WILLIAM

SHAKESPEARE
 THE LIFE OF
WILLIAM
SHAKESPEARE
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-
upon-Avon, a small country town.

He was the son of John Shakespeare, a

successful glover and alderman from
Snitterfield, and of Mary Arden
They lived on Henley Street, having married
around 1557. The date of his birth is not known,
but his baptismal record was dated 26 April
1564.
 Shakespeare's parents
had eight children:

Joan ,Margaret,William,
Gilbert, Joan, Anne, Richard
and Edmund
SHAKESPEARE PROBABLY ATTENDED KING
EDWARD VI GRAMMAR SCHOOL IN
STRATFORD FROM THE AGE OF SEVEN.
ON 29 NOVEMBER 1582 AT TEMPLE
GRAFTON NEAR STRATFORD, THE 18-YEAR-
OLD SHAKESPEARE MARRIED ANNE
HATHAWAY, WHO WAS 26.

Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 and was survived by his wife and
two daughters. Susanna had married a physician, John Hall, in 1607,
and Judith had married Thomas Quiney, a vintner, two months before
Shakespeares death.
 SHAKESPEARE WAS BURIED IN THE
C H A N C E L O F T H E H O LY T R I N I T Y
C H U RC H T WO DAY S A F T E R H I S D E A T H .
 The first evidence to Shakespeare as a
London playwright came in 1592
The stage where he performed most of his
plays was the Globe Theatre.
Shakespeare's literary work may be divided
into several periods. The plays are dated
according to the theatrical season in which
they were first staged. Shakespeare wrote
37 plays, and they fall into 4 periods.
 Shakespeares first period was one of experimentation.
Chronicle history plays were a popular genre of the
time, and four plays dramatizing the English civil strife
of the 15th century are possibly Shakespeares earliest
dramatic works.
These plays, Henry VI, Parts I, II, and III and Richard III,
deal with evil resulting from weak leadership and from
national disunity fostered for selfish ends.
The four-play cycle closes with the death of Richard III
and the ascent to the throne of Henry VII, the founder of
the Tudor dynasty, to which Elizabeth belonged.
 Shakespeares second period includes his
most important plays concerned with
English history, his so-called joyous
comedies, and two of his major tragedies.
In this period, his style and approach
became highly individualized. The second-
period historical plays include Richard II,
Henry IV, Parts I and II, and Henry V.
 The 3rd period is marked by Shakespeare's
great tragedies that were the peak of his
achievement and made him truly immortal.
Shakespeares third period includes his
greatest tragedies and his so-called dark or
bitter comedies.
 The fourth period of Shakespeares work
includes his principal romantic
tragicomedies.
Toward the end of his career, Shakespeare
created several plays that, through the
intervention of magic, art, compassion, or
grace, often suggest redemptive hope for
the human condition.
 Shakespeare is widely considered the worlds
greatest dramatist.
He wrote 38 play and 154 sonnets
The first publishing of Shakespeares works is the
First Folio published in 1623.
Shakespeare acted in many of his plays.
Shakespeare was acquainted with Queen
Elizabeth I.
After the death of Queen Elizabeth I,
Shakespeares company was awarded a royal
patent by the new King James I and changed its
name to the Kings Men.
Shakespeare is often referred to as Elizabethan
playwright, but most of his players were written
in the Jacobean period.
 In his will, he appeared to only give his wife (Anne) a bed.
Shakespeares grave includes a curse against moving his bones.