William Shakespeare (1564-1616) — Basic Chronology

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) — Basic chronology

1564 – 26 April: baptism of William Shakespeare ( so probably born a few days before)

Father: John Shakespeare, glove-maker, alderman (town councilor), later High Bailiff (mayor) of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire

Mother: Mary Shakespeare, née Arden, farmer’s daughter

Education: presumably at the King’s New School in Stratford—a grammar school for boys (education based on Latin grammar and literature)

Marriage: November 1582—to Anne Hathaway (he was 18, she was 26)

Children: Susanna (baptized 26 May 1583), Hamnet and Judith (baptized 2 February 1585)

Moved to London (when?)

Well-known for his plays by 1592

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

The Taming of the Shrew

Titus Andronicus

Henry VI Part 1, Henry VI Part 2, Henry VI Part 3

Richard III

The Comedy of Errors

Loves’s Labour’s Lost

1593, 1594: published Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece (poems, probably written when the theatres were closed because of plague)

1594: became a member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, based at The Theatre in Shoreditch, north of London

(Other members of the company included: Richard Burbage, leading actor; William Kempe, clown and dancer; Henry Condell and John Heminges, later the editors of Shakespeare’s plays)

Romeo and Juliet

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Richard II

King John

The Merchant of Venice

Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Much Ado About Nothing

1596: a coat of arms was approved for John Shakespeare, giving him the status of a gentleman

1597: William Shakespeare bought a large house in Stratford.

1598: some of his plays were published with his name as author for the first time.

1599: the Lord Chamberlain’s Men moved to a new theatre, The Globe, in Southwark, south of the River Thames. Robert Armin replaced William Kempe as the company’s leading comedian.

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