My next destination was England; home of William Shakespeare, a playwright and poet born in the 16th Century. I choose Shakespeare as my next person of interest as he is universally regarded as one of the greatest vernacular writers - all of his poems, sonnets & plays are written in English. The exact date of Shakespeare's birth is unknown, although it has been confirmed that he was baptized on the 26 April 1564 in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church - where he was later buried. He was born and raised in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire to John & Mary (Arden), and attended a local grammar school there, studying subjects such as: Latin rhetoric, logic and literature.
In 1582, when Shakespeare was only eighteen years old, he married Anne Hathaway, who was 26 at the time. Just six months after their marriage, their first daughter, Susanna was born, followed by twins Judith & Hamnet in 1585. Hamnet, unfortunately died in 1596, at the mere age of 11.
There is a great deal of uncertainty as to happenings in Shakespeare's life between his early life and his move to London; this period is often referred to as the "dark years." It is reckoned that he left school at the age of 15 and sought employment in a local company - perhaps working for his father.
Soon after his marriage to Anne, Shakespeare moved to London to pursue a career in acting and writing. There was a mass of theatres in London, as the Queen, Elizabeth I, loved drama. When Shakespeare began his successful career with A London theatrical company, he also learnt to sing & dance and perhaps even played the parts of women - who were forbidden from performing in this era. It is believed that Shakespeare wrote & acted in "Pembroke's Men" and "Strange's Men."
When the plague struck in 1592, all the theatres in London closed down and Shakespeare began writing book-length poetry and sonnets to fill up his time. Some of his most famous poetry includes "Venus and Andonis" and "The Rape of Lucrece." During this two-year span, he also began writing sonnets, totaling to 150. According to some records, his sonnets are dedicated to a mysterious "dark lady" - whom was not actually his wife, however other speculation indicated that his sonnets were more signs of the time's fashion rather than confessions of his own love. In 1594, the theatres re-opened and Shakespeare reverted to composing plays & published no more poems. His plays are very popular today as they deal with personal problems such as love, hatred & jealousy. Some of his most famous would include "Romeo & Juliet" "Hamlet" and "The Merchant of Venice."
In 1599, Shakespeare founded the Globe Theatre, built by a group of established actors, known as The Chamberlain's Men. Shakespeare later purchased another theatre, called the "Blackfriars Gatehouse." The Globe bruned down around 1613 and he moved back to Stratford-Upon-Avon.
Shakespeare died on the 23rd April 1616 and although never short of money - never found much fame until after this date.
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in the south of Warwickshire, England and lies on the River Avon. This river served as a trade route for the town. It is both the largest and most populous town (25,505) in the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which consists of four wards: Alveston, Avenue and New Town, Mount Pleasant and Guild and Hathaway. The town of Stratford is in close proximity to Cotswolds, which was a major sheep-producing area up until the late 19th century & regarded Stratford as one of it's main centres for the slaughter, marketing & distribution of sheep and wool. As a result of this, the town also became an important centre for tanning (process of making leather which will not decompose) during the 15th-17th century.
The town experiences a temperate maritime climate, much like Ireland, where sunshine is scarce and rain widespread & evenly distributed. The highest temperature recording for the town is 35.7 degrees Celsius.
Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.- William Shakespeare
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