William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet, one of the most famous dramatists in the world.

William Shakespeare was born in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon (Warwickshire) in 1564, traditionally on April 23. The surname “Shakespeare” can be translated from English as “brandishing a spear.” His father, John Shakespeare, was a prosperous craftsman (a glover) and moneylender; he was often elected to various public offices and once served as mayor of the town. He did not attend church services and was fined heavily for this (possibly because he was a secret Catholic). His mother, née Arden, belonged to one of the oldest English families.

It is believed that Shakespeare studied at Stratford’s “grammar school.” Some scholars claim that Shakespeare attended King Edward VI School in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he studied the works of such poets as Ovid and Plautus; however, the school records have not survived, and nothing can now be said with certainty.

In 1582 he married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a local landowner, who was 8 years older than he was; in 1583 they had a daughter, Susanna, and in 1585 twins were born: a son, Hamnet, who died in childhood (1596), and a daughter, Judith. Around 1587 Shakespeare left Stratford and moved to London.

In 1592 Shakespeare became a member of Burbage’s London acting company, and from 1599 also one of the company’s shareholders. Under James I, Shakespeare’s company received royal status (1603), and Shakespeare himself, along with the other senior members of the company, was granted the rank of groom of the chamber. For many years Shakespeare engaged in moneylending, and in 1605 became a farmer of church tithes.

In 1612 Shakespeare retired for unknown reasons and returned to his native Stratford, where his wife and daughters lived.

Shakespeare’s will, dated March 15, 1616, was signed in an illegible hand, on the basis of which some researchers believe that he was seriously ill at the time. Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616.

Three days later Shakespeare’s body was buried in the Church