William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

                               

William Shakespeare

          William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford, England. His father worked selling leather and grains, and was a town official. He was the third child out of eight children. His mother, Mary, came from a family of prosperous farmers and landowners. On November 28, 1582, he married Anne Hathaway. She was the daughter of a farmer near Stratford. He had three children with her, two of them being twins. In the 1590’s, Shakespeare went to London and joined a touring theater company. He worked as a lead actor of this company called “The Lord Chamberlain’s Men.” By the late 1590’s Shakespeare had established himself as a writer. In 1599, he founded the Globe Theater with 6 other associates. The new theater was an open playhouse in London. Shakespeare and the other 6 called themselves “The King’s Men” starting 1603 with King James I permission. Shakespeare was able to establish himself both as a playwright and a poet during this time. Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616. During Shakespeare's time, most people were very superstitious believing in witches, ghosts, and other supernatural beings. This is reflected in much of the literature from that time.

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