"Hell is Empty and all the Devils are Here"
Introduction
William Shakespeare was widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and nicknamed the Bard of Avon ( river ) Or the Bard ( poet ). His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. William Shakespeare was an English playwright and actor of the Renaissance era Or during the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages of British theatre. He was an important member of the King’s Men company of theatrical players. he wrote a total of 37 plays, 154 sonnets and 2 long poems. He is considered as master and genius in english literature.
Life And Family
He was born in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England. No birth records exist, but an old church record indicates that a William Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564 ( as it was customary to baptize children on the third day after birth ). From this, it is believed he was born on or near April 23, 1564, (there are two calendars, so consider his birth on 3 may) and this is the date scholars acknowledge as Shakespeare's birthday. He was an English playwright, poet, and actor, writer and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men.
William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glove maker ( trader in corn, meat, leather ) originally from Snitterfield(village), and his mother Mary Arden, the daughter of an affluent landowning ( prosperous farmer ) family. they had eight children. He was the third of eight children, and the eldest surviving son. William Shakespeare inherited the old family home. he purchased the second largest house in Stratford, called New House, for his family. His house was in Henley street and now called as shakespeare birthplace. As we have already noticed, Shakespeare was trained, like his fellow workmen, first as a actor, second as a reviser of old plays, and last as an independent dramatist. He worked with other playwrights and learned their secret. And he studied and followed the public taste.
Education
Shakespeare's former education was at local grammar school where he studied classics, mythology, ancient history, rhetoric, He known small Latin and less Greek. ( probably educated at the King's New School in Stratford ) Shakespeare did not go to university dua to financial problem of his father.
Marriage
In 1582, At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway( 26 year old ),the daughter of a peasant family, with whom he had three children, Susanna and both Hamnet and Judith were twins. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596. Susanna had married a physician, John Hall, in 1607, and Judith had married Thomas Quiney, a vintner, two months before Shakespeare's death. It is assumed that the twins were probably named after shakespeare's friends hamnet sadler and his wife Judith. The fact that he soon left his wife and family and went to London, it is generally alleged that the marriage was a hasty and unhappy one.
Lost Years
There are seven years of Shakespeare's life where no records exist after the birth of his twins in 1585. Scholars call this period the "lost years," and there is wide speculation on what he was doing during this period.
London
he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer and counted among the stars. The lord Chamberlain's Men, an acting company in London with which he was connected for most of his career. 1594, Shakespeare's plays were performed only by the Lord Chamberlain's Men, a company owned by a group of players, including Shakespeare, that soon became the leading playing company in London. After the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, the company was awarded a royal patent by the new King James I, and changed its name to the King's Men. Shakespeare had works published and sold as popular literature. The King's Men company was very popular. Shakespeare and his business partners built their own theater on the south bank of the Thames River, which they called the Globe Theater. Theatres were closed between 1592 to 1594 because of plague. In the time of plague, he wrote some sonnets.
Death
William had retired from theatre ( Stratford ), he died three years later. Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616, At Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England at the age of 52. He buried at Church of the Holy Trinity(chancel), Stratford upon Avon, England two days after his death.
Cursed
The epitaph carved into the stone slab covering his grave includes a curse against moving his bones, which was carefully avoided during restoration of the church in 2008.
The epitaph
Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare,
To digg the dvst encloased heare.
Bleste be yͤ man yͭ spares thes stones,
And cvrst be he yͭ moves my bones.
Modern spelling is " Good friend, for Jesus sake forbear, To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones. (Whoever took out my bones and tried to throw them away)
Scholars believe
Shakespeare died on his 52nd birthday, April 23, 1616, but some scholars believe this is a myth. The exact cause of Shakespeare's death is unknown, though many believe he died following a brief illness.
His Will
He died within a month of signing his will, a document which he begins by describing himself as being in "perfect health". Shakespeare signed his last will and testament on 25 March 1616. In his will, he left the bulk of his possessions to his eldest daughter, Susanna. And his wife Anne, he leaves her his second-best bed. It is said that the couple was not close.
Influence
Shakespeare influenced novelists such as Thomas Hardy, William Faulkner, and Charles Dickens. In Shakespeare's day, English grammar, spelling, and pronunciation were less standardised than they are now, and his use of language helped shape modern English.
The early plays were influenced by the works of other Elizabethan dramatists, especially Thomas Kyd and Christopher Marlowe, by the traditions of medieval drama, and by the plays of Seneca. Two outward influences were powerful in developing the genius of Shakespeare, the little of Stratford, center of the most beautiful and romantic district in rural England, and the great city of London.
Critics
he was sufficiently known in London to be attacked in print by the playwright Robert Greene in his Groats-Worth of Wit.
Robert Greene that takes a few jabs at Shakespeare "...There is an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tiger's heart wrapped in a Player's hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes factotum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country," Greene wrote of Shakespeare.
The italicised phrase parodying the line "Oh, tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide" from Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 3, along with the pun "Shake-scene", clearly identify Shakespeare as Greene's target.
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