Transcript William Shakespeare

To be or not to be
That is the question
To be or not to be... Does this sound familiar to you? Well it’s one of
the most famous verses ever. Do you know who wrote this or from
where it is?
This verse comes from a play called Hamlet written by William
Shakespeare. He is regarded as the greatest writer in English
language.
William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare and Mary
Arden, He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptised on 26 April
1564. He was the third child of eight and the eldest surviving son.
Shakespeare was educated at the King's New School in Stratford, a
free school chartered in 1553, about a quarter of a mile from his
home.
At the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26-yearold Anne Hathaway. Anne's pregnancy could
have been the reason for this. Six months after the
marriage, she gave birth to a daughter, Susanna,
who was baptised on 26 May 1583.
Twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed
almost two years later and were baptised on 2
February 1585. Hamnet died of unknown causes
at the age of 11 and was buried on 11 August 1596.
It is not known exactly when Shakespeare began writing,
but contemporary allusions and records of performances
show that several of his plays were on the London stage
by 1592. He was well enough known in London by then to
be attacked in print by the playwright Robert Greene.
From 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. In 1594
Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream and there
are several versions of that play, like this one.
A Midsummer Night’s
Dream
Disney version
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. In
1599, a partnership of company members
built their own theatre on the south bank of
the Thames, which they called The Globe.
In 1608. Records of Shakespeare's
property purchases and investments
indicate that the company made him a
wealthy man. In 1597, he bought the secondlargest house in Stratford.
In the same year he published Romeo and
Juliet, maybe his most famous play.
Romeo and Juliet
(Shakespeare in love)
Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 and was survived by his wife and
two daughters. Some people say that he died the same day as Miguel
de Cervantes, who's regarded as the greatest writer in Spanish
language, but that’s untrue: actually William Shakespeare died 11
days after Cervantes. However, is almost impossible not to think that
they were the bests writers in their own language but they had never
met so.
Some time ago I found a film called Miguel and William, the plot is
about an hypothetical situation in which William Shakespeare meets
Miguel, It’s a Spanish film. After 1606–1607, Shakespeare wrote fewer
plays, and none are attributed to him after 1613.
In 1623 The Taming of the Shrew was published, and our nowadays
cinema’s movies are still inspired by his plays.
The Taming of the
Shrew
(10 Things I hate
about you)
Judith had three children, all of whom died without marrying. Susana
had one child, Elizabeth, who married twice but died without children
in 1670, ending Shakespeare’s direct line.
In his will, Shakespeare left the bulk of his large estate to his elder
daughter Susanna. Shakespeare's will scarcely mentions his wife,
Anne. He did make a point of leaving her "my second best bed",
Shakespeare was buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church
two days after his death. The stone slab covering his grave is
inscribed with a curse against moving his bones.
Shakespeare has been commemorated in many statues and
memorials around the world, including funeral monuments in
Southwark Cathedral and Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey.