William Shakespeare

            The actual birthdate of William Shakespeare is unknown but is observed on April 23, 1564. It is known that he was born in Stratford-upon Avon, United Kingdom, and baptized there on April 26, 1564. His father was John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover, and Mary Arden, the daughter of an affluent landowning farmer. He was the third of eight children and the first son to survive.

            According to most biographers, Shakespeare was most likely educated at the King’s New School in Stratford that was located less than half a mile from his home. His school most likely “provided an intensive education in grammar based upon Latin classical authors.”

            Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in November 1582 when he was 18 years old and she was 26. The couple became the parents of three children: a daughter named Susanna in 1585 and twin son and daughter, Hamnet and Judith in 1596. Hamnet died at age of 11 from unknown causes.

            There is little known of Shakespeare until 1592 when he entered the London theatre scene. Sometime between the birth of the twins and 1592, “he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as the King’s Men.”

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories, which are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances and collaborated with other playwrights.

            Shakespeare became a poet, playwright and actor. He is “widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet and the `Bard of Avon’.”

            Shakespeare apparently retired to Stratford at age 49. He died there three years later on April 23, 1616. Some people think that April 23 was chosen to observe his birthday because it is the day of his death.

            Some famous Shakespeare quotes are as follow:

            “All that glitters is not gold.”

            “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”

            “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.”