Although William Shakespeare is often considered the most famous author/director/playwrite in the history of the literature world, Shakespeare, the man, still remains a mysterious figure till this day. The majority of material on William Shakespeare's life comes from two primary sources: his works and various legal and church documents.
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England on April 23, 1564. Holy Trinity Church records indicate that William was born of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. Young William was the third of eight children in the Shakespeare household. Unfortunately, three of William's seven siblings died during childhood. William's father, John, had tremendous success as a merchant, alderman, and high baliff of Stratford during William's early childhood. However, John's fortunes declined in the late 1570's and this seems to have a huge impact on scholar's perception of William Shakespeare's education. With John's success declining, scholars believe little William attended a free grammer school in Stratford, a rival to the high ranking school of Eton. Little is known about the length of time William attended school but his literary works suggest a solid education. However, scholars do know for certain that William did not attend any type of University schooling, which later stirred heated debates on the authorship of Shakespeare's works.
Shakespeare's marriage to Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582 is the next documented event in the Shakespeare's life. William, being 18 years old at the time, and Anne, who was 26 years old, were pregnant with thier first daughter, Sussanna, during thier marriage. Sussanna was born on May 26, 1583 and a couple years later, William and Anne had twins, Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died during childhood on August 11, 1596 at the age of 11.
For the next seven years, years now known as the "Lost Years" of Shakespeare's life, William seemed to fall off the face of the earth. During these years, great controversy is still being sparked about what was Shakespeare doing. Rumors ranging from Shakespeare's flee from Stratford after he allegedly poached Sir Thomas Lucy's rabbits and deer, to Shakespeare simply working as an assistant school master in Lancashire.
Although no exact date can prove Shakespeare's arrival in London, it is estimated he arrived there around 1588 and immediately began to establish himself as an actor and playwrite. Evidently, Shakespeare received early success because in 1594, only six years after his arrival, Shakespeare was not only acting and writing for the Lord Chamberlain's Men, but he was also a managing partner as well. Shakespeare's career kick started from there. William Shakespeare eventually shared ownership with a theatrical company as well as The Globe, a polygonal structure that could fit around 3,000 spectators inside this ninety-nine- foot- wide theatre.
Shakespeare's beautiful works range from the Henry VI trilogy to Julius Caesar to the best known piece, Romeo and Juliet. Allegedly, William Shakespeare died on his birthday, April 23, 1616. William Shakespeare's legacy is a piece of work that will never again be matched in Western Civilization. His works are everlasting and still echo after 400 years. Even as William Shakespeare approached death, he left a final verse as his epitaph :
Good friend, for Jesus's Sake forbeare
To dig the dust enclosed here
Blessed be the man that spares these stones
And cursed be he that moves my bone.