Shakespear Essay Research Paper William Shakespeare was

Shakespear Essay, Research Paper

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April, 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. He is world wide recognized as a distinguished writer of the Elizabethan error. Through various collections of his plays and poetry people of all different backgrounds are able to relate to his work in one way or another. It is the aspect of realness of human nature that draws the reader closer and closer. William Shakespeare s world famous Hamlet is a direct result of the real life grief and tragedy he experienced.

William was baptized in Warwickshire, England. It is assumed that he attended the local grammar school, being that his father was bailiff of the town. His father, John Shakespeare was a burgess of the borough, in Warwickshire. He was engaged in various kinds of trade and appears to have suffered some fluctuation in prosperity. His wife, Mary Arden, of Wilmcote,Warwickshire, came from an ancient family and was the burgess of some land. Given the somewhat rigid social distinctions of the 16th century this marriage must have been a step up the social scale for John Shakespeare.

In 1582, at the age of eighteen, William married Anne Hathaway who was eight years older than him and pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. In 1585 Will and his wife, Mary received the blessing of twins {a boy Hamnet and a girl Judith). Tragically young Hamnet would only live to see the young age of eleven. He died in the year of 1596.

By the year 1599 William had made his way into the theater. Lord chamberlain s men built and occupied the Globe Theatre in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare s plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more of his time to retirement in Stratford. He died on April 23, 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford.

According to the Britannica, Shakespeare lived at a time when ideas and social structures established in the Middle ages still formed men s thought and behavior. Queen Elizabeth was God s deputy on earth, and lords and commons had their place in society under her. (pg. 253) This was the main structure of life in William s age and time. People did not choose what they wanted to be or to do in life. This was a time when you just did what was told of you because it was your place to do so. No one could control what type of situation they were born into but it did not matter because they had to accept it as their role in society. To them it was fate/destiny that chose their rank in the world. The officers of royalty were the closest people to God and all others were a number of steps lower depending on their rank.

This rigid and oppressing form of government made way for a constant economic, political, and social struggle throughout England. Royal authority was challenged in parliament. Economic and social structures were disturbed by the rise of capitalism, the redistribution of monastic lands under Henry VIII, the expansion of education, and the influx of new wealth from discovery of new lands according to the Britannica encyclopedia.(pg 253)

There was also an on going struggle with the dominance of religion. Atheism was still considered a challenge to the beliefs of a majority of Elizabethans, but the Christian faith was no longer standing alone. Rome s authority had been challenged by Martin Luther, john Calvin, a multiple of small religious sects, and, indeed the English church itself according to the Britannica Encyclopedia.(pg 263) It is very obvious to see that the Elizabethan error was a period of time that power was very,very important and the fight for it was on.

This is evident throughout William Shakespeare s various works of plays and poetry. There is the presence of that major influence which was the government of his time. According to David Bevington, Shakespeare primarily drew upon Raphael Holinished s Chronicles, which appeared in 1587, and on Edward Hall s earlier account of The Union of the two noble and illustre famelies of Lancastre and York. (1584) From these and numerous secondary sources he inherited such traditional themes; the divine right of succession, the need for unity and order in the realm, the evil of dissension and treason, the cruelty and hardship of war, the power of money to corrupt, the strength of family ties, the need for human understanding and careful calculation, and the power of God, which protected his followers and punished the evil . (Bevington121)

Shakespeare expressed each of these themes in the most extraordinary ways. There is no way to describe him but as a brilliant writer. Richard Andrews says, Shakespeare will surprise you every time. He is just wily in the way he stuctures a play. In Mcbath a comic scene is suddenly introduced after the most treacherous slaughter imaginable when incomes a drunk porter who has to go to the bathroom. Shakespeare is tickling your emotions by bringing a standup comic on stage right on the heels of a savage murder. (pg 8) It was this skill of playing on emotions that William used to the best of his ability. He knew how to rub his crowd or audience the right way. He stimulated laughter, anger, sorrow and other emotions through his literature.