William Shakespeare Research Paper

Shakespeare’s existence continues to be one of the greatest mysteries of English literature, and it all began with the day that he was born. Most scholars, however, were able to come to the consensus that William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Unfortunately, a vast majority of the information regarding Shakespeare remains only as a supposition. Even the Shakespearean Folios and quartos which exist today are alike in much the same way; although a small percentage of those pieces may come close, almost none of them replicate Shakespeare’s original works exactly. People dedicate their entire lives in a search for what would appear to most as a trifling fact, simply to be remembered as a contributor to the pool of

Some believe that Shakespeare fell to a Staph infection and had severe boils. Others concluded that he may have been crippled because of a reference made to lameness in one of his sonnets. In fact, it is impossible to know whether or not either of these presumptions is true. Moreover, there is only one likely candidate for an accurate depiction of William Shakespeare’s appearance. It is a life-size statue that has been painted, repainted, and whitewashed to the point of having no actual resemblance to the time of its initial construction. There are two other paintings, though not done very well, that remain of Shakespeare; those pieces also aide in the reoccurring theme of his life—easily identifiable as Shakespeare, but possibly not resembling his true self in the

In fact, most people acknowledge Shakespeare’s first year as a playwright as 1590. At this point in time, England experienced unemployment, poverty, starvation, and plague ran rampant. On a more personal level, Shakespeare’s own son Hamnet died in 1596. Contrarily, Shakespeare’s work was not reflecting the misery that nearly everyone must have felt; in fact, some of his happiest plays were soon to follow. At this point in time, Shakespeare was already a member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a troupe that was established in 1594 and continued to employ Shakespeare for the remainder of his career.

William Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616. The state of his relationship with his wife, Anne Hathaway, is a highly debated topic among scholars. Her mention in his will appeared almost as an afterthought. Between the lines of the will Shakespeare wrote that Anne was to be left the second-best bed in their house. Of course the businesslike manner in which Shakespeare executed the writing of his will is a disappointment; he is, after all, a legend known for his ability to capture an emotion in writing with such profound detail that it feels more natural than the feeling