The works of William Shakespeare is customary regarded to the finest dramatist the world has ever seen due to his many poems and plays. He may have been deceased for over four hundred years, but his work lives on. William Shakespeare’s work continues to leave a mark on literature to this day. This man’s work is arguably the most famous writer of the English language. He has written thirty- eight plays, two narrative poems, and several other poems and one hundred fifty-four sonnets. Although there is very little that we know about Shakespeare’s early life, we are able to see how much of an impact his work made in the theatrical world. Shakespeare is influential due to his platform, work, and personal experience.
During the time of William Shakespeare’s young life, there were not many records of his beginning year and there were zero records of his birth. In this era of the Elizabethan Renaissance, keeping records of people’s birth did not happen. They were able to take an educated guess on the birth of Shakespeare due to his baptism records. In a biography it explains that, “Back in this time, baptisms were recorded on entry in the ‘Stratford Perish Baptism reeds, ‘son of John Shakespeare,’ and it is dated April 26, 1564. (Bergeron Pg. 14)”. In the sixteenth-century, England, most of the baptisms took place within a few days after the birth of a child, so scholars have set the birth of William Shakespeare on April 23rd.
Shakespeare comes from a long line of uneducated ancestors. “William Shakespeare’s father, John, was a man of humble origins. The son of a tenant farmer from the village of Snitterfield left home to take up an apprenticeship as a glove maker in a nearby town” (Thrasher pg. 11). William’s father soon married and then decided to start a family. He was the third of nine children born to Mary Arda and John Shakespeare, but the first to live beyond infancy (Thrasher pg. 14). Stratford- upon- Avon, in the country of Warwickshire, England, was where the parents of Shakespeare decided to have him.
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There is very little to know about the early years of William, they were very little recorded evidence to what his parents and he did during the baby stages. We know that William was born into the political and social turmoil following the reformation and the break with the old catholic faith. In an article it explains that, “Williams parent were raised on Catholic…William’s own religious beliefs, of any, are a matter of speculation” (Dommermuth-Costa pg.21). This would have had an impact on William’s future writing and all that he was.
In the Encyclopedia about William is explains that scholars do know is that, William Shakespeare probably began his education by entering a petty school when he was about seven years old (Dommermuth-Costa pg.23). The schools in this time, were mostly religious. The school day were extremely long, they would do work all day and have a short lunch. Then it ended with a religious reading, the singing of humans and a prayer. William and his friends left school around six a clock in the evening.
In a biograph about William is explains that, “Young William attended school about nine hours a day, six days a week, and he attended classes all year except for three short holiday periods” (Thrasher 26). There is evidence that in William’s younger years and during most of his school years, he would have been exposed to theater in many different forms. Going to school for all those hours in the day, there were many different activities that William would have been a part of. William would have finished school around the age of fourteen, it is crazy to think that in just seven years that William was able to get a formal education that created who he became.
The next years after William’s school years were considered his, “lost years.” There are two reasons to why there is no extensive early critical writing about Shakespeare, “For one thing, there simply was no well- established tradition of literacy criticism in the sixteenth century” (Bergeron pg. 2). There are not any records of him until the marriage to his wife, Anne Hathaway. In November 1582, there was a marriage to a pregnant Anne Hathaway. “At age eighteen, William was still a minor and needed permission to marry; their first child, Susanna, was born the following May, and later had twins, Hamnet and Judith, in 1585” (Dommermuth-Costa pg. 20). Both twins died at a very young age for an unknown cause.
It is believed that William Shakespeare started his writing career in 1592. At this he was already a well- established actor who had a great reputation. Shakespeare used his writing to capture the complete range of emotion and conflict. Shakespeare left the world centuries ago, but his writing continues to live throughout the world today. His writing has impacted multiple races and several different cultures. Shakespeare related to his audience and this is one reason why his legacy lives on. In all of his writing, the comedy, poetry, and the history behind it. It didn’t matter what he was writing he would somehow find a way to relate to any and all of the audience to grasp their attention. This is why his work was so successful.
One of Hamlets most famous work, is something that is very familiar, even to this day, Hamlet, this was written during the first part of the seventeenth century. There is no recorded evidence on the exact date on when this play would have been performed but the educated guess from scholars is in “July of 1602” (Bergeron pg. 5). The play is written about a Danish Prince that is seeking revenge for his father, the king’s murder. The theme of this work of art is the theme of madness. The encyclopedia explains this play as, “the theme is apparent
throughout the play, mainly through the actions and thoughts of Hamlet, Ophelia, and Laertes. Madness is defined as the quality or condition of mental illness or derangement (being insane)”(Dommermuth-Costa pg. 34). Hamlet was written decades ago, yet it is still such a familiar piece in the world.
Another very familiar piece that almost everyone has heard of is Romeo and Juliet. This tragedy has been written in so many different forms, it has even been made in forms for children to be able to enjoy William Shakespeare’s work. This story is one of the most famous tragedy’s ever written. It is about two lovers whose death ultimately reconcile their feuding families. Romeo and Juliet isn’t just popular in today’s time it was even really famous in Shakespeare time. This play was written about the time of, “1594-96 and was published in 1597” (Thrasher pg. 11). It is crazy to think how many movies have been made on this specific performance and still to this day how successful it still is.
Overall, William Shakespeare has made such an impact on theatrical performance. Even though there isn’t much information’s and records of his life, we can see that whatever really happened when he was growing up there was definitely some talent that had been created. It is crazy to think how he still very well known for many of his pieces of work. Even after his death his legacy continues to live on and his work continues to make an impact on literature and theatrical performances.
