16-17th Cent. William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1564, in Stratford upon Avon, England. He was the son of Mary Arden (1540-1608) and John Shakespeare (1531-1601). His maternal grandfather was Robert Arden. His paternal grandfather was Richard Shakepeare. William's parents were married in 1557. His siblings included: Joan (1558-1558), Margaret (1562-1563), Gilbert (1566-), Joan (1569-), Anne (1571-1579), Richard (1574-) and Edmund (1580-). His father was a merchant, bailiff and justice of the peace. William was baptized on 26 April 1564. In 1571, he attended Stratford Grammar School. According to legend, when Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Ireland (1533-1603) in 1575, visited Kenilworth Castle, close to Stratford, William saw the Queen. Shakespeare later wrote, "Better three hours too soon than a minute too late," and "Boldness be my friend." William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on 27 November 1582, at Temple Grafton, close to Stratford. The couples first child, a daughter, was baptised Susanna, on 26 May 1583. They baptised their twins, Judith and Hamnet on 2 February 1585. 

"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool."

In 1590, Shakespeare wrote The Comedy of Errors, Henry VI, part 1 and Titus Andronicus. In 1592, Shakespeare started to work in the emerging theatres. Henry VI Part 1 was produced on 3 March 1592, by Strange's Men, at the Rose Theatre. Robert Greene, the author of Groatsworth of Wit died on 3 September 1592. In December 1592, Robert Greene's editor Henry Chettle made a public apology to Marlowe and Shakespeare for the Groatsworth of Wit. In 1592, Shakespeare wrote Two Gentlemen of Verona. Christopher Marlowe died on 30 May 1593. In 1953, Shakespeare wrote, Love's Labour's Lost, The Taming of the Shrew and the poem, Venus and Adonis. Between June 1952 and April 1954, the London theaters were often closed due to The Black Death. In 1594, Shakespeare joined the Lord Chamberlain's company of actors. In 1594, The poem, Rape of Lucrece was published. Shakespeare dedicated his first two poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece to his patron, Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. To him, he wrote, "To the Right Honourable Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Souhampton, and Baron of Tichfield. I know not how I shall offend in dedicating my unpolished lines to your lordship, nor how the world will censure me for choosing so strong a prop to support so weak a burthen: only, if your honour seem but pleased, I account myself highly praised, and vow to take advantage of all idle hours, till I have honoured you with some graver labour. But if the first heir of my invention prove deformed, I shall be sorry it had so noble a godfather, and never after ear so barren a land, for fear it yield me still so bad a harvest. I leave it to your honourable survey, and your honour to your heart's content; which I wish may always answer your own wish and the world's hopeful expectation. Your honour's in all duty, William Shakespeare."

Venus and Adonis

by William Shakespeare

Even as the sun with purple-colour'd face
Had ta'en his last leave of the weeping morn,
Rose-cheek'd Adonis hied him to the chase;
Hunting he loved, but love he laugh'd to scorn;
Sick-thoughted Venus makes amain unto him,
And like a bold-faced suitor 'gins to woo him.

Thrice-fairer than myself,' thus she began,
The field's chief flower, sweet above compare,
Stain to all nymphs, more lovely than a man,
More white and red than doves or roses are;
Nature that made thee, with herself at strife,
Saith that the world hath ending with thy life.

Vouchsafe, thou wonder, to alight thy steed,
And rein his proud head to the saddle-bow;
If thou wilt deign this favour, for thy meed
A thousand honey secrets shalt thou know:
Here come and sit, where never serpent hisses,
And being set, I'll smother thee with kisses;

And yet not cloy thy lips with loathed satiety,
But rather famish them amid their plenty,
Making them red and pale with fresh variety,
Ten kisses short as one, one long as twenty:
A summer's day will seem an hour but short,
Being wasted in such time-beguiling sport.'

With this she seizeth on his sweating palm,
The precedent of pith and livelihood,
And trembling in her passion, calls it balm,
Earth's sovereign salve to do a goddess good:
Being so enraged, desire doth lend her force
Courageously to pluck him from his horse.

In 1595, the open air amphitheatre The Swan, Paris Garden, in Surrey was opened. In 1595, Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream and Richard II. According to King Richard III by William Shakespeare, "A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!" In 1596, the company of actors moved to the Swan Theatre, on Bankside when public presentation of plays within the city limits of London was banned.

 "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet."
Romeo and Juliet

by William Shakespeare

Juliet; "Wilt thou be gone? it is not yet near day: It was the nightingale, and not the lark, That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear; Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate-tree: Believe me, love, it was the nightingale."
Romeo; "It was the lark, the herald of the morn, No nightingale: look Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. I must be gone and live, or stay and die."
Juliet; "Yon light is not day-light, I know it, I: It is some meteor that the sun exhales, To be to thee this night a torch-bearer, And light thee on thy way to Mantua: Therefore stay yet; thou need'st not to be gone. "
Romeo; "Let me be ta'en, let me be put to death; I am content, so thou wilt have it so. I'll say yon grey is not the morning's eye, 'Tis but the pale reflex of Cynthia's brow; Nor that is not the lark, whose notes do beat The vaulty heaven so high above our heads: I have more care to stay than will to go: Come, death, and welcome! Juliet wills it so. How is't, my soul? let's talk; it is not day."
Juliet: "It is, it is: hie hence, be gone, away! It is the lark that sings so out of tune, Straining harsh discords and unpleasing sharps. Some say the lark makes sweet division; This doth not so, for she divideth us: Some say the lark and loathed toad change eyes, O, now I would they had changed voices too! Since arm from arm that voice doth us affray, Hunting thee hence with hunt's-up to the day,
O, now be gone; more light and light it grows."
Romeo; "More light and light; more dark and dark our woes!"

