Background Information

William Shakespeare was born in 1564. He was christened on April 26, 1564 in the Holy Trinity
chrch in Strat!ord, "n#land. As it is the cstom to bapti$e a child three days a!ter its birth, Shakespeare%s date
o! birth is reco#ni$ed as April 2&, 1564.
Shakespeare%s !ather, 'ohn, was a #lo(e maker and leather dresser )he also dealt with wool #rain*. 'ohn
is !irst mentioned in history in 15+2,,he was !ined !or a dn#hill in !ront o! his hose. The hi#hest rank the #reat
writer e(er achie(ed was a hi#h baili!!, the e-i(alent o! a modern,day mayor. Howe(er, a!ter achie(in# that
rank, in 15.2, his !ortnes be#an to decline. His wi!e, /ary Arden, was a 0atholic homemaker, leadin# some to
conclde that Shakespeare was secretly 0atholic.
There is no record that William Shakespeare attended school, bt there is no e(idence a#ainst it either.
There is a marria#e record recorded !or a 1Willelmm Sha2pere1, a#e ei#hteen, to an 1Anne
Hathaway1, 26, in 1532. 1Sha2pere%s1 !ather had to si#n permission !or the marria#e becase his son was only
13. The record also shows that the cople was rather hastily wed4 their marria#e had only one Snday
annoncement at the chrch, as opposed to the normal three. 5n order to do this, he had to pay !orty ponds to
keep thin#s -iet bt le#al. )The reason !or the hasty weddin# arri(ed only si2 months later4 an o!!icial entry !or
their !irst da#hter, Ssanna Shakespeare,/ay 26, 1532.* There was a minor discrepancy on his wi!e%s name4
the chrch re#ister shows an Annam Whateley de Temple 6ra!ton, while the marria#e bond listan an Anne
Hathwey o! Strat!ord.
A!ter their marria#e, Shakespeare and his wi!e had three children4 the a!orementioned Ssanna
Shakespeare on /ay 26, 1532, and twins 'dith and Hamnet Shakespeare on 7ebrary 2, 1535.
7rom 1535 to 15+2, there are no o!!icial records o! Shakespeare, ths the name 1The 8ost 9ears1.
:rin# this time period, it is assmed that he had a (ariety o! ;obs by the knowled#e with which he wrote abot
them within his di!!erent works. Speclations abot his (arios occpations drin# 1The 8ost 9ears1 inclde
money lender, #ardener, sailor, scri(ener, ttor, coachman, soldier, printer, schoolmaster, lawyer, and clerk.
5n 15+2, Shakespeare is !irst mentioned as bein# in 8ondon4 he was sin#led ot by ri(al dramatist
<obert 6reene. 7rom 153+ to 15+4, his !irst plays became hits4 Henry =5, Tits Andronics, and The 0omedy
o! "rrors were sccess!l )"pstein 21,24*. Shakespeare%s writin#s were later pt into eras4
> 15+4,15+64 The 8yrical /asterpieces
> 15+.,15++4 Artistic /atrity
> 16??,16?34 The @eriod o! the 6reat Tra#edies and @roblem @lays
> 16?+,16114 @eriod o! the <omances
> 1612,16164 Works on 0ollaborations with 'ohn 7letcher )A Shakespeare Timeline Smmary
0hart*
William Shakespeare was bried on April 2&, 1616,,e2actly !i!ty,two years a!ter he was christened.
)"pstein 22*
Who Wrote Shakespeare?
~The Authorship Controversy~
Ane o! the oldest -estions concernin# Shakespeare is whether he wrote 1his1 works or not. The !irst
mention that he mi#ht not ha(e written the works attribted to him was made by the <e(erend 'ames Wilmot in
1.35. Wilmot sspected that 7rancis Bacon was the real athorC howe(er, he was so a!raid o! o!!endin# people
that he ne(er pblished his theory and it )temporarily* died with him. His theory was recalled when a #est at a
dinner party mentioned his theory to 'ames 0orton 0owell. 0owell then presented a paper on the sb;ect to his
local philosophical society.
