Shakespeare
Nickname/Alias: The Bard of Avon
Achievements: Greatest playwright in English language
Born: Baptized April 26, 1564, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England
Died: April 23, 1616, Stratford-Upon-Avon; Aged 52
Field & Discipline: Art; Literature; Theater; Playwright; Poet
Language: English
Father: John Shakespeare
Mother: Mary Arden
Siblings: Gilbert; Richard; Edmund; Joan; Anne
Spouse: Ann Hathaway
Children: Hamnet (son, died at 11); Susanna; Judith
Education: Grammar school, Stratford-upon-Avon. England
Major Works:
“Romeo and Juliet”
“Midsommer Night’s Dream”
“Hamlet”
“Macbeth”
“King Lear”
Life & Times:
Except for his marriage to Ann Hathaway when he was 18, little is known of Shakespeare's early life until he was about 25, and his first play, "Henry VI", was performed c. 1589-92. A 1592 pamphlet written by a fellow playwright recognized him as a notable figure in London theater.
In Shakespeare's time, members of the British court liked to hobnob with members of the theatrical world. [patron was] Queen Elizabeth* herself was a patron of the theater. For their part, the people of the theater courted the courtiers. They understood that friends in high places could be instrumental in keeping a theater open, since companies needed a license from the Lord Chamberlain and the approval of the political censor.
Shakespeare's "Richard III", for example, written c. 1593, was thought by some to be a theatrical risk since it maligned an English king. It dealt with the murder of the two young heirs to the throne at the end of the 14th century, and the man behind it all was clearly Richard III, whom Shakespeare portrayed as a deformed, evil monster. But, surprising many, the censor gave the play his blessing, because at the end, Richard's defeat and death opened the way to the wise rule of the Tudor dynasty (of which Elizabeth was now the representative).
In 1593, Shakespeare followed up "Richard III," with his first comedy, "Comedy of Errors", but its run was cut short by an outbreak of the plague, which closed down all theaters in London. During this hiatus, Shakespeare composed two immensely popular narrative poems "Venus and Adonis" and "The Rape of Lucrece", which he dedicated to his patron, Henry Wriothesley, [patron was] Earl of Southampton*.
When the theaters reopened in a year's time, Shakespeare, who was also an actor, became a member of the Lord Chamberlain's company of players. When James I became king in 1603, succeeding Elizabeth, the company became known as the King's Men, a theatrical elite who performed at the Globe Theatre, on the banks of the Thames, the best public theater in London.
[colleague of] Burbage*, the most famous actor of his time, was a member of the King's Men, and Shakespeare occasionally acted with him. Eventually, Shakespeare gained a financial stake in the theater and seems to have made a great deal of money with which he bought a large house in Stratford-on-Avon in 1597, and saw to it that a Shakespeare crest was granted his father.
The King's Men often gave command performances at Court, and played at universities, private mansions and at the Inns of Court. In summers, they toured the provinces. As more theaters opened, more plays were needed, and Shakespeare, recognized for his ability to write quickly, cleverly and copiously, was much in demand. He was able to produce works that satisfied the intellect of the cultured, the bawdy taste of the masses, and the thirst for spectacle and bravado of both. Above all, his humanity spanned all classes and circumstances.
In the 21 years between 1592 and 1613, Shakespeare produced more than 30 plays. Of his plays about British kings, critics agree that the best was "Henry V". Among excellent plays about non-British historical figures were "Julius Caesar" and "Anthony and Cleopatra". His best tragedies included "Hamlet", “King Lear”,"Othello" and "Macbeth". His most popular comedies were "A Midsummer Night"s Dream", "As You Like It", and "Much Ado About Nothing".
The influence of classical drama and the medieval miracle plays can be seen in Shakespeare's earlier efforts. Later, in "The Merchant of Venice", Shakespeare is indebted to fellow dramatist [influenced by] Marlowe*. "The Taming of the Shrew" follows the Italian commedia dell'arte tradition of popular theater. And in his last great play "The Tempest" (1612), the fantastic setting and the structure of the play echo the court masques of [work related to] Jonson* and [work related to] Inigo Jones*.
Shakespeare's "Sonnets" were published in 1609, but it is not known when he wrote them, or whether he thought they should be in any particular order. As they were printed, sonnets 1-17 are about a young man who is urged to marry and have children so that his beauty will survive in them. They end with the idea that the young man's beauty will in any case be preserved through the sonnets. In sonnets 18-126, a young man is involved in friendship, jealousy, rivalry in love, and loss through death and age. After 126, the sonnets are mostly about the "dark lady." The poet writes of her fascination for him, and the pain of her desertion in favor of his friend. The sonnets have an elegiac and resigned air but though they are less vital than the plays, they are still revered as expressions of the most profound feelings.
By the time these works were published in 1609, Shakespeare was an acknowledged master of drama and an established country gentleman. He continued to buy property in London and Stratford, and it is known that he was able to lend a friend a huge amount of money. He seems to have been well liked and respected by his associates and friends in the theater.
He retired to Stratford in 1612, where he would spend the last four years of his life, though he would occasionally travel to London to attend to business.
Extra Connections:
Influenced [influenced] Herder* and the entire Romantic Movement.
Knew the writer [knew] Chapman*
His theater group performed [performed play by] Dekker’s* “ Satiromastix” during the Wars of the Theaters.
Freud influenced by
Assessment: Arguably the greatest writer of all time.
Oneliner: William Shakespeare, greatest playwright of all.
Bibliography:
Schoenbaum, Samuel, Shakespeare's Lives, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1970.
Sandbox: TheBrain