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Willam Shakespeare was born to John and Mary Shakespeare in Stratford Upon Avon, England in 1564 . He was baptized on April 26, 1564 however, his exact date of birth is unknown. His two younger siblings died in infancy,so William was raised as an only child.
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From Shakespeare's start at grammar school to his marriage to Anne, there is little known about what he did with his life. Many historians believe that he worked with his father and brother for a time as an apprentice.
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William Shakespeare was married to Anne Hathaway. Anne was eight years older than William, and pregnant at the time of their wedding.
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William and Anne's first child Susanna was born. She was born six months after her parents' marriage. She was baptized in Stratford Parish Church on May 26th, 1583.
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Twin children were born to Anne and William. They were named Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11. Little is known about Judith's life.
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William began his careear as a playwright in London. He was a managing partner in The Lord Chamberlain's Men Acting Company. Several of his early plays were sold and produced at this time.
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Shakespeare built his own theater on the south bank of the Thames River, called The Globe Theater. By this time, his most important historical plays, such as Richard II and Herny VI were written at his time .
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The year 1600 represents the beginning of a new phase in Shakespeare's writing. There was a move towrd darker plays with more complex plots and characters who were cruel rather than historic or comedic Shakespeare wrote his most famous tragic plays such as Othello, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. Hamlet was one of the most famous of all his tragic plays.
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Published in 1609, the sonnets were the last of Shakespeare's non-dramatic works to be printed. Scholars are not certain when each of the 154 sonnets were composed, But evidence suggests that Shakespeare wrote sonnets throughout his career for a private readership.
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The cause of Shakespeare's death is a mystery, but an entry in the diary of John Ward, the vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford (where Shakespeare is buried), tells us that "Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and it seems drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted."
