Biographie de William Shakespeare (document en anglais)

→ We know very little about Shakespeare.

→ Critics :

he didn't write his plays

Shakespeare was just a nickname used by somedy else who wrote the famous plays that we all know.

→ We don't know his exact date of birth.

→ It is said that he was born on April 23rd 1564.

→ He was baptized on April 26th 1564.

→ He was born on a national day/ national celebration.

Children were baptized within 3 days after their birth as most of the children of that time died at a very young age.

→ His father John Shakespeare was a glove maker. In 1557 he married a local woman called Mary Arden. She was the daughter of a fairly rich prosperous family.

Shakespeare used his mother's name in one of his play ( comedy) : As You Like It ( her name was given to the forest which is named The Forest of Arden).

John and Mary had 8 children but only 5 survived ( 4 sons and 1 daughter).

1608 = His father became a bailiff mayor. He was also elected in a community of justice and peace.

His father had financial problems until a few years before he died.

At that time if you didn't go to church, you had to pay something.

→ Shakespeare had a brother who was named Edmond and who became an actor, he died at the age of 27.

He also had another brother who was a famous actor named William.

→ Shakespeare introduced Berry ( in Much Do About Nothing) and Elbow ( in Measure for Measure), both are officers. In Shakespeare's plays, police officers are always incredibly stupid. They are always confronted to lots of misunderstandings and they always understand the opposite way of a situation.

→ Shakespeare intended the local Grammar school.

( At that time Latin was the main topic. In a play if you didn't understand Latin you couldn't enjoy and understand the joke).

Shakespeare education was good, he knew Latin.

At that time many people in an audience were able to understand Latin.

He was accused of being non educated by another playwritter called Ben Johnson who said « small

latin and less... »

He read lots of Latin texts such as Aesop's Fables. He sometimes used sources for his own texts such as in The Comedy Of Errors.

He was extremelly influenced by Ovide and his Metamorphoses ( = it correspond to short stories, fables which are linked with metamorphoses).

→ Some names in Shakespeare's plays are in fact originated from Ovide's masterpieces such as in The Taming Of The Shrew.

Besides several descriptions

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