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Marina Armstrong
Honors English 9
OConnor
23 May 2016
Born around 1564 (the precise year is unknown), in Warwickshire England, William
Shakespeare was the third child of eight, and the eldest surviving son. Having written 3 plays,
154 sonnets and two long narrative poems, all of which are translated into every major language,
Shakespeare would come to be known to many as the greatest writer in the English language in
his authorship. He married at 18 and had three children, one of which died of unknown causes at
the age of 11.
Shakespeare didnt leave many historical traces. It is thought that he was educated at the
Kings New School in Stratford, which was a free school and a quarter mile from his home. It is
said that grammar schools differed greatly in quality in the Elizabethan era, yet the curriculum
was, for the most part, similar, so Shakespeare likely had an extensive education based upon
classical Latin authors.
Ostensibly Shakespeare created most of his work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays
were mostly comedies and histories, and said to be the best work ever created in this genre. Until
about 1608, Shakespeare focused primarily on tragedies, including: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear,
and MacBeth, which are still deemed some of the best works in the English Language. William
Shakespeares final phase of life found him writing tragic comedies, or romances, which were
generally a collaboratory effort with other playwrights.
There are few surviving records of William Shakespeares private life; this has
engendered much speculation about his outward appearance and beliefs as well as whether the

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works attributed to him were possibly written by others. He died at the age of 52, within months
of deeming himself in perfect health.
Although we can make many speculations about the life and time of Shakespeare, much
of what we know or think about Shakespeare is really unknown. His work didnt become well
known until about two years after Hamlet was written and after his death his work was almost
completely forgotten and dismissed as just another Elizabethan playwright for almost 200 years.
Because of Shakespeare's ambiguity in the past, there are no concrete records on him. In fact,
around seven years of his life during the time his two twins were born (1585-1582), were
completely unaccounted for; there was no surviving evidence that showed where he was or why
he left Stratford, England. Some say that he had acquired a reputation as an actor, others say he
got in trouble for poaching deer, another hypothesis was he was given a job as a school teacher.
The moral of the story is that we really dont know in depth, the life of William Shakespeare.
Not only were parts of Shakespeares life not accounted for but speculation on his
religion, authorship, sexuality, or physical appearance have also been brought up. Scholars claim
that Shakespeare and his family were Catholics which during the time was illegal in England.
Questions have also been raised as to if Shakespeare was truly the author of all the famous plays
and sonnets or if credit could have been given to other famous Elizabethan writers such as
Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, and Edward de Vere. Although Shakespeare married to
Anne Hathaway at 18, his works of literature suggest he might have been gay or having an affair
with another women which was addressed in the so-called Dark Lady sonnets. Lastly, much of
Shakespeares physical identity is unknown because there are no recorded self portraits, and due
to the demand for a physical figure, many fake portraits have been made.

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The life of Shakespeare is a puzzle with many missing pieces, pieces that most likely
wont be found, even though, here we are four-hundred years later still reading his work. So
while we may not know all the details of who Shakespeare was as a person, we can focus on his
writing and discover the type of writer he was and the influence of his work on the English
literature.

Sources:
"Shakespeare's Life." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 May 2016.
"Shakespeare." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 May 2016.
History.com Staff. "William Shakespeare." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 01 Jan.
2011. Web. 24 May 2016.