The Life of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and was baptised on 26 April 1564. Shakespeare was probably educated at King’s New School in Stratford. The next documented event in Shakespeare's life is his marriage in 1582 to Anne Hathaway. The couple had a daughter, Susanna, the following year and twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, in 1585. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11.

Shakespeare's acting career was spent with the Lord Chamberlain's Company, which was renamed the King's Company in 1603 when James I became King. Among the actors in the group was the famous Richard Burbage.

Shakespeare's poetry was published before his plays, with two poems appearing in 1593 and 1594. Most of Shakespeare's sonnets were probably written at this time as well. Records of Shakespeare's plays begin to appear in 1594, and he produced roughly two a year until around 1611. His earliest plays include 'Henry VI' and 'Titus Andronicus'. 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'The Merchant of Venice' and 'Richard II' all date from the mid to late 1590s. Some of his most famous tragedies were written in the early 1600s including 'Hamlet', 'Othello', 'King Lear' and 'Macbeth'. His late plays, often known as the Romances, date from 1608 onwards and include 'The Tempest'.

Shakespeare spent the last five years of his life in Stratford. He died on 23 April 1616 and was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. The first collected edition of his works was published in 1623 and is known as 'the First Folio'.