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Critical Insights: Romeo and Juliet

Chronology of William Shakespeare’s Life

1564 William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564. He is baptized in the local church on April 26. His date of birth is usually assumed to have been April 23. His parents are John and Mary Shakespeare. John is a successful glove-maker who, in the years preceding and following William’s birth, is a respected member of the local government, although he later suffers financial and social reversals. In addition to giving birth to William, Mary bears seven other children. William almost certainly attends the local grammar school. 1582 William marries Anne Hathaway, daughter of a prominent local farmer. Anne is three months pregnant at the time of the wedding and eight years older than William. In 1583, Anne gives birth to a daughter (Susanna). In 1585, the couple has twins (Hamnet and Judith). Hamnet dies in 1596. 1585-92 Details of Shakespeare’s life during this period are unclear and have been the subject of much speculation. One legend (now widely doubted) suggests that he had to leave Stratford to escape the law after he allegedly poached deer from the property of a prominent local landowner. Other writers have speculated that during his time in Stratford, Shakespeare may have worked for a lawyer and/or may have taught school. Some recent scholars have suggested that during part of this period, Shakespeare may have been living, teaching, and (as an amateur) acting while part of the household of a prominent Catholic family in Lancashire. Numerous other theories abound concerning these “lost years.” The idea that Shakespeare taught in some capacity seems plausible to many. 1592 An allusion this year by the London writer Robert Greene seems to mock Shakespeare as an “Upstart Crow” and implies that by this time, Shakespeare was living in London, acting in plays, and writing blank verse, presumably for the professional theaters that were increasingly being founded at this time. Greene’s attack also alludes to one of Shakespeare’s plays (now known as Henry VI, Part Three). Most scholars assume that by 1592, Shakespeare had already written a number of his earliest plays. 1594 In 1593, plague forces the closing of London’s theaters. Shakespeare is often assumed to have written some of his most important nondramatic poems during the period when the theaters were closed. Partly these poems (especially the popular Venus and Adonis, which was followed by The Rape of Lucrece) seem to have been intended to attract the patronage of powerful persons. The earliest sonnets are also often dated to this period. Some scholars believe that Shakespeare was also writing plays during the time when the theaters were closed, with an eye either toward private performance, future public performance, or both. Venus and Adonis, Lucrece, and some of the sonnets were publicly praised in 1598, although the sonnets were not printed until 1609. In the period following the reopening of the theaters in 1594, Shakespeare’s theatrical career once again flourished. He wrote plays, acted in them, and profited from the sales of tickets. These profits eventually made him a rich man. 1594-99 During this period, Shakespeare is productive as an actor; writer; and, in 1599, part owner of the newly constructed open-air, octagonal-shaped Globe Theater, one of the most important public theaters in history. He earns 10 percent of the profits of the new theater. He is a member of the so-called “Chamberlain’s Men,” an acting company sponsored by one of the most powerful political figures in the kingdom. By 1597, Shakespeare is able to purchase a substantial home in Stratford, where his wife and surviving children apparently still live, while he lives and works in London. 1603 With the death of Queen Elizabeth in this year and the accession of King James I (who remained King James VI of Scotland), the name of Shakespeare’s acting company is changed from “the Chamberlain’s Men” to “the King’s Men.” Their patron is now the most important person in the entire now-united kingdoms. Both before and after Elizabeth’s death, Shakespeare’s plays are performed at the royal court. The actor/playwright is now both increasingly wealthy and increasingly well known. In 1602, he buys more property in Stratford, and in ensuing years, he makes further investments in his hometown. 1608 In this year, Shakespeare’s company, in addition to performing at the Globe (in Southwark, across the River Thames and south of London), begins performing in a much smaller, more elite indoor theater inside the city of London itself. 1611 Shakespeare is often assumed to begin retiring from full-time involvement in the stage in this year, although some collaborative plays postdate this period. This is the year of his last great “romance” (a modern term), The Tempest, which is often seen as a valedictory work. 1616 Early in this year, Shakespeare amends his will, providing generously for his daughter, his sister, and the local poor and remembering various friends, including old theatrical colleagues. The will mentions his wife only briefly, which may or may not be significant. He dies on April 23 (that is, supposedly fifty-two years to the day of his supposed birth date). He is buried in the same local church where he had been baptized. 1623 In this year, friends of Shakespeare oversee the publication of the famous “First Folio,” the massive book that contains most of his works (although many of his writings had previously been individually published in small, cheap, “quarto” editions).

Note: Much of the information cited here was helpfully assembled by Terry Gray and published on one of the many splendid pages of his generally splendid website “Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet”: http://web.archive.org/web/20111025081356/http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/life.htm. See, in particular: http://web.archive.org/web/20111007131108/http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/timeline/timeline.htm.

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MLA 9th
"Chronology Of William Shakespeare’s Life." Critical Insights: Romeo and Juliet, edited by Robert C. Evans, Salem Press, 2017. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CIRJ_0019.
APA 7th
Chronology of William Shakespeare’s Life. Critical Insights: Romeo and Juliet, In R. C. Evans (Ed.), Salem Press, 2017. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CIRJ_0019.
CMOS 17th
"Chronology Of William Shakespeare’s Life." Critical Insights: Romeo and Juliet, Edited by Robert C. Evans. Salem Press, 2017. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CIRJ_0019.