His son, Hamnet died aged 11, on 11 August 1596. His father, John Shakespeare was Granted a Coat of Arms on 20 October 1596. In 1596, Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice and King John. According to Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, "For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo." In 1597, he wrote The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry IV, part 1 and Henry IV, part 2. In 1598, Shakespeare joined a group of Chamberlain's Men that formed a syndicate to build and operate a new playhouse. In 1598, Shakespeare wrote Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing. According to Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, "A man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot endure in his age." In 1599, the Globe Theatre was built on the Bankside. Shakespeare purchased New Place, in Stratford. In 1599, he wrote As You Like It, Twelfth Night and Julius Caesar. According to As You like It by William Shakespeare, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages." In 1600, the first production of Julius Caesar, at the Globe Theatre. Also in 1600, The Fortune Theatre, Golding Lane was opened. In 1600, Shakespeare wrote Troilus and Cressida and Hamlet. According to Hamlet by William Shakespeare, "Confess yourself to heaven; Repent what's past; avoid what is to come; And do not spread the compost on the weeds To make them ranker." In 1601, his acting troupe, the Chamberlain's Men, commissioned to stage Richard II at the Globe Theatre. His father, John Shakespeare died in 1601. He was buried on 8 September 1601. In November 1602, Shakespeare purchased a cottage across from New Place, in Stratford. In 1602, he wrote All's Well that Ends Well. In 1603, a Midsummer's Night's Dream was performed before Queen Elizabeth I, at Hampton Court. Elizabeth I died on 24 March 1603. She was succedeed by James VI, King of Scotland (1566-1625) as James I, King of England. According to Shakespeare, "Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." The Lord Chamberlain's Men became The King's Men on 19 May 1603. In 1603, Shakespeare acted in Jonson's Sejanus. In 1603, the Black Death killed over 33,000 in London. In 1604, Othello was performed for the first time. According to Othello by William Shakespeare, "Are there no stones in heaven But what serve for the thunder?" In 1604, Shakespeare wrote Measure for Measure. According to Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare, "Man, proud man, Drest in a little brief authority, Most ignorant of what he's most assur'd, His glassy essence, like an angry ape, Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven, As make the angels weep." In 1605, he wrote King Lear. In 1606, Macbeth. The King's Men bought the Blackfriars Theatre. His daughter, Susanna Shakespeare married Dr. John Hall in 1607. In 1607, Shakespeare wrote Antony and Cleopatra and Timon of Athens. In 1608, the Black Death returned. In 1608, The King's Men began playing at the Blackfriars. His mother, Mary Arden died in 1608. In 1608, he wrote Coriolanus. In 1609, The Sonnets was published. In 1610, he wrote The Winter's Tale. According to The Winters Tale by William Shakespeare, "As she lived peerless, So her dead likeness, I do well believe, Excels whatever yet you look'd upon Or hand of man hath done; therefore I keep it Lonely, apart. But here it is: prepare To see the life as lively mock'd as ever Still sleep mock'd death: behold, and say 'tis well." It continues, "Sir, spare your threats: The bug which you would fright me with, I seek." And, "A sad tale's best for winter."

"O look, sir, look, here is more of us! I prophesied if a gallows were on land This fellow could not drown." The Tempest

In 1611, Shakespeare wrote The Tempest. According to The Tempest by William Shakespeare, "Ay, that I will; and I'll be wise hereafter, And seek for grace. What a thrice-double ass Was I to take this drunkard for a god, And worship this dull fool!" Sometime after 1612, Shakespeare retired from the theatre and returned to Stratford. In 1612, Shakespeare wrote Henry VIII. According to Henry VIII by William Shakespeare, "By that sin fell the angels." During a performance of Henry VIII on 29 June 1613, at the Globe Theatre, cannon fire set fire to the roof. In 1614, the second Globe Theatre was built. In January 1616, he drew up his will. He signed his will on 25 March 1616. William Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616. He was buried on 25 April 1616, at the Holy Trinity Church, in Stratford. His wife, Anne Hathaway died on 6 August 1623. She was buried at the Holy Trinity Church, in Stratford. In 1623, the First Folio of his plays was published. In 1644, the Globe Theatre was demolished by the Puritans.

  "For I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright, who art as black as hell, as dark as night." William Shakespeare

Excerpts: Venus and Adonis by William Shakespeare, King Richard III by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Othello by William Shakespeare, The Winters Tale by William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare, The Tempest by William Shakespeare and Henry VIII by William Shakespeare.