Troubled Years

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Troubled Years

When William Shakespeare first started writing, He had problems with two fires that almost wiped out his house. He was forced to get married quickly.He had problems finding good actors, and later experienced writer's block. Even though Shakespeare was a great writer, he had many problems, which got in the way of his writing.

William and his family have had problems with fires and other disasters. In 1554, part of Stratford was burned down. Shakespeare's house was almost burnt down but because there was a creek near the house it was saved (Levi 145). In 1555 there was another fire, even though fires were common then many houses and buildings were burnt down, but his house was not harmed (Levi 145). When William was about twelve, his father's fortunes began to take a dive. Though the reason for this is debated, many think that John Shakespeare neglected his family business and was involved in many lawsuits. As a result of their debt, John had to transfer land and mortgage his wife's estate. By 1578, the family became so poor that they didn't have to pay the local taxes. William left school at thirteen to help on the farm (Quennell 133). When he was older and first started writing his plays, many people did not like them, because of this, he became very discouraged and almost stopped (Halliday 158). Once Shakespeare got started his performances nearly doubled. He had trouble keeping up on all the work and he could not write as much as he had before (Halliday 164).

Throughout Shakespeare's career, he had many problems with actors. When Shakespeare hit it big, he had to find a lot of good actors to fill in the parts of his plays. He had many problems finding enough actors that were good enough. Also, when he had to do plays like Romeo and Juliet, he had to find a young man who could play a 14-year-old girl.

This was very hard to do (Levi 148). When Shakespeare was known, he had almost no competition so he was able to not write as much and still be successful (Levi 144).

Sometimes the inns that the players were meant to stay at were full; the actors were forced to sleep outside and on dirty floors (Ordish 422). In January 1593, the plague forced many London theaters to close because of the fear that the disease would spread.

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