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Shakespeare Shakespeare's plays form one of literature's greatest legacies. His plays are divided into comedies, histories and tragedies. Shakespeare plays have spawned thousands of performances, adaptations and films. From famous tragedies like Macbeth and King Lear to tragic love stories such as Romeo and Juliet to epic historic plays like Antony and Cleopatra, they enlighten, sadden, teach and most important of all, entertain any reader, spectator or learner. His Biography: Ironically enough, the very existence of the great Shakespeare is not a concrete fact, but an issue about which there is much argument. But there are documents to prove the existence of a person called Shakespeare, all of a legal or financial nature, not related in any way to his profession as an author of great works of art.
William was born in 1564. This is known from the earliest record of his life; his baptism which happened on Wednesday, April the 26 th, 1564. From this record, it is assumed he was born in 1564. Similarly by knowing the baptism date, it is guessed that he was born three days earlier on St. Georges day, though there is no conclusive proof of this.
There is great conjecture about Shakespeare's childhood years, especially regarding his education. It is surmised by scholars that Shakespeare attended the free grammar school in Stratford, which at the time had a reputation to rival Eton. While there are no records extant to prove this claim, Shakespeare's knowledge of Latin and Classical Greek would tend to support this theory. As a son of a Stratford official, Shakespeare would have been granted a waiver of tuition. As the records do not exist, we do not know how long William attended, but certainly the literary quality of his works suggest a solid education. What is certain is that William Shakespeare never proceeded to university schooling, which has stirred some of the debate concerning the authorship of his works.
The next documented event in Shakespeare's life is his marriage to Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582. William was 18 at the time, and Anne was 26 and pregnant. Their first daughter, Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583. The couple later had twins, Hamnet and Judith, born February 2, 1585 and christened at Holy Trinity. Hamnet died in childhood at the age of 11, on August 11, 1596.
It is said that the name of the famous Hamlet is taken from Hamnet's name. For seven years, William Shakespeare effectively disappears from all records, turning up in London circa 1592. This has sparked as much controversy about Shakespeare's life as any period. It is estimated that Shakespeare arrived in London around 1588 and began to establish himself as an actor and playwright. When the plague forced theatre closings in the mid- 1590 s, Shakespeare and his company made plans for the Globe Theatre in the Bankside district, which was across the river from London proper.
Shakespeare's success is apparent when studied against other playwrights of this age. His company was the most successful in London in his day. He had plays published and sold in octavo editions, or "penny-copies" to the more literate of his audiences. It is noted that never before had a playwright enjoyed sufficient acclaim to see his works published and sold as popular literature in the midst of his career.
While Shakespeare could not be accounted wealthy, by London standards, his success allowed him to purchase New House and retire in comfort to Stratford in 1611. William Shakespeare wrote his will in 1611, bequeathing his properties to his daughter Susanna (married in 1607 to Dr. John Hall). To his surviving daughter Judith, he left 300, and to his wife Anne left "my second best bed. " William Shakespeare allegedly died on his birthday, April 23, 1616. Even in death, he leaves a final piece of verse as his epitaph: Good friend, for Jesus's ake forbear To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones.
This is probably more of a romantic myth than reality, some biographies state completely different stories, one of them is that he was gay, which completely abolish these romanticized stories about him. The most important thing about Shakespeare is his work, not his life. His life is full of mysteries, his very existence is not a concrete fact, but the work studied under his name has always been out of competition. William Shakespeare's legacy is a body of work that will never again be equaled in Western civilization. His words have endured for 400 years, and still reach across the centuries as powerfully as ever. His Play Works: His works: He wrote 10 tragedies: Antony and Cleopatra Coriolanus Hamlet Julius Caesar King Lear Macbeth Othello Romeo and Juliet Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus 10 history plays: Henry IV, Part I Henry IV, Part II Henry V Henry VI, Part I Henry VI, Part II Henry VI, Part III Henry VIII King John Richard II Richard III And 18 comedies: All's Well That Ends Well As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Cymbeline Love's Labours Lost Measure for Measure The Merry Wives of Windsor The Merchant of Venice A Midsummer Night's Dream Much Ado about Nothing Pericles, Prince of Tyre The Taming of the Shrew The Tempest Troilus and Cressida Twelfth Night Two Gentlemen of Verona The Winter's Tale His Professional Beginnings: It is believed that Shakespeare penned his first play Henry VI, Part One, between 1589 and 1590.
Shakespeare would have been 25 at the time. This play is believed to have been performed at The Rose Theatre in London. In 1623, the First Folio edition of the Collected Works was printed, of which half the plays contained therein were previously unpublished. The First Folio also contained Shakespeare's sonnets. Themes: Shakespeare dealt with many themes in his plays, among them were the following: The theme of love: Love is one of the most important and fundamental themes to be found in any of Shakespeare's works, as it was the most popular theme in the whole era. He dealt with the theme of romantic love between man and woman, father child love, f...
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Research essay sample on Henry Iv Part Antony And Cleopatra
