William Shakespeare

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Shakespeare (baptized April 26, 1564 - died April 23, 1616) was an English writer. Many people think that he was one of the greatest writers of all time. He wrote powerful tragedies and humorous comedies. His poetry and plays are about the human condition, with feelings such as love, jealousy, anger, gallantry, and much more. Children learn about him in schools around the world. Shakespeare wrote his works between 1585 and 1613.

[edit] Life

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in April 1564, the son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. Shakespeare's father was rich when his son was born, but later lost his importance when he sold wool which was against the law.

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who was eight years older than him, on November 28, 1582 at Temple Grafton, near Stratford. Anne was three months pregnant. They had three children: Susanna, Hamnet and Judith. After his marriage, Shakespeare's name was not on historical papers until he started to write, in London.

In 1596 Hamnet died. Because of the similarities of their names, some people think that his death was the idea for Shakespeare's play The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

By 1598 Shakespeare was living in the St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, and he was at the top of a list of actors in the play "Every man in his Humour", by Ben Jonson.

Shakespeare became a writer and later had his own acting company, called "The Lord Chamberlain's Men". The company took its name, like others of the time, from the man who gave it money: the Lord Chamberlain. The group became so popular that after the death of queen Elizabeth I, when James I became king (1603), he took the company and its new name was "The King's Men".

In London, Shakespeare became very successful. He bought a house in Blackfriars, London, and also owned the second-largest house in Stratford: New Place.

Shakespeare stopped working in about 1611 and died in 1616. He was married to Anne until his death. His gravestone (the stone where he lies in the cemetery) says: "Blest be the man who cast these stones, and cursed be he that moves my bones." This means that the man who made the gravestone was good, and if a person moves his body, they will have bad luck. Some people say that other works by Shakespeare may be in his tomb, but no-one has ever checked this, perhaps because they were afraid of the words on his gravestone.

On this site, you can see all of Shakespeare's plays and poems: Open Source Shakespeare

Here is a list of several of Shakespeare's plays:

• Shakespearean tragedies
  • Romeo and Juliet
  • Macbeth
  • King Lear
  • Hamlet
  • Othello
  • Titus Andronicus
  • Julius Caesar
  • Antony and Cleopatra
  • Coriolanus
  • Troilus and Cressida
  • Timon of Athens
• Shakespearean comedies
  • The Comedy of Errors
  • All's Well That Ends Well
  • As You Like It
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream
  • Much Ado About Nothing
  • Measure for Measure
  • The Tempest
  • Taming of the Shrew
  • Twelfth Night or What You Will
  • The Merchant of Venice
  • The Merry Wives of Windsor
  • Love's Labour's Lost
  • The Two Gentlemen of Verona
  • Pericles Prince of Tyre
  • Cymbeline
  • The Winter's Tale
• Shakespearean histories
  • Richard III
  • Richard II
  • Henry VI, part 1
  • Henry VI, part 2
  • Henry VI, part 3
  • Henry V
  • Henry IV, part 1
  • Henry IV, part 2
  • Henry VIII
  • King John