William Shakespeare Life And Accomplishments English Literature Essay

The famous “To be or not to be, and that is the question” written by famous poet and actor William Shakespeare. William was born on April 23, 1564. Living past adult hood was a great accomplishment along with everything else he produced or was a part of.

William Shakespeare came from two loving parts John and Mary. John was Snitterfield and went to Stratford a little before 1532. He was very hard working in the industry as glover and tanner of leather, and had a business of his own in which William helped in. During 1555 to 1556 John got married to Mary Arden. Mary came from a very wealthy background. The two were married in a church that the Arden’s owned in Aston Cantlow. John Passes away in 1601 shortly after being put in restrained on the town council. John was around 70 years of age when he passes. As for Mary she passes away seven years later in 1608 and was buried September 9th. Williams’ parents were married for a total of 44 years.

William was one out of seven children in his family. Joan Shakespeare was born September 1558. Unfortunately with the plague going on she passed away. Margret another sister was born in 1562, and passed away a year later. Gilbert was the fourth child born in 1566. He became a haberdasher or a dealer of men’s furnishings in London. Gilbert passed away on February 3, 1612 as a single man in Stratford. In 1597 another girl was born. John and Mary Shakespeare decided to give her the same name as the eldest who had past many years before. Joan had a little longer of a life being she lived to be 77 years old. She out lived all of the rest of the William Shakespeare siblings including him. She was married to William Hart. They had four kids and only two made it. The son of William Hart followed in the same path as William Shakespeare and became an actor, performer with the kinsmen. The fourth daughter was Anne who was born 1571, when William was seven years old. She made it to the age of eight. She had an over the top funeral due to John and Mary’s feeling of burden and was buried April 14, 1579. After Anne came Richard who was born in 1574. Along with Gilbert he passed away single and was buried February fourth, 1613, he passed away one year and one day after his brother Gilbert as well. Last but not least was Edmund who was born in 1580. Edmund join in acting. He passed away in 1607.

Shakespeare schooling as ironic as it seems was not as long as you would think coming from a huge play writer and poet. He started school around the age of six in Stratford Grammar School. Though school did contribute and set a base for him he learned a lot from a hornbook. At the age of thirteen William was pulled out of school due to some financial struggles. Shakespeare came out with a great understanding of both Latin and English. Growing up William worked as a butcher and helped run his fathers business. After some time he meet a pregnant orphan named Anne Hathaway. At the age of twenty-six Anne married William in November of 1582. Will and Anne had three children Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith. Susanna was the first out of the gates born on May twenty-six, 1583. She got married to Stratford physician John Hall on June fifth, 1607. William was very fond of Susanna and when he passed away left her with a good portion of the property. Susanna had one girl with John named Elizabeth who was born on February 21,1608. Susanna passed away in 1649 at the age of sixty-six and John Hall passed away before her in 1635. Hamnet and Judith were twins born in the end of January of1585. Devastatingly for William and Anne their son Hamnet passed away of unknown causes in 1596 at eleven years of age. As for Judith she lived a very low style and depressed life. She met a man named Thomas Quiney. Thomas and got married to him in February. They had three children together Shakespeare, Richard, and Thomas. All of Judith’s sons passed away. Shakespeare died during infancy, the other two times between the ages of 21 and 19 weeks between each other in 1639. Thomas passed away in 1652, which left Judith to live a very lonely life. The widow lived to be 77 years old.

During Shakespeare’s life time most people view divided into two different times known as the “lost years”. This was between 1578 to 1582, and 1585 to 1592.

In 1578 to 1582 is his younger life style, when he was in Grammar School and had just married Anne Hathaway. From 1585 to 1592 is when he established most of his drama talents along with his sources of plays. To make a name for himself he was forced to move to London for theater. He became very well known due to an apology from M. Robert Greene who left off as calling William an “upstart crow”. As far as most of his work wasn’t uncovered till 1623, which was seven years after, he passed away. His fellow actors John Hemmings and Henry Condell had recorded work from Shakespeare’s, which was published as well. In 1623 First Folio came out. This was a 900 page of 36 plays that Shakespeare had written. The first Folios were his first collected edition and after that followed other folios in the years of 1632, 1663, 1664, and 1685. With his writing in the 16th century or the Elizabeth era it really reflected throughout his writing. He wrote a number of Sonnets along with plays. His most famous pieces were 126-Thou My Lovely Boy, 130- My Mistress Eyes, 029- When In Disgrace With Fortune, 116- Let Me Not To The Marriages Of True Minds, and 18- Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer’s Day? The sonnets are split up into three ways to which they are addressed. Shakespeare did 1-126 to good-looking boys, 127 to 152 to dark gloomy lady, and the last 153-154 to show classical Greek.

Just like his sonnets William Shakespeare was also well known for his poems. Along with the sonnets the “bard” did not give permission out for them to be published. In the world of poems William was known to be a “literary Genius.” Majority of the western world read his work. They say to like it because Shakespeare writes it to relate and be open to everyone. His most famous plays are A Lovers Complaint, Phoenix and the Turtle, Rape of Lucrece, and Venus and Adonis.

William Shakespeare accomplishments are greater than anyone can really comprehend. Shakespeare as the wonderful talent of being able to write pomes, sonnets, and plays along with mastering the art of theater. In 1609 he was famous in the Global Theater and “count royalty amongst his patrons. In his work his inspirations springs off from everything. To Williams’s death of his son to patrons of his that he has meet through out the way. I think most can admit that he is more than an idol for history but and inspirations figure to the art and passion of writing.