Week 27 Essay

          This week I learned about many influential and famous men who lived all throughout Europe. They were William Shakespeare, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Tycho Brahe, Blaise Pascal, and Isaac Newton. Most of these men were scientists and mathematicians who learned from each other, but I decided to write about the man here who was not a scientist, William Shakespeare.

          Shakespeare was and is to this day a very famous actor and play writer. He lived during the Elizabethan Era, presenting plays and performances to Queen Elizabeth. He worked with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, who were a group of men who performed his plays for him. Later, they became The King’s Men. Together, they built the Globe Theader, which is where they performed. Unfortunately, the original Globe Theader burned down, but they built another one. The Globe Theader gets its name from the shape of the building; the roof is shaped like a half-sphere, or like a globe.

          Not much is known about Shakespeare’s life. We do know; however, that he was baptized on April 26, 1564 at Holy Trinity Church, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Stratford-upon-Avon was where Shakespeare was born and where he died, but he lived in London some time in his life. It is believed that he did not have a very good education. Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1582 and had three children. Their names were Susanna and Judith and Hamnet, who were twins.

          Hamnet, who was Shakespeare’s only son, died when he was only eleven years old. It is believed by some that William Shakespeare, in his grief, wrote Hamlet after his son, Hamnet. There is some contrast between Hamnet’s death and the tragedy in the play. Also, as you can see, the names are very similar. Another thing to note is that Hamlet was first performed and made in 1600, just four years after Hamnet died. It could be that Shakespeare was writing the play within those years.

          Shakespeare is obviously most famous for his plays. He wrote many different kinds of plays. For example, he wrote comedies, which were funny plays, tragedies, or sad plays, tragicomadies or romances (love stories), and histories. Some examples of his plays are Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, Antony and Cleopatra, Henry VIII, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Richard II, Richard III, and Twelfth Night. I have only seen a few of the plays above, and there are many more.

          It is debated whether Shakespeare was actually the famous playwright we know today, or not. It seems that he did not have a great education, so it is hard to think that someone who did not know much about reading, writing, or acting could have written such amazing and well known plays. He could have just gotten the credit of a playwright who did not want it. There are also theories that there was another man who wrote the plays, but just used the name William Shakespeare. That is why we do not know much about him.

          Even though we do not know much about him, or even if he was real, William Shakespeare is considered the greatest playwright of all time. He wrote about thirty-five plays, as well as many other works. He married Anne Hathway and had three children, one of whom’s death may have inspired some of Shakespeare’s plays. I suggest reading or watching at least one of these incredible works, because they will explain how talented William Shakespeare really was.