School Project

Hannah Lien1

Poetry Project2

Creative Writing/per.53

30 January, 20094

William Shakespeare5

It is unknown when Shakespeare was actually born, though records show that he was baptized on April 26, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon. He was the son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. Though there are no records of where William attended school, many agree that he went to The King’s New School in Stratford, which was one of many free Grammar schools in the country. At the age of eighteen, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who birthed him three children; Susanna, and the twins, Hamnet and Judith. After this time, there are few mentions of him in history, until he resurfaced in London in 1592.6

As with his birth date, the time when Shakespeare began writing is unknown. It is known however that he joined the play company Lord Chamberlain’s Men in 1592 and worked as an actor, writer, and co-owner for the company. After the death of Queen Elizabeth the company’s name was changed to the King’s Men, however. 7

Most of Shakespeare’s known works were written between the time of 1592 and 1613. There are thirty-eight plays and one hundred-fifty-four sonnets known to be written by him today. It seems that he took much of his inspiration from the lives of historical figures and mythology. In his early days, he wrote mostly histories and comedies. Later on, around the mid-1590s, Shakespeare began to try his hand at tragedies, ultimately writing the most well known tragedy of all time, Romeo and Juliet. 8

Along with his plays, Shakespeare wrote quite a number of poems and sonnets. He wrote a large amount of sonnets and several narrative poems. Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?, Venus and Adonis, among others, are still well known and recited to this day. 9

Shakespeare wrote in style popular in his time, with rich flowery language. Despite this, however, he adapted the traditional style to suit his poetic needs. Using blank verse and iambic pentameter, his works are unrhymed and contains only ten syllables a line. As his work progressed and he became a master of the style, he began working it to reveal the beauty and emotional states of his subjects by varying speed and punctuation in the verses. 10

Shakespeare’s works have shaped the literary world, influencing almost every great writer. His work holds world-wide appeal, due to varied universal themes of lust, love, and betrayal. He is credited as the world’s greatest poet as well as playwright. Though, many find his language archaic and somewhat difficult to understand, it’s quite a task to find a person who hasn’t heard of Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day, and Romeo and Juliet. If the Great Bard’s work was popular in his time, he is even more famous in this day and age, as his poems and plays are still being recited around the world. 11