Shakespeare – Short Prosopography

I wrote this for my English Literature class at the start of A Levels. Might as well add it onto this - attempt - at a collection of my adventures in Philosophy English Literature.

William Shakespeare, born in April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, emerged from a literate and moderately affluent family, receiving a grammar school education before marrying Anne Hathaway and fathering three children, including twins Hamnet and Judith. After a period known as his “Lost Years,” during which his activities remain speculative, he established himself in London by 1592, gaining both notoriety and patronage, particularly from Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. His literary output included poetry, sonnets—some of which, such as Sonnet 20, suggest homoerotic undertones—and plays spanning comedies, tragedies, and histories, performed primarily with the King’s Men at the Globe and later Blackfriars theatres. Theories regarding the identity of the “Fair Youth” in his sonnets and Shakespeare’s possible homosexual inclinations remain debated, with figures such as William Hughes proposed as inspirations. Later in life, he achieved financial stability through property acquisition, witnessed the Globe fire, and returned to Stratford, where he died on April 23, 1616, leaving a will that solidified his name’s spelling and estate distribution. His enduring legacy as arguably the greatest English literary figure is reinforced by both the breadth of his work and the persistent fascination with his life, identity, and literary genius.

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England in April 1564. The specific date, theoretically, being on the 23rd of April. Three days later – on the 26th – he was baptised in the Holy Trinity Church. John Shakespeare (William’s father) occupied minor government positions being burgess of the borough; alderman (chosen for the role in 1656) and a bailiff in 1658. In 1596 he was granted a coat of arms marking himself and his sons as gentlemen. William’s mother (Mary Arden of Wilmcote) was an heiress to land. Interestingly she was literate and somewhat educated given the period. This is believed to be the case as she was the individual who enacted John’s will, and some believe she aided in the education of William.

The primary form of education that William went through was most likely his time at Stratford Grammar School, now called the King Edward VI School. Given the positions held by his father there is no doubt William attended the school—despite no formal records existing. Rather than attending university, William chose to start his adult life by moving to London and marrying the 26-year-old Anne Hathaway in 1583. The marriage is believed to be rushed. Six months after the union their first child was born: Susanna. The Hamnet and Judith twins followed although Hamnet died at eleven years old. Around 1585 the twins were baptised, marking the beginning of Shakespeare’s “Lost Years”.

Multiple folklore-like stories exist to explain what Shakespeare was doing during these “Lost Years”. John Aubrey believed he worked as a schoolmaster. Another story claims Shakespeare was hiding from Sir Thomas Lucy after poaching deer from his estate. Other theories suggest he was a soldier, a lawyer’s clerk, or joined a travelling acting company. Some scholars even place him already in London working as a horse attendant outside theatres.

The period ends around 1592 when Shakespeare became established in London as a playwright and actor. Evidence of his reputation appears in Robert Greene’s Greene’s Groatsworth of Wit (1592), where Greene criticised an “upstart crow” appropriating theatrical traditions.

“… there is an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his tiger’s heart wrapped in a player’s hide supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you …”

Following the plague outbreak of 1593, London theatres were closed, forcing Shakespeare toward poetry as income. Patronage from Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, supported this phase of his career.

Shakespeare dedicated two long poems to the Earl: Venus and Adonis (1593) and The Rape of Lucrece (1594).

After theatres reopened, Shakespeare resumed playwriting and became a shareholder in the acting company known as the King’s Men.

Around 1599 the Globe Theatre was constructed across the River Thames. Many of Shakespeare’s major plays—including Hamlet, Othello, Twelfth Night, and Macbeth—were performed there.

Several of Shakespeare’s sonnets are addressed to a figure known as the “Fair Youth”. Proposed identities include William Herbert, Henry Wriothesley, and the more obscure candidate William Hughes.

Oscar Wilde explored the Hughes hypothesis in The Portrait of Mr W. H., suggesting Hughes may have been a boy actor who played female roles in Shakespeare’s theatre company.

Sonnets 20, 135 and 143 contain wordplay involving the name “Will”, which some scholars interpret as supporting the Hughes theory.

Debate concerning Shakespeare’s sexuality often centres on Sonnet 20, which is sometimes interpreted as containing homoerotic imagery.

Shakespeare’s father died in 1601, leaving the family home to William. In 1602 he purchased 107 acres of land for £320, demonstrating substantial financial success.

In 1613 the Globe Theatre burned during a performance of Henry VIII. Around this time Shakespeare gradually withdrew from London and returned to Stratford-upon-Avon.

His will was written in 1616. Susanna inherited most of the estate, Judith received £300, and Anne Hathaway was left “my second-best bed”.

Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, and was buried two days later at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.