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Apr 23, 1564
BIRTH
WIlliam Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon Avon. -
Shakespeare's Marrige
On November 7, 1582 Shakespeare got married to Anne Hathaway. She grew up in a small village west of Warwickshire. When they married, Anne was 26 while Shakespeare was only 18. -
Shakespeare's First Child
Shakespeare and Anne's first child was a girl. They named her Susanna. She eventually got left with Shakespeare's property when he passed away because she was buisness-savvy and clever. -
Shakespeare has twins
Shakespeare and Anne have twins, a boy and a girl, two years after Susanna. They named them Hamnet and Judith, after two close friends of Shakespeare. -
MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
(1590's) Shakespeare's romantic comedy about four Athenian lovers and a group of amateur actors; this was a popular play performed around the world. -
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
(written between 1590 and 1594) This play written by Shakespeare is a comedy and has also been adapted into an opera, screen, and musical theatre. -
RICHARD III
This play by Shakespeare can be considered a tragedy or part of the histories catagory. It is Shakespeare's second longest play, with Hamlet as the longest. -
SONNETS
Shakespeare begins to compose his first sonnet, which will start his 154 sonnet collection. -
VENUS AND ADONIS
Shakespeare publishes "Venus and Adonis". This is his first, published, long poem. It is dedicated to the Earl of Southampton, and his patron, Henry Wriothesley. -
ROMEO AND JULIET
Shakespeare's play written about two teenage lovers, and a huge family fued, ending with their deaths. This play is considered a tragedy. -
Hamnet's death
This was a tragic day for Shakespeare. Hamnet died at age 11. Although unsure of his death, many believe that there are some relations to it in Shakespreare's play Hamlet. His son's death caused Shakespeare to move into a new house and "start over." -
NEW PLACE
Shakespeare buys the New Place, this was one of the most distinguished houses in Stratford. This began the speculations today made by some academics, in which they thought that William was really a successful businessman and not one of literature’s celebrated playwrights. -
HAMLET
(Between 1599 and 1601) Shakespeare started writing the play Hamlet, this was a play that took place in Denmark, and was about Prince Hamlet's revenge on his uncle Claudius. -
HENRY V
Shakespeare's play about the life of Henry the 5th, focusing mainly on the events after the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Year's War. -
JULIUS CAESAR
This play by Shakespeare is about the conspiracy against the Roman Dictator, Julius Caesar, his assassination, and the aftermath. -
TWELFTH NIGHT OR WHAT YOU WILL
This play written by Shakespeare is named after the twelve night holiday of the Christmas season. It is a comedy about a mistaken identity. -
OTHELLO, THE MORE OF VENICE
This Shakespearean play in considered a tragedy and is based on various themes including love, racism, jealousy, and betrayal. -
MACBETH
(between 1603 and 1606) This is one of Shakespeare's well-known plays and one of his shortest tragedies; it speaks of the dangers of lust for power and the betrayal of friends. Its plot also has historical accounts referring to King Macbeth of Scotland. -
Shakespeare Says Goodbye to the Theatre
In 1608 Shakespeare decides to retire from the theatre. -
SONNETS PUBLISHED
The publisher Thomas Thorpe prints the 154 collection of Shakespeare's sonnets. -
Shakespeare's Death
At the age of 52, Shakespeare passed away and was buried at the Holy Trinity Church. -
Who was Ben Jonson?
Ben Jonson was an English Renaissance writer and poet. According to some historians he is said to have written the plays that Shakespeare takes credit for.The reason people believe Ben Jonson wrote Shakespeare's plays is because he was also a writer during this time period. In 1603 he wrote a poem for the welcoming of King James I and throughout his lifetime wrote plays such as "Volpone”, "Every Man in his Humour", "The Alchemist" and “Bartholomew Fair”. -
More About Ben Jonson
Volpone was a popular play of the comedy genre written by Ben Jonson. Volpone, meaning "sly fox" in Italian was the the name of the main character; a Nobleman from Venice. Enjoyed by many people this comedy was ver popular. Bartholomew’s Fayre was another famous comedy by Ben Jonson written nine years after Volpone. This had some drama influences as well. It took place in London and described the religious, social and political conflicts of the typical London society. -
Ben Jonson's Death
Ben Jonson had been battling many stokes since 1620, and on a warm August day in 1637, he passed away. His grave had the words,"O Rare Ben Johnson". People then turned this into a prayer. Ben Jonson never showed any fear of death; he said, “He that fears death, or mourns it, in the just, shows of the resurrection little trust.” -
AUTHORSHIP 1
Many people have questioned Shakespeare's authorship of his plays, claiming that these plays contained to much accurate information about distant places of affairs at court to have been written by a low class citizen like Shakespeare. They have also said that the plays show a far to wide range of styles to have been written by one specific person. Finally he was thought to have not had enough education, with his roots being from Stratford on Avon, to have written these high caliber plays. -
AUTHORSHIP 2
However, there is no real proof of these assumptions being true. One of the top candidates regarding the real author of some of Shakespeare's plays is Francis Bacon. Works of his have been found with codes and messages included in them, thus giving Ignatius Donnelly the idea to look for codes that might be hidden in Shakespeare's plays proving Bacon to be the real author. He searched for secret codes and messages within the written plays and other works and found no real evidence. -
AUTHORSHIP 3
He became so focused on finding these "secret messages" that had been found in other works created by Bacon proving to show his authorship of the piece, that he came up with his own complex numerical scheme to finding the code that only existed in his mind. Thus proving that Shakespeare must have been the real author for there is no true evidence supporting these theories other than high class people wanting to take credit for the plays by Shakespeare.
