Who was William Shakespeare?
Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in 1564. Very little is known about his life, but by 1592 he was in London working as an actor and a dramatist. Between about 1590 and 1613, Shakespeare wrote at least 37 plays and collaborated on several more. Many of these plays were very successful both at court and in the public playhouses. In 1613, Shakespeare retired from the theatre and returned to Stratford-upon-Avon. He died and was buried there in 1616.
It seems we know more about Caesar and Cleopatra, two subjects of his plays who lived centuries earlier – than we know of the man Shakespeare. Yet even in the 16th Century in which he lived, the biographies of those other than royalty or significant church people were seldom assembled, seldom written. So that even as a new millennium is upon us it is still possible to argue whether “Shakespeare” was a real person, or the artistic name of someone else. It seems well established that John Shakespeare, a glove maker of Stratford-upon-Avon, and his wife Mary, had the third of their 8 children, William, on April 23, 1564, as recorded in the Holy Trinity church registry of Stratford. As the son of a prominent middle class businessman, young William probably attended the well regarded local school (still in use) which prepared students for the serious professions, rigorous 9 hour days, all year long, from the age of 7. And he probably was entertained by the frequent appearance in Stratford of
