William Shakespeare facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Shakespeare
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William Shakespeare
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| Born | 1564 (baptized) Stratford-upon-Avon, England
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| Died | 23 April 1616 Stratford-upon-Avon, England
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| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Playwright, actor |
| Known for | Plays and poetry |
William Shakespeare (baptized 26 April 1564 – died 23 April 1616) was a famous English author. He wrote 37 plays and two long poems during his life. Many people call him England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon," or simply "the Bard." This means he was a great poet from the Avon River area.
Shakespeare wrote his amazing works between about 1590 and 1613. He lived in Stratford-upon-Avon, a town in Warwickshire, England. Even today, his plays are still performed all over the world. Many of his famous lines are still quoted in modern books and movies.
By 1594, Shakespeare was an actor in a group called The Chamberlain's Men. This was a very popular acting company.
His plays fit into different genres, which are types of stories. He wrote histories, tragedies, and comedies. These plays are some of the most famous in English literature. They have been translated into almost every major living language. More people perform Shakespeare's plays than those of any other writer.
Shakespeare is also famous for adding many new words and phrases to the English language. He even made some words more popular. He created over 1,700 English words that we still use today.
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Shakespeare's Life Story
William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. His father was an alderman (a local leader) and a successful glover, meaning he made gloves. His mother came from a wealthy family who owned land. William was born in Stratford-upon-Avon. We don't know his exact birth date, but people usually celebrate it on 23 April, which is Saint George's Day. He was the third of eight children and the oldest son who survived.
Most people who study Shakespeare believe he went to the King's New School in Stratford. This was a free school. Students there learned a lot about Latin and famous classical writers.
When he was 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who was 26. They had three children: Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith. Sadly, Hamnet died when he was only 11 years old.
We don't know exactly when Shakespeare started writing. But by 1592, several of his plays were already being performed in London. By 1598, his name was so well-known that it started appearing on the title pages of his plays. Even after becoming a successful writer, Shakespeare continued to act in his own plays and others.
Throughout his career, Shakespeare spent time in both London and Stratford. He bought a family home in Stratford called New Place in 1596. In 1599, his acting company built the famous Globe Theatre in London.
Shakespeare retired to Stratford a few years before he passed away. He died on 23 April 1616, when he was 52 years old. He was buried in the chancel (the area near the altar) of the Holy Trinity Church two days later. The stone slab over his grave has a special message carved into it. It includes a warning against moving his bones.
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Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare, |
Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear, |
Shakespeare's Lasting Impact
Shakespeare's plays and poems have had a huge and lasting effect on theatre and literature. Many writers and artists have been inspired by his work.
In Shakespeare's time, English spelling and grammar were not as fixed as they are now. His way of using language helped shape modern English. A famous writer named Samuel Johnson quoted Shakespeare more than any other author in his dictionary. Many everyday phrases we use come from Shakespeare's plays, like "with bated breath" (from Merchant of Venice) and "a foregone conclusion" (from Othello).
Shakespeare's influence goes far beyond England and the English language.
According to Guinness World Records, Shakespeare is still the world's best-selling playwright. It's believed that over four billion copies of his plays and poems have been sold since his death. He is also the third most translated author in history.
Who Really Wrote Shakespeare's Plays?
About 150 years after Shakespeare died, some writers started to wonder if William Shakespeare truly wrote all the works credited to him. They had different reasons for this idea. For example, the person who signed works as "Shakespeare" seemed to know a lot about other countries, like Italy and France. However, William Shakespeare himself never left England.
Several other writers have been suggested as the "real" Shakespeare. These include Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, and Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. However, most scholars today believe that William Shakespeare did write the plays and poems that have his name on them.
How Shakespeare Looked
We don't have any written descriptions of what Shakespeare looked like from his own time. Also, there's no proof that he ever had a portrait painted. So, the best ideas of his appearance come from two places: the Droeshout engraving (a picture that his friend Ben Jonson said looked like him) and his monument in Stratford.
Famous Quotes from William Shakespeare
- "Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast."
- "All that glitters is not gold."
- "True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings."
List of Shakespeare's Plays
Shakespearean Tragedies
- Romeo and Juliet
- Macbeth
- King Lear
- Hamlet
- Othello
- Titus Andronicus
- Julius Caesar
- Antony and Cleopatra
- Coriolanus
- Troilus and Cressida
- Timon of Athens
Shakespearean Comedies
- The Comedy of Errors
- All's Well That Ends Well
- As You Like It
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Much Ado About Nothing
- Measure for Measure
- The Tempest
- Taming of the Shrew
- Twelfth Night or What You Will
- The Merchant of Venice
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
- Love's Labour's Lost
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona
- Pericles Prince of Tyre
- Cymbeline
- The Winter's Tale
Shakespearean Histories
- King John (play)
- Richard II
- Richard III
- Henry IV, part 1
- Henry IV, part 2
- Henry V
- Henry VI, part 1
- Henry VI, part 2
- Henry VI, part 3
- Henry VIII
Lost Plays
- Love's Labour's Won
- Cardenio
Images for kids
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John Shakespeare's house, believed to be Shakespeare's birthplace, in Stratford-upon-Avon.
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Shakespeare's coat of arms. It shows a spear, which is a play on his family name.
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Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare was baptized and is buried.
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Shakespeare's funerary monument in Stratford-upon-Avon.
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Shakespeare's grave, next to those of Anne Shakespeare, his wife, and Thomas Nash, his granddaughter's husband.
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Procession of Characters from Shakespeare's Plays by an unknown artist from the 1800s.
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Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing. By William Blake, around 1786. This painting is at Tate Britain.
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The reconstructed Globe Theatre in London.
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Title page from the 1609 edition of Shake-Speares Sonnets.
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A statue of William Shakespeare in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Many statues like this were made in the 1800s and early 1900s.
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The Plays of William Shakespeare. By Sir John Gilbert, 1849.
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See Also
In Spanish: William Shakespeare para niños
