Conor mara biography of william shakespeare

Some of his most popular plays include:. Shakespeare died in ; it is not clear how he died, and numerous suggestions have been put forward. John Ward, the local vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford where Shakespeare is buriedwrites in a diary account that:. The average life expectancy of someone born in London, England in the Sixteenth Century was about 35 years old, Shakespeare died age They contend Shakespeare was actually just a successful businessman, and for authorship suggest names such as Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford.

Arguments have also been made for Francis Bacon. The argument that Shakespeare was actually the Earl of Oxford relies on circumstantial evidence and similarities in his writing style and relationships between his life and the play of Shakespeare. However, there is no hard evidence tying the Earl of Oxford to the theatre or writing the scripts.

By contrast, there is evidence of William Shakespeare working in theatres and he received a variety of criticism from people such as Ben Johnson and Robert Greene. Also, the Earl of Oxford died inand it is generally agreed there were 12 plays published after this date. Oxfords contend these plays were finished by conor mara biography of william shakespeare writers.

It is also hard to believe the vain Earl of Oxford who killed one of his own servants would write such amazing scripts and then be happy with anonymity. Shakespeare was the company's regular dramatist, producing on average two plays a year, for almost twenty years. Altogether Shakespeare's works include 38 plays, 2 narrative poems, sonnets, and a variety of other poems.

No original manuscripts of Shakespeare's plays are known to exist today. It is actually thanks to a group of actors from Shakespeare's company that we have about half of the plays at all. They collected them for publication after Shakespeare died, preserving the plays. These writings were brought together in what is known as the First Folio 'Folio' refers to the size of the paper used.

It contained 36 of his plays, but none of his poetry. His plays have had an enduring presence on stage and film. His writings have been compiled in various iterations of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, which include all of his plays, sonnets, and other poems. William Shakespeare continues to be one of the most important literary figures of the English language.

Download our complete William Shakespeare Study Guide for free to explore the key themes and characters from three of his most important plays. Download Free Study Guide. Character in OthelloKing Learand Macbeth present vivid impressions of human temperament that are timeless and universal. Possibly the best known of these plays is Hamletwhich explores betrayal, retribution, incest, and moral failure.

Shakespeare wrote comedies throughout his career, including his first play The Taming of the Shrew. Some of his comedies might be better described as tragicomedies. Although graver in tone than the comedies, they are not the dark tragedies of King Lear or Macbeth because they end with reconciliation and forgiveness. Additional Shakespeare comedies include:.

Shakespeare is known to have created plays with other writers, such as John Fletcher. They also collaborated on Cardenioa play which was not preserved. When including these works, Shakespeare has 41 plays to his name. Around the turn of the 17 th century, Shakespeare became a more extensive property owner in Stratford. When his father, John, died inhe inherited the family home.

Then, inhe purchased about acres for pounds. InShakespeare purchased leases of real estate near Stratford for pounds, which doubled in value and earned him 60 pounds a year. This made him an entrepreneur as well as an artist, and scholars believe these investments gave him uninterrupted time to write his plays. He likely spent the last three years of his life in Stratford.

Tradition holds that Shakespeare died on his 52 nd birthday, April 23,but some scholars believe this is a myth. Church records show he was interred at Holy Trinity Church on April 25, In his will, he left the bulk of his possessions to his eldest daughter, Susanna, who by then was married. However, there is very little evidence the two had a difficult marriage.

He is credited with inventing or introducing more than 1, words to the English language, often as a result of combining words, changing usages, or blending in foreign root words. It was published with the title Mr. In addition to its literary importance, the First Folio contains an original portrait of Shakespeare on the title page. The other is a memorial bust at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.

They lost their only son, Hamnet, when the boy was 11 years old. Daughters Susanna and Judith would live to be 66 and 77, respectively. From untilvery little information is available regarding the Shakespeare household or the bard himself. During this period that historians refer to as the writer's lost years, only a scant legal document or two gives evidence of Shakespeare's existence.

Over the years, various biographers have speculated that he may have been a poacher on the run from a disgruntled landowner, a horse-minder at a London theater, or more probably, a local schoolmaster. Also during his lost years, the bard was devoting a good portion of his time to playwriting. Bysolid evidence shows that one if not more of his plays was underway on London stages.

Conor mara biography of william shakespeare

The first of his plays in production was probably "Henry IV, Part One," an historical work which not only chronicles the active years of the monarch's reign but also introduces his son Hal and Henry Percy, or Hotspur, a rival. The bard had established himself in London prior toas evidenced by a mention in the London Times by a fellow playwright.

Byhe and a group of colleagues had formed an acting troupe they called The Lord Chamberlain's Men, in honor of their patron, which would soon grow to prominence in the London theater scene. The s were quite a prolific time for Shakespeare. ByShakespeare had written approximately 15 of his 38 surviving plays. He had achieved enough financial success to purchase one of Stratford's nicest homes for his family.

He continued to live principally in London where he wrote and acted in his plays. During periods such as Lent when theaters were closed and when outbreaks of the plague shut down the city, he likely spent time with his family in Stratford. Shakespeare was not only writing scripts for his company, often based on stories from mythology, literature and historic accounts, but he was also acting in his own plays.