Altho#h Bacon was the !irst to ha(e been s##ested to be the 1real1 Shakespeare, he is not the only
one. The most poplar 1real Shakespeares1 candidates inclde "dward de =ere, the "arl o! A2!ordC 0hristopher
/arloweC BaconC and e(en Deen "li$abeth 5. "ach spposed athor has a #rop o! !ollowers that spport that
particlar person as the real athor o! Shakespeare. :e =ereEs are called A2!ordians, BaconEs Baconians, and
/arloweEs /arlo(ians. Deen "li$abethEs !ollowin#s ha(e died down somewhat. )"pstein 2.4,2.5*
"ach #rop has their own reasons !or spportin# that person as Shakespeare. Howe(er, perhaps the
stron#est ar#ment !or each o! them is not so mch that they ha(e e(idence that, !or e2ample, Bacon wrote
ShakespeareEs works, bt that there is little to no e(idence that Shakespeare wrote ShakespeareEs works. As a
matter o! !act, there is a lot more e(idence that Shakespeare didnEt write the works attribted to him. Some o!
the best ar#ments inclde4
> He lacks the back#rond, breedin#, and edcation to write sch astondin# lyrics. His plays ha(e
a depth and a ma#nitde so #reat that only a ni(ersity,edcated man o! hi#h stats cold ha(e. As a matter o!
!act, his parents and da#hters were probably illiterate, let alone able to send him to a ni(ersity.
> An ShakespeareEs birth certi!icate, his name is spelled 1Shaksper,1 and si2 si#natres ndispted
to be athentic are all spelled di!!erently. /oreo(er, those si2 si#natres are written in a horrible, (irtally
ille#ible scribbleFone appearin# mch closer to that o! an illiterate than to that o! the most renowned writer
e(er.
> Shakespeare retired to Strat!ord in abot 161&, at the pinnacle o! his career. WhyG
> There are portraits o! Shakespeare, bt none that were done drin# his li!etime. Why was he not
painted, as other athors at his time wereG
> His death entry in the parish re#istry lists him as a 16ent.1 Hot a dramatist, not an actor, bt a
16ent.1 Ari#inally a sack o! #rain was pictred on his headstoneC in 1.4. )when Shakespeare was #ainin#
poplarity*, the sack was replaced with a -ill pen. There was not e(en a elo#y !or him the day he died.
)"pstein 2..,231*
With each ar#ment a#ainst Shakespeare bein# the #reat athor, there are as many 1ar#ments1 !or him.
/ost are basically ways o! e2plainin# away the anti,Strat!ordian comments a#ainst him. Ane e2ample is that
1E6entE is en#ra(ed o(er ShakespeareEs tomb becase bein# a #entleman meant more to him than bein# a
playwri#ht1 )"pstein 233*. An an online -i$ re#ardin# ShakespeareEs li!e, one o! the -estions is 15s it
reasonable to belie(e that someone other than Shakespeare wrote ShakespeareG1 The athor o! the -i$ had an
ob(ios bias toward Strat!ordians. 0lickin# on yes, the player will !ind the screen to say4
<i#ht. Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare. @eople who think otherwise either ha(e not considered the
e(idence in a reasonable li#ht, or they are easily decei(ed by silly conspiracy theories, or they are moti(ated by
a snobbish pre;dice a#ainst the real Shakespeare becase he was not edcated at a ni(ersity )as !ar as we
know*, and was a workin# class citi$en, rather than a member o! the aristocracy. )Shakespeare Bio-i$4 9es.*
Ipon clickin# on the 1no1 btton, the player will see 19o are wron#. 5t is nreasonable to i#nore the
docmentary, !irst hand, eye witness e(idence that associates the man William Shakespeare with the works and
with the 8ondon theater world o! 15+?,161&1 )Shakespeare Bio-i$4 Ho*.
There are also ar#ments !or each other spposed Shakespeare. :e =ere, "arl o! A2!ord, is re#arded as
the most likely o! the bnch to actally be the !amed athor. Some o! the better ar#ments !or him inclde4
> A peer o! de =ere praised him, callin# him a 1/an whose contenance shakes spears.1
> Ane o! his coats o! arms depicts a lion shakin# a broken spear.
> The speaker in the sonnets was a middle,a#ed man obsessed with his own mortality, yet
Shakespeare was in his thirties when he 1spposedly1 wrote them. A2!ordians date the Sonnets between 15+&
and 16?&C since de =ere died in 16?4, he wold ha(e been abot the ri#ht a#e. )"pstein 23+,2+1*
Ar#ments !or the other possible athors are similar, with details (aryin# with the person.
Whether 1the1 William Shakespeare really wrote the works attribted to him or not weEll ne(er really
know. That is a secret he took to his #ra(e. 5! one trly wants to !ind ot, one mst be satis!ied with no more
a!!irmation than oneEs sel! and whate(er research one can !ind to back them p.
Hote4 This is !or classroom se only.