William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford – upon – Avon, Warwickshire. The date of his birth is not exactly known, but it is believed to be April 23, 1564.
His parents were Mary Arden and John Shakespeare. Mary Arden came from an old and respected family and John Shakespeare dealt successfully with agricultural products. Will was the third child out of eight, but most of his siblings died at a young age.
As far as it is known, William Shakespeare went to a local grammar school where he got his basic education. However, there are a lot of uncertainties again.
In 1578, eighteen–year–old Will married Ann Hathaway (age 19), who was the daughter of a farmer who owned land near Stratford. Together they had three children: Their first daughter Susan was born in 1583 followed by the twins Hamnet and Judith two years later. Hamnet, however, died at the the early age of eleven.
The next period of his life is a blank. It is only known that he went to London, but nobody knows when. What we know for sure is that he had already become a successful actor and playwright by 1594.
In 1594 the “Lord Chamberlain’s Company”, which is also called “Lord
Chamberlain’s Men” was founded. They performed their plays at the “Theatre”
outside of the city of London. The reason why they weren’t allowed to perform
in the city itself was simply because people were afraid of the plague
to come back through events like theatre performances where all kinds of
people would get together.
The main positive aspect of this Company was that the actors and playwrights
were under the protection of Lord Chamberlain. This was so important because
at that time actors had not gained full social acceptance.
Next to the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, there were also the Lord Admiral’s Men who performed at the Rose Theatre.
William Shakespeare stayed with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men until he retired in 1611.
When the Globe Theatre was built in 1598 Shakespeare became one of the chief shareholders who also took a share of the entrance money. The Globe Theatre was famous until it burned down in 1613.
From 1603 on the Chamberlain’s Men were called “King’s Men” after King James accessed to the throne.
Finally it has to be mentioned that Shakespeare would have been a lesser Shakespeare without the Chamberlain’s Men. He was always free of economic oppression of theatre owners and he enjoyed the advantages of a permantent and prominent position with a group of talented actors. Since the membership in the company was very stable, Shakespeare did not have to get used to many new actors and he knew what “his people” were able to do and how they would present his plays.
William Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616. It is said that he was buried very deep for the sanctitiy of his bones.
(Friederike Gräter)