The Life and Works of William Shakespeare: A Timeless Legacy

William Shakespeare is the greatest of all playwrights and poets of all time. Not much is known of his life. William Shakespeare was born in 1564, in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon. His father, John Shakespeare, was a glove-maker and wool dealer.

William went to the local free grammar school where he studied Latin. At the age of 18, Shakespeare married and had three children. Little is known of his life before 1592, when he appeared as a playwright in London. Soon he became an actor, playing supporting roles like the ghost in Hamlet. In 1599, Shakespeare became a part owner of the Globe Theatre in London.

Shakespeare wrote history plays such as Henry IV and Richard III, comedies such as A Midsummer Night's Dream and A Comedy of Errors. Shakespeare's early tragedy is Romeo and Juliet.

Between 1600 and 1608, Shakespeare wrote his four great tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear. It is the summit of Shakespeare's art.

Hamlet is probably the most popular and best-known of all Shakespeare's plays. It is a very philosophical play. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is a highly intelligent person.

Hamlet's soliloquy is very famous: "To be, or not to be; that is the question..."

Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603 and was succeeded by James VI of Scotland, son of Mary Stuart. James, who became James I of England and Scotland, was a lover of the theatre.

Shakespeare wrote the tragedy Macbeth, in which the action takes place in Scotland. In 1606, Shakespeare was a very mature and successful playwright. He had become a wealthy man.

In King Lear, we see evil defeated. King Lear is the greatest of all Shakespeare's tragedies.

The story of an old king of England and his three daughters was not invented by Shakespeare. Shakespeare hardly ever invented the plot of his plays.

Between 1608 and 1613, Shakespeare wrote five plays: Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, and Henry VIII. In The Tempest, Shakespeare says farewell to the theatre and to his friends.

On June 29, 1613, the Globe Theatre was destroyed in a fire. For Shakespeare and his colleagues, it must have been a terrible time. The Globe was the greatest theatre in England.

Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616.

He wrote 38 plays and many poems.