William Shakespeare the Greatest Playwright
Uploaded by tamii on Jan 13, 2012
William Shakespeare was a great English playwright, dramatist
and poet who lived during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth
centuries. Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest playwright of
all time. No other writer's plays have been produced so many times or
read so widely in so many countries as his.
Shakespeare was born to middle class parents. His father,
John, was a Stratford businessman. He was a glove maker who owned a
leather shop. John Shakespeare was a well known and respected man
in the town. He held several important local governmental positions.
William Shakespeare's mother was Mary Arden. Though she was the
daughter of a local farmer, she was related to a family of
considerable wealth and social standing. Mary Arden and John
Shakespeare were married in 1557.
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford in 1564. He was one
of eight children. The Shakespeare's were well respected prominent
people. When William Shakespeare was about seven years old, he
probably began attending the Stratford Grammar School with other
boys of his social class. Students went to school year round
attending school for nine hours a day. The teachers were strict
disciplinarians.
Though Shakespeare spent long hours at school, his boyhood was
probably fascinating. Stratford was a lively town and during
holidays, it was known to put on pageants and many popular shows. It
also held several large fairs during the year. Stratford was a
exciting place to live. Stratford also had fields and woods
surrounding it giving William the opportunity to hunt and trap small
game. The River Avon which ran through the town allowed him to fish
also. Shakespeare's' poems and plays show his love of nature and
rural life which reflects his childhood.
On November 28, 1582, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway of
the neighboring village of Shottery. She was twenty-six, and he was
only eighteen at the time. They had three children. Susana was their
first and then they had twins, Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet,
Shakespeare's son, died in 1596. In 1607, his daughter Susana got
married. Shakespeare's other daughter, Judith, got married in 1616.
In London, Shakespeare's career took off. It is...