WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S BIOGRAPHY

Despite all of his several plays’s massive success, William Shakespeare’s life isn’t very well known. Being the third of eight (and the eldest son that had survived) of John Shakespeare, a succesful glover and alderman, and Mary Alden, the daughter of an affluent landowning farmer, he was baptised in the 26th of April of 1564 (since we do not have any record of when he was born, we use his baptism date instead, however, his birthday traditionally is observed on 23 April, St George's Day) in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The author’s life can be divided into three periods: the first 20 years in Stratford, which include his schooling, early marriage, and fatherhood; the next 25 years as an actor and playwright in London; and the last five in retirement back in Stratford where he enjoyed moderate wealth gained from his theatrical successes. The years linking the first two periods are marked by a lack of information about Shakespeare, and are often referred to as the “dark years”; the transition from active work into retirement was gradual and cannot be precisely dated.

At some point during those “dark years,” Shakespeare began his career with a London theatrical company(perhaps in 1589) for he was already an actor and playwright of some note in 1592. When, in 1592, the Plague closed the theaters for about two years, Shakespeare turned to writing book-length narrative poetry. Most notable were “Venus and Adonis” and “The Rape of Lucrece”. During this same period, Shakespeare was writing his sonnets, which are more likely signs of the time’s fashion rather than actual love poems detailing any particular relationship. He returned to play writing when theaters reopened in 1594, and published no more poetry. His sonnets were published without his consent in 1609, shortly before his retirement.

By 1596, Shakespeare was so successful as a playwright that his family was finally granted a Coat of Arms which amongst other things allowed