King Lear Essay on Concept Map and Life of Shakespeare

The Life of William Shakespeare

This essay will look at the life of William Shakespeare as presented within a Concept but in explained in more detail. William Shakespeare, was born on St. George's Day, that is, 23rd of April, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England and died in 1616. He was the son of Mary Arden who was the daughter of a wealthy landowner. Mary Arden died in 1608 and was married to John Shakespeare who was a glove maker and local politician that was elected into civial positions in the community between 1557 and 1570. William Shakespeare had several siblings including three brothers and four sisters. His oldest sibling is his sister Joan who was born in 1558 and died from plague and he also had another sister name Joan as well who was born in 1569 and died in 1646. He was the second eldest of the Shakespeare's children. His immediate younger brother's name was Gilbert who was born in 1566 and died in 1616 which was the same year as William Shakespeare. His other sisters' names were Margaret who was born in 1562 and subsequently dying in 1563 which was only a year after her brith and Anne who was born in 1571 and died in 1579. William Shakespeare attended the Stratford Grammer School also known as the King's new school, between the ages of 6 to 13. He enjoyed learning English and reading storied written by Latin authors while learning Rhetoric, Logic, History and Latin. As a child Shakespeare worked for a butcher. In 1582, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathway, who was an orphan as a youth, while she was pregnant with their first child whose name was Susanna and born subsequently born in 1583. The couple also had twins, Hamnet and Judith, who were born in 1585 and died in 1596. The years 1578 to 1582 were considered "Lost Years" since Shakespearespent them acquiring skills as an actor and playwright. Between 1582 and 1592, he moved to London and began working in theatre while not only bieng a member but also part owner of the Lord Chamberlain's Men who were later called the King's Men. In 1599, Globe Theater was built by L.C.M of which Shakespeare was the primary investor. William Shakespeare established a career out of acting and writing playwrights especially that of Hamlet which assisted him in acummulating much wealth in 1602. In 1613, Globe Theater was destroyed by fire during the showcasing of one of Shakespeare's plays. WilliaM Shakespeare has made 38 plays inclusive of fourteen comedies, ten histories, ten tragedies and four romances. It is believed that he may have possibly written three others and collaborated in the making of several other plays. He also wrote two major poems called "Venus and Adonis" and "Rape of Lucrece" along with 154 sonnets and numerous other poems. Williams Shakespeare did not write Old English nor did he write middle English but rather in "Early Modern English". Shakespeare coined many words which are still bieng used within society today such as "Critical","Majestic" and "Dwindle" and a few phrases such as "One fell swoop", "Flesh and Blood" and "Vanish into thin air". Shakespeare's language consisted of a mixture between the old and the new so that it was understandable by even the lowest of peasants and highest of nobles. Theatrical Conventions, a suspension of reality, of Shakespeare's Theatre consisted of no electricity, no women since they were forbidden to act on stage and minimal contemporary costumes along with minimal scenery since these control dialouge. Also, present within the Threatrical Conventions of Shakespeare's Theatre were Soliloquy and Aside which are types of speech along with Blood and Gore and the Supernatural because it is assumed that the Audience loves to scared. Finally, there is also use of disguise in order to created a mistaken identity with the last speaker bieng highest in rank within the tragedies, multiple murders in tragedies and multiple marriages in comedies.