William Shakespeare was easily one of the greatest playwrights of all time. He has written many plays including Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, and Hamlet. Shakespeare was also one of the proprietors to the Globe theater in 1589. Much of his work is still performed today.
Shakespeare was born on April 23rd 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. John was an alderman of Scotland who had served as mayor in 1569. Neither of his parents could write, as it was rare during Queen Elizabeth’s rein. Shakespeare was married to Anne Hathaway and had 3 children.
Shakespeare was 18 when he had married Anne Hathaway. Three years after, he sought refuge in London. The tale of why he sought refuge there can be told in many different ways.
When he arrived in London he was 22 years old and entered the service of a dramatic arts company. He started out as a handy boy for the theatre. One of his tasks was to hold the horses for the wealthy people as they attended the performance. He then was an actor and a re-writer of old plays. In the 1590’s Shakespeare started becoming more famous, and also wealthier. By 1599 he had used his money to buy a house in Stratford, than bought more property in Stratford and London later on.
Commenters have divided Shakespeare’s work into four different periods. The first ending in about 1593, they had called this period the experimental period. It had included plays such as Love’s Labor’s Lost, Two Gentleman of Verona, and A Comedy of Errors. The second period included some of his most well-known romantic-comedy’s such as The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummers Night’s Dream. This period ended around 1601. The third period was dated in the first ten years of the 17th century. This period included many somber tragedies such as Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, and Othello. The fourth and final period covered from 1610 to his death on April 23rd 1616. This period included serene romances such