We don't know when Shakespeare was born; but we do know he was baptized on April 26, 1564
During his career, he composed 40 plays and over 150 sonnets. He was born in the English town of Stratford upon Avon, in the county of Warwickshire.
His works are still staged today. He is frequently cited in contemporary literature. By 1594, he held the membership of the Chamberlain's Men performing company. His plays fall under several categories or genres.
There are comedies, tragedies, and history. These plays are some of the most well-known works of English literature, and they are taught in schools all around the globe.
Shakespeare's works were written between 1590-1613. Shakespeare is credited with introducing new terms and phrases to the English language as well as popularising some of them. He invented over 1,700 English terms.
How many children did William Shakespeare have?
Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a farmer, in 1582. William Shakespeare and his wife welcomed three children.
Hathaway was 26 years of age, and Shakespeare was 18 years of age on November 28, 1582, when they got married. When William Shakespeare lived in London, he abandoned Anne and the kids in Henley Street with the Shakespeare family.
The couple's first child, Susanna, was born barely six months after Hathaway and Shakespeare married. Susanna was baptized on May 26, 1583. In January 1585, the Shakespeares had twins called Judith and Hamnet. The twins were named after two of Shakespeare's closest friends: Hamnet Sadler, a Stratford baker, and his spouse, Judith Sadler.
Unfortunately, Shakespeare's lone son, Hamnet Shakespeare, died in August 1596, when he was barely 11 years old.None of Shakespeare's children have direct descendants today because his four grandchildren all died without heirs.
On May 26, 1583, Susanna Shakespeare was baptized at Stratford Parish Church. The twins, Hamnet and Judith Shakespeare, were born two years later, around 1585. On February 2nd, 1585, Judith and Hamnet Shakespeare were baptized in Stratford Parish Church.
Many writers began to claim that the works referred to as 'Shakespeare' were not actually authored by William Shakespeare about 150 years after his death. They said that for a variety of reasons.
For example, the author of 'Shakespeare' was well-versed with the knowledge of various nations (particularly Italy and France), although William Shakespeare never traveled outside England. In addition, Edward de Vere, Christopher Marlowe, and Francis Bacon, the 17th Earl of Oxford, have all been proposed as probable authors who wrote for 'Shakespeare'.
Nevertheless, the works that carry Shakespeare's identity are widely believed to have been written by him only.
How many wives did William Shakespeare have?
There was only one wife for William Shakespeare, Anne Hathaway was her name. Shakespeare was born in the Tudor period of England in Stratford-upon-Avon. John Shakespeare, a well-to-do leatherworker and glove-maker, and his spouse, Mary Arden, an heiress of a rich family, had eight children.
William Shakespeare's early years are mostly unknown. In fact, his exact date of birth is still unknown to this day! However, it is assumed that he had a decent childhood, went to a good school, and spent a lot of time playing outside.
The majority of Shakespeare's poetry is sonnets. However, no one knows for sure since some of his writing may have been destroyed over time and others have been claimed to be done with the assistance of others.
William Shakespeare's son
Shakespeare and his wife had three kids. Only one of Shakespeare's children was a boy. He was named Hamnet Shakespeare, who sadly died in 1596.
Shakespeare penned Hamlet four years later, often regarded as his best work. Hamnet Shakespeare is a character about whom nothing is known. He was most likely reared by his mother Anne at his grandfather's Henley Street home.
Shakespeare's plays became instantly popular. He authored a variety of dramas, all of which fall into one of three categories: Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet are all tragedies. The Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night are two examples of comedies.
Henry V, Henry IV, and Richard III are all mentioned in history. A curse written by Shakespeare himself is carved on his tombstone in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon.
William Shakespeare's daughter
William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway had two daughters, Susanna Shakespeare (later Hall) and Judith Shakespeare. Susanna married Dr. John Hall, a rich and well-known Stratford physician, on June 5, 1607.
Shakespeare must have been overjoyed by Susanna's wedding to John Hall, for he named John and Susanna as administrators of his testament. After the wedding, Susanna moved into Hall's Manor, John Hall's family house, and gave birth to a baby girl called Elizabeth Hall, Shakespeare's first grandchild, on February 21, 1608.
Susanna Hall received the majority of William Shakespeare's estate following his death around 1616, and she and John moved from Hall's Croft to New Place, which had previously been William Shakespeare's house. Susanna supervised the business of her mother from New Place.
Dr. John Hall died unexpectedly in 1635 and was interred at Holy Trinity Church. Susanna perished in 1649, at the age of 66, knowing that her only daughter Elizabeth had established a successful life for herself.
Judith, Shakespeare's other daughter, seems to have lived a less honorable life than Susanna. In February 1616, Judith wedded Thomas Quiney, a winemaker, causing Shakespeare embarrassment. The couple was divorced a month later because Thomas Quiney did not get the appropriate authorization for a wedding in Lent.
In addition to this rocky start in marriage, Thomas Quiney was later charged with 'carnal copulation' with Margaret Wheeler, a local lady who had perished, along with her infant, at the hands of Quiney. Quiney was condemned to public penance after admitting to the crime.
His sentence was eventually reduced to a minor fine and personal penance. After revising his will to safeguard Judith's fortune from Quiney, Shakespeare died a few weeks later.
Shakespeare, Thomas, and Richard Quiney were the three children born to Thomas and Judith Quiney. Thomas and Richard died within weeks of one other and were interred in 1639. Shakespeare Quiney died at birth and was cremated in 1617.
Did You Know...
Richard Burbage, Henry Condell, William Kempe, and John Heminges were among Shakespeare's company's performers. In the earliest performances of several of Shakespeare's plays, Burbage performed the principal part.
It is unclear which companies Shakespeare's earliest plays were composed for. The title of 'Titus Andronicus', published in 1594, shows that three distinct troupes performed the play. 'Henry V' was one of Shakespeare's earliest plays. Some of the expressions Shakespeare used in his plays are still used today.
Shakespeare is frequently referred to as 'The Bard of Avon'. As few people in Shakespeare's day could write or read, the Globe Theatre used different colored flags to indicate when a play would be played and what type of play it would be.
