Biographical post of Shakespeare's life.

William Shakespeare was an English poet.  We do not know his exact date of birth, but records show that he was baptized on April 26, 1564 at the Holy Trinity parish church in Stratford.  His date of birth is observed on April 23, 1564 as most babies were baptized three days after their birth during this time period in history.  He is the son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden.  I am not sure what happened to the records to indicate where he attended school as a child, but many believe that he probably went to King's New School in Stratford.  Biographers say that this school was only about a quarter of a mile from his home. 

This is John Shakespeare's house, believed to be William's birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon

There is nothing to indicate what Shakespeare did between leaving grammer school until the time he marries Anne Hathaway in November of 1582.  This gap in time is referred to as the lost years.  Shakespeare and Anne are believed to have been married quickly, possibly because only six months after they were married Anne gave birth to Susanna their first child.  Records indicate that she was baptized on May 26, 1583.   Two years later Anne gave birth to twins, a boy Hamnet and a daughter Judith.  They were baptized on February 2, 1585.  Not much is known about Shakespeare's life after the twins birth until he is mentioned as part of the London theatre scene in 1592.  Shakespeare's son Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried on August 11, 1596. Shakespeare's first reference in literature was in London by Robert Greene who on his deathbed wrote insults towards Shakespeare in a pamphlet in 1592. Most agree that Shakespearean Sonnets were written and printed in the 1590's.  154 sonnets and "A Lover's Complaint" were published by Thomas Thorpe as Shakespeares Sonnets in 1609.  Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616 possibly from a fever outbreak during that time.  He was buried at the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford where he had been baptized as a child.  His grave is unmarked but has an inscription of poetry many believe was written by Shakespeare himself.

top image from 
http://deejaymcchristie.webstarts.com/
second image from 
http://www.tfa.net/the_freedom_association/2011/04/cry-god-for-harry-england-and-saint-george.html
information collected from
http://www.biography.com/articles/William-Shakespeare-9480323

Bill Cosby Show - Shakespeare (Julius Caesar)

                                        

You never know where Shakespeare is going to show up.  I was in search of a review on Shakespeare and ran across this episode of The Bill Cosby Show.  Theo and his friend nicknamed "Cockroach" are having to read Julius Caesar in their history class.  I absolutely love comedy and this is just to good not to share with you.

http://youtu.be/5-2NmLTdSq8
image from:

http://bardfilm.blogspot.com/2008/12/cosby-show-raps-julius-caesar.html

You can actually go to the website above and get the words they are rapping.

Also if you liked this video they referenced another earlier episode of Macbeth.  Here is the weblink for that episode as well.  

Part 1 of 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFCPb3t6HRM&feature=relmfu

Reflecting on Shakespeare's Hamlet

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is somewhat mystical and a very sad story.   It is mystical in that Young Hamlet’s father’s ghost was seen by guards in the first scene three nights in a row.   One of the guards is Horatio and is a friend to Prince Hamlet.  He decides to go tell Prince Hamlet what he has seen.  As this story unfolds it is revealed that King Hamlet has only been dead for two months and his wife Queen Gertrude has married King Hamlet’s brother who became the king.  Prince Hamlet is still mourning his father’s death and is disgusted that his mother has remarried so quickly.  Horatio comes to Prince Hamlet and brings the other two guards as witnesses that they have seen the ghost of his father the king.  Hamlet meets with them later that night to see if the ghost comes back and he does.  The ghost reveals only to Hamlet that his brother Claudius has actually murdered him with poison and wants revenge for his death.  This knowledge appears to make Hamlet crazy, but noone knows why he is acting this way.  

 

Hamlet seems to be in love with Ophelia the daughter of Polonius, but she does not return his love as she has been told by her brother and father to pretty much leave him alone. This leads Polonius and others to think that Hamlet's crazy behavior is about love.  The king and queen have sent two friends of Hamlets to try and find out why he is acting crazy, but Hamlet knows why they are there.  Then Polonius decides to get his daughter Ophelia to talk to him to see if she can get answers from him.  Hamlet is also suspicious of her and reveals nothing.  Meanwhile, Hamlet wants to make sure that King Claudius is guilty and decides to put on a play.  He has actors do a play about another king's death from poison to test how Claudius reacts.  The play upsets Claudius and Hamlet is now sure of the king’s guilt.  Queen Gertrude sends for Hamlet to come to her room to speak with her.  Before Hamlet gets there Polonius hides behind her drapery to listen in.   As the queen begins to scold Hamlet for the play and turns the guilt back on her for marrying King Claudius.  His anger scares her and Polonius makes a sound and Hamlet stabs him with a sword thinking it was a rat and kills him. At this point one is only lead to believe if he thought the sound was a real rat or that he knew Polonius was behind the drapery calling him a rat.  Hamlet drags his body somewhere and hides it and will not tell anyone what he did with it.

Ophelia has heard of the death of her father and loses her mind.  Most of her conversations with anyone is like a crazy song.  She leaves the palace to get word to her brother of their father’s death.  Meanwhile, King Claudius is making plans to send Hamlet to England where he is supposed to meet his death.   Hamlet sends his two friends that were spying on him on the boat to England in his place.  Polonius' son Laertes returns and threatens to kill the king, but the queen told him that the king had nothing to do with it.  While the king is calming Laertes down letter from Hamlet was brought in stating that he has been captured by Pirates.  They also got word that Ophelia has drowned in a stream. 

Hamlet also sent a letter to Horatio to meet with him.  They meet in the cemetery where two gravesmen were digging a new grave.   Hamlet tells Horatio how he had escaped his death in England by sending the other two spies in his place and they were killed after their arrival in England.  While Hamlet and Horatio are talking Ophelia's funeral possession comes into the cemetery and Hamlet learns of Ophelia's death.  Laertes jumps in her grave and so does Hamlet confessing that he loved her more than Laertes did.  Later Hamphlet meets Laetes for a dual with swords during their battle Hamlet's mother drinks a cup of poison meant for Hamlet and dies.  Laertes stabs Hamlet with a poisoned tip sword and somehow Hamlet gets it from him and stabs Laertes and King Claudius and they both die.  Before Hamlet dies he tells Horatio to write this story and appoints the Young Fortinbras to be the next King of Denmark and the play ends as Horatio agree's.  

(This is my version of the play I have read of Shakespeare's Hamlet)
image taken from:
http://www.shakespeare-literature.com/Hamlet/index.html

William Shakespeare's Legacy

This is a wonderful short film about the effects William Shakespeare has had on his

 generation as well as today's.  If you are interested it references several movies that have been

made of Shakespeare's plays and one on his life. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8A7d7wiHDE