william shakespeare · william was the son of john shakespeare and mary arden. he was one of eight...
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Famous People in History
William Shakespeare
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Shakespeare was one of the great playwrights in the Tudor times.
He wrote many famous plays which were performed up and down the country in theatres and on the streets.
Shakespeare’s plays are still popular today.
Who was William Shakespeare?
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Name: William Shakespeare
Date of Birth: 23rd April 1564
Place of birth: Stratford-Upon-Avon
Date of death: 23rd April 1616
Who was William Shakespeare?
Thinking TimeWhat do you notice about Shakespeare’s date of birth and date of death?
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We can gather information about William’schildhood from looking at records from the time.William was the son of John Shakespeare and MaryArden. He was one of eight children.
John was a glove-maker in Stratford-upon-Avonand became the Mayor of Stratford in 1568. Hemost likely sent his children to grammar schoolwhich is where William will have been educated.William lived in his family home on Henley Streetuntil he turned 18 when he moved to London.
Childhood
Thinking TimeWhy do you think William might have wanted to move to London?
The house that William and his family lived in still stands today! You can visit it to find out more about William’s life.
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When William turned 18 he married Anne Hathaway and moved to London. Together they had 3 children: Susanna, Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet and Judith were twins.
Unfortunately, Hamnet died when he was just 11 years old.We don’t know why Hamnet died but at that time inEngland a third of children died before the age of 10because of poor hygiene and lack of medical knowledge.After the birth of his twins in 1585, William left fewhistorical traces until he is mentioned as part of a London performance group in 1592. Some historians call these years ‘The Lost Years’ because no one is sure what happened to William and his family during this time.
Marriage
It is believed that Hamnet and Judith were actually named after William’s close friend Hamnet Sadler (a baker) and his wife Judith.
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William became a founding member of aperformance group called Lord Chamberlain’s Men.The company would later become known as ‘TheKing’s Men’ with the support of King James I.We are not quite sure when William started towrite his own plays but we do know his first playwas Henry V. William’s plays were performed forboth Queen Elizabeth I and King James I.
William’s Career
In his lifetime, William wrote approximately 40 plays and 154 sonnets.
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William’s company fast became the leading performance company in London.In 1599 the company built their own theatre on the south bank of the River Thames which they named the Globe.
The Globe Theatre was unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1613 – just 14 years after it opened. It was rebuilt a year later and remained open until 1643 when the parliament ordered a closure of all theatres.
A modern reconstruction was built in 1997 based onhistorical evidence of the 1599 and 1614 buildings. It is approximately 750 feet away from the original site and is still open today.
The Globe Theatre
The fire in 1613 was caused during a performance of William’s play ‘Henry VIII’. A theatrical cannon was set off as part of the performance but it misfired and set the wooden beams on fire!
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William’s company and investments in theatresmade him a wealthy man.
He also became a popular man and his namebecame a selling point for the plays in his theatre.With his riches, he bought the second largesthouse in Stratford and invested in a share of theparish tithes in Stratford.
The house was called ‘New Place’.
William’s Wealth
New Place stills stands today and is open to the public to see how William and his family lived.
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William died on the 23rd April 1616 on his 52ndbirthday.
There is no historical evidence to explain how or why he died.
He was buried in the chancel of the Holy TrinityChurch in Stratford two days after his death.
His grave is still there today.
William’s Death
On William’s gravestone, there is an inscription thatincludes a curse to anyone who moves his bones. When the church was restored in 2008, workmen avoided his grave.
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William wrote 3 types of play – comedies, tragedies and histories. His plays show recognisable situations that all of us experience at some time in our lives which is why they were so popular. William’s plays are still popular today. Many people still read and study them.
William’s Plays
This link shows all of William’s plays with a short description of eachhttps://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/
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William Shakespeare
Childhood
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
Date of Death:
Reason of death:
Married?
Children?
Married Life
Career
Death
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