Getting Acquainted With Shakespeare

Shakespeare was born in Stratford- on-Avon on April 23, 1564 in this house on Henley Street. His father’s name was John and he was a glovemaker. His mother’s name was Mary Arden. She was from a good family and some fortune.

As a young boy, he attended grammar school where emphasis was on Latin grammar. Later, in London, he learned French. Stratford and the English country- side made a lasting impression on him. This is shown by his references in the plays to animals, birds, and flowers. In November 1582, he married Anne Hathaway, a woman eight years his senior

Anne gave birth to twins, Hamnet and Judith, two years later. Some time between he left Stratford for London. Anne did not accompany Will to London because her Puritan belief influenced her to believe that the stage and its actors did much to corrupt people’s morals. Puritanism became so strong in London that the theaters were closed.

Shakespeare’s financial success came from his share of admissions, not from the sale of his plays. His early literary successes were his narrative poem, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. For his plays, his reference books were Metamorphoses, Lives, and Chronicles. He wrote 37 plays.

He was a member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men acting company. He lived quietly and gained a reputation as a polite, good-natured man and loyal friend. He retired in 1610 and lived at New Place (in Stratford).

Queen Elizabeth and her successor James I were willing to pay for theatergoing, providing money for costumes and props. Three early theaters were the Globe, The Theater, and the Swan. Presentations took place in mid after- noon and boy actors played female roles.

Elizabethan actors needed a good memory, a strong, clear voice, good fencers, dancers and singing voices. Shakespeare died in Stratford on April 23, 1616 and was buried at Holy Trinity Church.