About the Author: The Life of William Shakespeare

Shakespeare was born on the 23rd of April 1564.

THE TIME

. The population across Europe was rather low at this time due to the persistence of the plague

. The population of England was a meagre 3-5 million

. The most obvious change in England was the conversion from Catholicism to Protestantism.

. Stratford had a population of 2000, and sat a 2 day walk from West London

MEET THE SHAKESPEARES

. John Shakespeare (Williams's father) rose steadily in social ranks, from ale taster he became a constable, an affeerer, a burgess, a chamberlain, an alderman and eventually the high bailiff (more-or-less a mayoral role).

. As the high bailiff, one of John's many duties was to approve funds for visiting troupes. As Stratford played host to many troupes it is reasonable to assume that Shakespeare was influenced by this exposure to performance and theatre.

. William married at the age of 18. By the time he was 24 he had already fathered 3 children;
. A daughter, Susanna - May 1583
. The twins, Hamnet and Judith - February 1585

Hamnet died at the age of 11

LONDON

. Shakespeare academics aren't entirely decided on the precise date of William's arrival in London.
The best guess is somewhere between 1585 and 1592, in which time William managed to leave his family and establish himself as a playwright.

. Life expectancy in London was below 35, while in poorer areas it could be as low as 25.
London was clearly a youthful place

. Westminster was a separate city, while Chelsea, Hampstead and Hammersmith were distinct seperate villages

.The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 empowered England and spawned a new age of national patriotism

. Public entertainment was quite varied, as Bryson eloquently describes;
'That an audience could be moved to tears one day by a performance of 'Doctor Faustus' and could return the next to the same space and be just as entertained by the frantic deaths of helpless animals may say as much about the age as any single statement could'

THEATRE

. Plays were performed at about 2pm

. Fanfares of trumpets announced their imminence.

. General admission was one penny,
 for those who wished to sit, two pence
 for those who wised to sit upon a cushion, three pence
 (a days wage was about 12 pence)

. Money was dropped into a box, which was taken to a safe room… the Box Office

. There were no toilets

. Realistic gore was produced using the entrails of pigs or sheep

. William was a playwright, actor, part owner and de facto director of the Lord Chamberlain's Men

. William often copied dialogue and plots from existing material, however this was common practise

. One of the few rules his plays complies to is the 'law of re-entry', which commands that no character may leave one scene to appear in the next

. Of course William was not a the perfect writer as Stanley Wells describes;
 'Shakespeare was capable of prolixity, unnecessary obscurity, awkwardness of expression, pedestrian versifying and verbal inelegance…. Even in his greatest plays we sometimes sense him struggling with plot at the expense of language, or allowing him pen to run away with him in speeches of greater length  than the situation warrants'

. In  1603, Quenn Elizabeth I and was succeeded by James I, who promptly named William's company 'The King's Men' and gave them royal patronage

. In 1607-8, William's brother Edmund died, shortly followed by their mother

. In 1609, William's Sonnets were published, and where decidedly revealing
 For example, the famous 'Sonnet 18' actually addresses a man

. This led to later editors changing all masculine pronouns to feminine

DEATH

. There were 5 witnesses to the will (an unusually large amount)

Highlights are as follows:
 He left £350, 4 houses and their contents
 £20 and the family home was given to his sister with an additional £5 for each of her children
 His second best bed was given to his widow, although she did automatically inherit a third of the estate
 £10 was given to the poor of Stratford

. Heminges and Condell, the last of the orginal Chamberlain's Men released the First Folio in 1623, the full title was: 'Mr William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories and Tragadies'

. His daughter Susanna died in 1649, followed by Judith in 1662 at the age of 27.

. The theatres were shut down by the Puritan movement in 1642

. Subsequent doubters of Williams identity arose much later and generally involves 'manipulative scholarship and sweeping misstatements of fact

QUOTES

Obviously, William Shakespeare is one of the most quotable authors of all time. Here are a few of my own favourites:

. 'Brevity is the soul of wit'

. 'It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves

. 'It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury. Signifying nothing'

. 'I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it'

. 'Honesty is the best policy'

. 'All the worlds a stage'

. 'It's Greek to me'

. 'Better a witty fool than a foolish wit'

. 'Fair is foul and foul is fair'

. 'I have of late (wherefore I know not) lost all my mirth) forgone all custom exercises; and indeed, it goes with my disposition; that this goodley frame that Earth, seems to me a sterile promontory; this most excellent canopy the air, look you, this brave o'er hanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire; why, it appeareth no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours. What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god!