William shakespeare biography

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William shakespeare born
William shakespeare short biography for students

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Shakespeare’s life and inspirations

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor.
Shakespeare’s plays include Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and The Tempest.
Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 and married Anne Hathaway in 1582. They had three children.
Shakespeare spent most of his professional life with an acting company in London, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. In 1599, the acting company built the Globe Theatre.
Shakespeare’s plays are still performed all over the world and have inspired many films, ballets, musicals and operas.

Watch this video about Shakespeare’s life and inspirations

Female presenter: William Shakespeare.

William Shakespeare: What?

Female presenter: I’m talking about you, not to you. Writer, poet, player and his story begins right here in London.

William Shakespeare: What? No I was, I was born in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Female presenter: What? I ain’t going Stratford, it’s miles away.

William Shakespeare: It’s nice.

Female presenter: So…

William Shakespeare: Two tickets to Strat

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William Shakespeare: A biography

Since William Shakespeare lived more than 400 years ago, and many records from that time are lost or never existed in the first place, we don’t know everything about Shakespeare’s life. For example, we know that he was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, 100 miles northwest of London, on April 26, 1564. But we don’t know his exact birthdate, which must have been a few days earlier.

We do know that Shakespeare’s life revolved around two locations: Stratford and London. He grew up, had a family, and bought property in Stratford, but he worked in London, the center of English theater. As an actor, a playwright, and a partner in a leading acting company, he became both prosperous and well-known. Even without knowing everything about his life, fans of Shakespeare have imagined and reimagined him according to their own tastes.

Looking for more in-depth information? Need something you can cite? Read an essay about Shakespeare’s life from the Folger Shakespeare Editions. Read essay

Primary sources

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Life of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an actor, playwright, poet, and theatre entrepreneur in London during the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean eras. He was baptised on 26 April 1564^[a] in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England, in the Holy Trinity Church. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children. He died in his home town of Stratford on 23 April 1616, aged 52.

Though more is known about Shakespeare's life than those of most other Elizabethan and Jacobean writers, few personal biographical facts survive, which is unsurprising in the light of his social status as a commoner, the low esteem in which his profession was held, and the general lack of interest of the time in the personal lives of writers. Information about his life derives from public rather than private documents: vital records, real estate and tax records, lawsuits, records of payments, and references to Shakespeare and his works in printed and hand-written texts. Nevertheless, hundreds of biographies have been written and more continue to be,