Shakespeare biography

 William Shakespeare  1564-1616

LIFE

Born at Stratford-upon-Avon, third child and eldest son of John 

Shakespeare, one of the town's most prominent citizens; his mother -

Mary Arden - was of gentle birth.

In 1582 he married Anne Hathaway, shortly thereafter moving to London

where he became involved with the stage. In 1594 he became a member of

the newly formed Lord Chamberlain's company, for which he wrote his

plays.

It appears that in 1610, by now fairly prosperous, he retired to

Stratford, where he had bought property, making brief business trips 

to London until 1614.

PRINCIPAL WORKS

Unless you have a particular interest or definite purpose, it's as well

to steer clear of the morass of scholarship and debate surrounding the

precise dates and status of Shakespeare's texts. It's enough to know

that the heavy industry of Shakespearean editorship, with all its

references to 1st, 2nd & 3rd Quartos and First Folios, is there if you

want it.

The following chronology (after G.B. Harrison) is as good a starting

point as any.

Plays:

Henry VI                               Before 1594

Richard III

Titus Andronicus

Love's Labor's Lost

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

The Comedy of Errors

The Taming of the Shrew

Romeo and Juliet                       1594-1597

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Richard II

King John

The Merchant of Venice

Henry IV part i                        1597-1600

Henry IV part ii

Henry V

Much Ado about Nothing

Merry Wives of Windsor

As You Like It

Julius Caesar

Troilus and Cressida

Hamlet                                 1601-1608

Twelfth Night

Measure for Measure

All's Well that Ends Well

Othello

King Lear

Macbeth

Timon of Athens

Antony and Cleopatra

Coriolanus

Pericles                               After 1608

Cymberline

The Winter's Tale

The Tempest

Henry VIII

Poetry:

Venus and Adonis  1593

The Rape of Lucrece  1594

The Sonnets  1609

A Lover's Complaint  1609

THE POEMS

WHEN DAISIES PIED (a.k.a. SPRING AND WINTER)

Love's Labor's Lost, Act 5, scene 2

This play was possibly written in 1594, and performed first in 1597/8.

WHO IS SILVIA?

The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act 4, scene 2

The play is an early work, probably 1594/5.

BLOW, BLOW, THOU WINTER WIND

As You Like It, Act 2, scene 7

This play was possibly written in 1599/1600, and performed first in 1603.

SONNET XVII

The Sonnets (154 of them in all) were published in 1609.