William Shakespeare is perhaps the most important of all the writers in the English language. He is thought by most to be the greatest playwright of all time, yet we know so very little about the man.  His works provide us with an insight into late 16th and early 17th Century society. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire and was baptised a few days later on the 26th of April 1564. His father was a glove maker and his mother the daughter of a wealthy landowner, so it’s likely that William was educated at Stratford’s grammar school. When he was 18 he married Anne... Show more

William Shakespeare is perhaps the most important of all the writers in the English language. He is thought by most to be the greatest playwright of all time, yet we know so very little about the man.  His works provide us with an insight into late 16th and early 17th Century society.

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire and was baptised a few days later on the 26th of April 1564. His father was a glove maker and his mother the daughter of a wealthy landowner, so it’s likely that William was educated at Stratford’s grammar school. When he was 18 he married Anne Hathaway, a farmer’s daughter. She was eight years older than him and their first child, Susanna, was born six months after their wedding. Two years later, the couple had twins, Hamnet and Judith. The next we hear of Shakespeare is in 1592 when he appears in London.

William Shakespeare sought his fortune in London, leaving his family in Stratford, and began working in the theatre. He became well known as an actor and playwright and was also one of the managing partners of the Lord Chamberlain's Company, whose actors included the famous Richard Burbage and whose theatres included the Globe and the Blackfriars. A critic at the time called Shakespeare an “upstart Crow”. William Shakespeare was clearly becoming a household name.

By the end of the 16th Century Shakespeare was a well-established poet and playwright. He even performed some of his plays before Queen Elizabeth I. In 1602 his continuing success allowed him to move to Silver Street, where he wrote Hamlet and Macbeth. Shakespeare spent the last five years of his life in Stratford where he died on the 23rd of April 1616 at the age of 52.

Shakespeare’s first poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, were published in 1593 and 1594 and it is thought that he wrote most of his sonnets around the same time. His first plays appear in 1594 with such well known titles as A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice and Romeo and Juliet soon becoming hits. His success brought wealth and in 1597 he bought New Place, a large house in Stratford.

From his villainous version of Richard III to the star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s creations have endured in his readers’ minds for 100s of years.

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