim Shakespeare to be the true author, and the Oxfordians who believe that true credit should go to DeVere. My paper, far from being a complete analysis of the possibilities of Shakespearean authorship, attempts to summarize and rationalize the arguments of these two groups. It would be impossible to include all arguments and evidence in a paper such as this. Full books have been written on aspects of the debate I will not even mention, or may just barely touch on. Hopefully after reading this paper, however, you will have a little better understanding of the debate of authorship. As I am not in any respect a scholar on the subject I shall not attempt to make a conclusion as to which of these men is the author, but rather to inform and explain the many arguments on both sides of this debate in the hopes that the reader can learn a little more about the ongoing debate and form an opinion of his or her own.
Although William Shakespeare is considered to be one of the most revered and well-renowned authors of all time, controversy surrounds the belief that he actually produced his own literary works. Some rumors even go so far as to question the reality of such a one, William Shakespeare, brought on by paralleling the quality of his pieces with his personal background and education. With such farfetched allegations, it persuaded others to peek into the person we all are taught to learn as “Shakespeare”, but who is actually the person behind these genius works of literary promise and enlightenment? To some, Shakespeare is as much accredited to his works as frequently as you see his name placed. To others, Shakespeare is a complex enigma into which we the people are supposed to unravel; the true author behind a falsely-given pseudonym. The debate pertaining to the true authorship of William Shakespeare’s works are still questioned in today’s society.
Recome, Robert. "Re: Biography: Shakespeare." Online posting. 6 July 1999. shak-L. Shaksper: The Global Electronic Conference. 27 June 1999. http://www.arts.ubc.ca/english/iemls/shak/shak-L.html
Most biographies written about William Shakespeare attempt to explain his life chronologically from birth to death. These accounts aim to describe his life through discussing his works and accomplishments. The problem with this pattern is that there are only so many ways humans can rewrite the same facts about the same person. Contrary to most papers about Shakespeare, the essay titled “What Was He Really Like?”, written by Stanley Wells, focuses internally on who Shakespeare was as an ordinary person. Instead of discussing when Shakespeare got married or explaining his life in relation to his works, Wells delves into the personality of the famous playwright. Stanley Wells encourages the reader of “What Was He Really Like?” to look at William Shakespeare in a new light.
From baptism records, we know William's father was a John Shakespeare, said to be a town official of Stratford and a local businessman who dabbled in tanning, leatherwork and whittawering which is working with white leather to make items like purses and gloves. John also dealt in grain and sometimes was described as a glover by trade.
Shakespeare has created stories that are so powerful, emotional, comedic, tragic and romantic that they are still continuously remembered and studied in the modern era. Though the essence of his talents does not lie in the simple themes behind his plays, but more so in
William Shakespeare has become landmark in English literature. One must be familiar with the early days of English literature in order to comprehend the foundation of much of more modern literature’s basis. Shakespeare’s modern influence is still seen clearly in many ways. The success of Shakespeare’s works helped to set the example for the development of modern dramas and plays. He is also acknowledged for being one of the first writers to use any modern prose in his writings.
Through comedy and tragedy Shakespeare reveals the vast expanses and profound depths of the character of life. For him they are not separate worlds of drama and romance, but poles of a continuum. The distinction between tragedy and comedy is called in question when we turn to Shakespeare. Though the characters differ in stature and power, and the events vary in weight and significance, the movements of life in all Shakespeare's plays are governed by the same universal principles which move events in our own lives. Through myriad images Shakespeare portrays not only the character of man and society but the character of life itself.
Since the four centuries that have passed since Shakespeare’s times, several theories have been developed which claim that others may be the legitimate authors of his works. The playwrights usually focused on are Francis Bacon, Edward de Vere, William Stanley, Roger Manners and Christopher Marlowe. Other theories support the fact that perhaps sev...
Shakespeare’s works were collected and printed in various editions in the century following his death, and by the early eighteenth century his reputation as the greatest poet ever to write in English was well established. The unprecedented admiration garnered by his works led to a fierce curiosity about Shakespeare’s life, but the dearth of biographical information has left many details of Shakespeare’s personal history shrouded in mystery. Some people have concluded from this fact and from Shakespeare’s modest education that Shakespeare’s plays were actually written by someone else—Francis Bacon and the Earl of Oxford are the two most popular -candidates—but the support for this claim is overwhelmingly circumstantial, and the theory is not taken seriously by many scholars.
Questions of Shakespeare’s authorship emerged because of the lack of evidence that William Shakespeare was the writer of the Shakespeare Canon. Shakespeare’s
One of the main reasons that Shakespeare plays are world renown is because they represent enduring symbols of life’s trials and tribulations in popular culture. His plays have been reinterpreted in many cultures throughout the world. His works were written on such basic human themes. The dialogs of works transferred into seamless plays and films. He created his stories from historical events and literary works while adding tales that holds the interests of his audience. Because of this student are encouraged to read his phenomenal works of English literature in order to comprehend the foundation of modern literary
William went to a junior school before going to the Grammar School when he was 7. There he learned how to speak and write Latin. No one knows what he did after he left school at the age of 14.
Mainly referred as the Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare was an exquisite English writer whose works have altered the course of European and World literature. Shakespeare’s works have influenced many writers and philosophers all around the world. Despite his influence, Shakespeare’s personal life and his role in the creations were questioned. How could a man, who seemed so simple, create such work that would affect the world of literature? This created a huge historical debate; but despite the controversy, Shakespeare still remains a figure of worldwide importance.