Who Wrote Shakespeare
Who Was Shakespeare
"William Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. From roughly 1594 onward he was an important member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men company of theatrical players. Written records give little indication of the way in which Shakespeare’s professional life molded his artistry. All that can be deduced is that over the course of 20 years, Shakespeare wrote plays that capture the complete range of human emotion and conflict.
Mysterious Origins
Known throughout the world, the works of William Shakespeare have been performed in countless hamlets, villages, cities and metropolises for more than 400 years. And yet, the personal history of William Shakespeare is somewhat a mystery. There are two primary sources that provide historians with a basic outline of his life. One source is his work—the plays, poems and sonnets—and the other is official documentation such as church and court records. However, these only provide brief sketches of specific events in his life and provide little on the person who experienced those events."
from Biography.com
William Shakespeare: The Conspiracy Theories
Published on Oct 17, 2014
There is so little known about the real William Shakespeare. It is hardly surprising therefore that plenty of theories about our most famous bard and his work have arisen. It was, after all, Mark Twain who said: “So far as anybody actually knows and can prove, Shakespeare of Stratford-on-Avon never wrote a play in his life.”
Not always as easily dismissed as Shakespeare champions would have you believe, here are the most widely known theories about the authorship of the plays.
- William Shakespeare BiographyBiographical information about William Shakespeare in text and video from Biography.com, A&E.
Biographies of Shakespeare
The Bardolator: Who Was Shakespeare? (In under two minutes)
Published on May 13, 2015
This is a quick, fun look at who Shakespeare was and how we ended up with his works, originally created by Shakespeare Republic Director, Sally McLean, for her other business, The Shakespeare Shoppe. Remastered and represented here as part of "The Bardolator" fun facts series of Shakespeare Republic, here's a potted history of Who Was Shakespeare?
Ph.Detours Ep. 7: In Search of Shakespeare
Published on Apr 26, 2013
Will Shakespeare turns 449 years young this week, and the Ph.Detours gang travels to London to find out why he's still so fascinating after all these years.
Will in the World by Call Number: PR 2894 .G74 2004 (Purdy Library)ISBN: 0393050572Publication Date: 2004-09-17A young man from the provinces--a man without wealth, connections, or university education--moves to London. In a remarkably short time he becomes the greatest playwright not just of his age but of all time. His works appeal to urban sophisticates and first-time theatergoers; he turns politics into poetry; he recklessly mingles vulgar clowning and philosophical subtlety. How is such an achievement to be explained?Will in the World interweaves a searching account of Elizabethan England with a vivid narrative of the playwright's life. We see Shakespeare learning his craft, starting a family, and forging a career for himself in the wildly competitive London theater world, while at the same time grappling with dangerous religious and political forces that took less-agile figures to the scaffold. Above all, we never lose sight of the great works--A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and more--that continue after four hundred years to delight and haunt audiences everywhere.
Life of William Shakespeare: A Critical Biography by Call Number: eBook (WSU Access ID & Password Required)ISBN: 9780631207849Publication Date: 2012-05-07Life of William Shakespeare is a fascinating and wide-ranging exploration of Shakespeare's life and works focusing on often neglected literary and historical contexts: what Shakespeare read, who he worked with as an author and an actor, and how these various collaborations may have affected his writing. Written by an eminent Shakespearean scholar and experienced theatre reviewer. Pays particular attention to Shakespeare's theatrical contemporaries and the ways in which they influenced his writing. Offers an intriguing account of the life and work of the great poet-dramatist structured around the idea of memory. Explores often neglected literary and historical contexts that illuminate Shakespeare's life and works.
Shakespeare's Contemporaries - Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe - Mini Biography
Published on Aug 29, 2013
Watch a short video biography of Christopher Marlowe, the Elizabethan dramatist most famous for "Doctor Faustus" and his influence on William Shakespeare.
- Christopher Marlowe BiographyBiographical information about Christopher Marlowe in text and video from Biography.com, A&E.
Christopher Marlowe by Call Number: eBook (WSU Access ID & Password Required)ISBN: 0198186959Publication Date: 2006-01-05Park Honan's biography combines a passion for the subject with a wealth of new evidence on all aspects of Marlowe's short but extraordinary life. Christopher Marlowe: Poet and Spy covers topics such as Marlowe's upbringing and years as a student in Cambridge, the network of spies and agents of which he was a part, and the truth about his tragic and violent death. Honan also explores Marlowe's relationship with Shakespeare, other playwrights, and his patron, Lord Washington, as well as the new evidence that Marlowe is the subject of the famous Corpus Christi portrait. Honan brings the reader closer than ever to one of the most enigmatic figures in literary history.
Shakespeare's Contemporaries - Ben Jonson
"The Life and Trials of Ben Jonson"
Published on Oct 28, 2014
Everything you ever needed to know about the English playwright and poet, Ben Jonson (11 June 1572 – 6 August 1637).
Ben Jonson
Published on Aug 20, 2013
ShaLT Project - The Shakespearean London Theatres
Ben Jonson by Call Number: eBook (WSU Access ID & Password Required)ISBN: 0198129769Publication Date: 2012-01-13Ben Jonson's life was full of drama. Serving in the Low Countries as a young man, he had overcome a Spanish adversary in single combat in full view of both the armies. His early satirical play, The Isle of Dogs, landed him in prison, and brought all theatrical activity in London to a temporary -- and very nearly to a permanent -- standstill. He was 'almost at the gallows' for killing a fellow actor after a quarrel, and converted to Catholicism while awaiting execution. He supped with the Gunpowder conspirators on the eve of their planned coup at Westminster. After satirizing the Scots in Eastward Ho! he was imprisoned again; and throughout his career was repeatedly interrogated about plays and poems thought to contain seditious or slanderous material. In his middle years, twenty stone in weight, he walked to Scotland and back, seemingly partly to fulfill a wager, and partly to see the land of his forebears. He traveled in Europe as tutor to the mischievous son of Sir Walter Ralegh, who 'caused him to be drunken and dead drunk' and wheeled provocatively through the streets of Paris. During his later years he presided over a sociable club in the Apollo Room in Fleet Street, mixed with the most learned scholars of his day, and viewed with keen interest the political, religious, and scientific controversies of the day.Ian Donaldson's new biography draws on freshly discovered writings by and about Ben Jonson, and locates his work within the social and intellectual contexts of his time. Jonson emerges from this study as a more complex and volatile character than his own self-declarations (and much modern scholarship) would allow, and as a writer whose work strikingly foresees -- and at times pre-emptively satirizes -- the modern age.
