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Apr 23, 1564
Birth and Early Childhood
William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon; a town in England that was just about 100 miles away from London. He was baptized there on April 26, 1564. Shakespeare's father, John, worked in several fields such as wood trading, leather work, and farming. William was one of eight children, three died in their childhood. Shakespeare most likely attended a local grammar school and studied Latin grammar and classics ('William Shakespeare"). -
Marriage and Children
Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582, in Worcester, in Canterbury Province. Anne was 26 years old and he was 18. They had their first child in May of 1583, her name was Susanna. He also had twins in February of 1585 named Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died at age 11 of unknown causes, Shakespeare lost his only son. This was important because his older daughter, Susanna, was the top person on his will so she took most of his belongings once he died ("Who was William Shakespeare?"). -
Shakespeares Lost Years
Shakespeare has no record for 7 years of what he was doing. The first record was in 1585, when his twins were baptized, the last one of that time period is in 1592, when Robert Greene called him an "upstart cow" . Shakespeare could've done many things. Historians came up with the ideas that he taught school, or joined an acting group. This is important because there were years where we didn't know what he was doing but he came back and was acting and doing his best work ("William Shakespeare"). -
Mary Queen of Scots beheaded
Mary eventually made it to England after escaping from captivity. queen Elizabeth but the tables turned when she had to put her under house arrest after being accused of several English Catholic and Spanish plots to overthrow Elizabeth. Several years later she was beheaded for treason. This is important because as a result of this her son became the king of England, Scotland, and Ireland ("Mary Queen of Scots beheaded"). -
Lord Chamberlain's Men
Shakespeare was documented to be a managing partner with the Lord Chamberlain's Men, which was an acting company in London. This was significant for Shakespeare because he would have the connection and use it for most of his career. Records show that Shakespeare's work was published and sold here. Although theatre at this time was not liked my the high ranked people, the nobility enjoyed it ("William Shakespeare"). -
First Microscope
Zacharias Janssen invented the microscope in the 1590's. He was a spectacle-maker and was experimenting with different lenses in a tube. His design consisted of three tubed this was a very compound structure for this time. He wrote to an old friend about the microscope and he didn't see it until later in the 1650's. This is significant because it is the first invention or idea of a microscope ("Hans and Zacharias Jansen: A complete microscope history"). -
First Plays
The first plays written by Shakespeare were around the 1590's. He covers the leading genres which are tragedy, comedy, and history. By 1597 he had already published 15 out of his total of 37 plays written. At this time he is also known to have purchased another large house in Stratford, this house was for his family. This was important because you can see as the years go on he is getting more developed as a play writer and he is getting more wealthy ("Who was William Shakespeare?"). -
Writing Style
Shakespeare's writing is very different that from todays writing, if you are reading his plays you would probably need a "new english" translation. He used metaphors that didn't go along with the story or its characters, another technique he used was trying to use a variation of words that didn't make sense in the story. This is important because if we never knew where his techniques came from then his writing would be a mystery and not everyone could read it ("Shakespeare's Writing Style"). -
Globe Theatre
Shakespeare and his business partners built a theatre of their own in 1599. The theatre was named the Globe Theatre. Because of the price he bought it at he was making a profit of 60 pounds per year, so in a result of buying the land to build on he became and entrepreneur as well. This is an important event in his life because it is a famous theatre in London and was burnt and rebuilt in 1613 and 1614. It also made him wealthy and more well known across England ('Who was William Shakespeare?"). -
Jamestown Settlement
On May, 13 1607, Jamestown, Virginia became the first permanent English settlement in North America. John Rolfe eventually introduced a new form of tobacco in the settlement. After his new form of tobacco was introduced the Virginia Company now had a cash crop. This was important to Jamestown because they could start making long awaited money after their "starving time" ("A Short Summary of Jamestown"). -
Starry Messenger
In 1609 Galileo Galilei used the telescope he had built on his own to study the sky. After his discovery in 1609 he published a series of letters called "Starry Messenger". The letters were describing what he saw. He observed that Jupiter had four moons as well as the sun had dark spots and the Earth's mood has rough and uneven surfaces. This was important because it blew away Aristotle's theory that the moon and stars were made of perfect and pure substances only ("The Scientific Revolution"). -
Death
Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616 of unknown causes. He was only 52 years old when he died. On his tomb there is an epitaph that some people believe he wrote, or grave robbers. The largest amount of his possessions went to his oldest daughter Susanna. Little is known to be given to his wife, Anne Hathaway, they do know that she did receive his "second best bed" ("William Shakespeare"). -
Mayflower
In 1620 the Mayflower set out from England. Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth and suffered a harsh winter that they were unprepared for, due to the lack of good nutrition and other reasons half died. The natives taught them how to plant corn. With the natives help they were able to somewhat thrive and be able to survive. This is important because the colony overall failed compared to other colonies, this taught other colonies how to start their own colonies based off their mistakes. ("The Pilgrims"). -
Charles I Execution
King Charles was beheaded in London, England on January 30, 1649 for treason. He decided to rule without Parliament. This led England into its first civil war. In 1648, he was forced to stand before a high court controlled by his enemies, here he was convicted of treason and sentenced to death. This is important because not many people liked him as a ruler, he got rid of parliament and thought he was higher than the law. ("King Charles I executed for treason"). -
His Play Affects on Future Time
Shakespeare's writing reached its peak after he died. In the 1800's and even today his plays and writings are studied and performed. His work didn't get appreciation from the higher ranked people in the 1500's. In the 1800's it was the Romantic Period and that is another point when his work reached his height. This is important because even after he died it is still widely know, performed, and read and that shows how strong and great his work was ("Who Was William Shakespeare?"). -
Most Popular Books
Shakespeare is know to have wrote some amazing works of literature. His top 5 books are Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Much Ado About Nothing. Hamlet is possibly based off his own life experience, it develops ideas that hadn't been developed yet. Romeo and Juliet can relate to anyone reading it and he knew that especially for that book.Many of these books are important for us today. Most kids read at least one if not more Shakespeare plays in school (thought.co.com).
