Beverly smith lopez biography of william shakespeare

The William Shakespeare biography explores the life of one of history’s most influential playwrights, from his early years in Stratford to his lasting impact on literature.

To this day, countless theater festivals around the world honor his work, students memorize his eloquent poems and scholars reinterpret the million words of text he composed. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a bustling market town miles northwest of London, and baptized there on April 26, His birthday is traditionally celebrated on April 23, which was the date of his death in and is the feast day of St.

George, the patron saint of England. The ambitious son of a tenant farmer, John boosted his social status by marrying Mary Arden, the daughter of an aristocratic landowner. Like John, she may have been a practicing Catholic at a time when those who rejected the newly established Church of England faced persecution. Did you know?

William was the third of eight Shakespeare children, of whom three died in childhood. Though no records of his education survive, it is likely that he attended the well-regarded local grammar school, where he would have studied Latin grammar and classics.

William Shakespeare was born in April in a house in Stratford-upon-Avon.

It is unknown whether he completed his studies or abandoned them as an adolescent to apprentice with his father. At 18 Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway , a woman eight years his senior, in a ceremony thought to have been hastily arranged due to her pregnancy. A daughter, Susanna, was born less than seven months later in May Twins Hamnet and Judith followed in February As for William and Anne, it is believed that the couple lived apart for most of the year while the bard pursued his writing and theater career in London.

It was not until the end of his life that Shakespeare moved back in with Anne in their Stratford home.