SHAKESPEARE S LIFE. Birth & Childhood Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, allegedly on April 23, 1564 a retro fit

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1 SHAKESPEARE S LIFE For all his fame, Shakespeare remains a mysterious figure Helpful to distinguish between facts, inferences, and legends Info. comes from just two primary sources: 1. his works 2. various surviving legal and church documents Birth & Childhood Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, allegedly on April 23, 1564 a retro fit (Shakespeare s birthplace) Baby Willy narrowly escaped plague ravaging London and surrounding townships Holy Trinity Church records indicate that he was baptized there on April 26, 1564

2 (Holy Trinity Church baptism/christening record) Born of: John Shakespeare, a glover and leather merchant later alderman and high bailiff Well-off, but fortunes declined in the late 1570s Mary Arden, a landed local heiress of 50-acre estate of her father, Robert, who died in 1556 William was the 3 rd of 8 children in the Shakespeare household 3 of whom died in childhood (Shakespeare s birth bed) Education Lots of conjecture about Shakespeare s childhood years, especially regarding his education Probably attended the free grammar school in Stratford, which rivaled/excelled Eton (Shakespeare s apparent knowledge of Latin and classical Greek supports this)

3 (Shakespeare s grammar schoolroom) John Shakespeare, as a Stratford official, would have been granted a tuition waiver for his son William s favorite work: Ovid s Metamorphoses; influenced also by Seneca and Plautus No idea how long William attended school, but literary quality of his work suggests a solid education Never proceeded to university schooling fostered some of the debate concerning the authorship of his works Marriage & Children Marriage to Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582 (Wrong Anne Hathaway) William was 18 at the time, and Anne was 26 and pregnant Their first daughter, Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583 The couple later had twins, Hamnet and Judith, born February 2, 1585 Hamnet dies in childhood at the age of 11, on August 11, 1596

4 (Anne Hathaway s cottage) The Lost Years ( ) For 7 years following the birth of his twins, Shakespeare disappears from all records Finally turns up again in London sometime in 1592 (perhaps as early as 1588) Early biographer noted that young Shakespeare was fond of poaching, and may have had to flee Stratford after an incident with Sir Thomas Lucy, whose deer and rabbits he allegedly poached It s rumored that Shakespeare worked as an assistant schoolmaster in Lancashire for a time

5 Career Highlights Shakespeare arrived in London around and began to establish himself as an actor/ playwright Evidently garnered envy for his talent: Robert Greene, a London playwright, called him an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers in 1592 By 1594, he was not only acting and writing for the Lord Chamberlain s Men (called the King s Men after the ascension of James I in 1603), but was a managing partner in the operation as well With Will Kempe, a master comedian, and Richard Burbage, a leading tragedian, the Lord Chamberlain s Men became a favorite London troupe, patronized by royalty: (Queen Liz) (King Jim) Shakespeare had some plays published and sold in octavo editions, or penny-copies to the more literate of his audiences Never before had a playwright enjoyed sufficient acclaim to see his works published and sold as popular literature in the midst of his career In addition, Shakespeare s ownership share in both the theatrical company and the Globe itself made him as much an entrepreneur as artist Granted coat of arms in 1596

6 Retirement & Death Shakespeare s success allowed him to purchase New Place and retire in comfort to Stratford in 1611 New Place was the second-largest house in his town; it was a mansion with 3 stories, 2 barns, 2 orchards, and 10 fireplaces

7 (In 1759, Reverend Francis Gastrell, after becoming tired of the constant visitors to the house, destroyed a mulberry tree in the garden which was reported to have been planted by Shakespeare himself. In retaliation, the townsfolk destroyed New Place s windows. Gastrell then razed the house to the ground, destroying all that remained. Gastrell was driven out of Stratford by murderous citizens, and anyone of the same name was banned from living in Stratford forever.) William Shakespeare wrote his will in 1611, bequeathing his properties to his daughter Susanna (who married Dr. John Hall in 1607) To his surviving daughter Judith, he left 300, and to his wife Anne left his second best bed Shakespeare was unhappy with Judith s marriage and especially disliked Thomas Quiney, her hubby, who had confessed to impregnating another woman.

8 Shakespeare allegedly died on his birthday, April 23, 1616 after entertaining some friends, including Ben Jonson (it is said that Shakespeare contracted a fever after a drinking binge) He was interred at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford on April 25 There are no direct descendants of the poet alive today

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10 (A bust of Shakespeare was made in 1623 by Gerard Jansen and can be seen in Trinity Church; it is said to be a good likeness of him because his wife was still alive at the time) Post-Mortem In 1623, two working companions of Shakespeare from the Lord Chamberlain s Men, John

11 Heminges and Henry Condell, printed the First Folio edition of his collected plays, of which 18 were previously unpublished Shakespeare s Likeness

12 (The Grafton Portrait, 1588) (The Sanders Portrait, ca. 1595)

13 (The Chandos Portrait, ca. 1610) (The Janssen Portrait, ca. 1610)

14 (The Droeshout Portrait, ca. 1623) (The Soest Portrait, ca. 1667)

15 (The Flower Portrait, ca ) (Richard Artlett s Shakspere )

16 (Picasso s Rendering)