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.

Henry V

Julius Caesar

As You Like It

Twelfth Night

Troilus and Cressida

Measure for Measure

1603: death of Queen Elizabeth of England. King James VI of Scotland becomes King of England (James I). The Lord Chamberlain’s Men became the King’s Men and were frequently called to give performances at Court.

Othello

All’s Well That Ends Well

Timon of Athens

King Lear

Macbeth

Anthony and Cleopatra

Pericles (collaboration with George Wilkins)

Coriolanus

1608: the King’s Men took over the Blackfriars Theatre, an indoor theatre in the former Blackfriars Priory in the City of London (previously used by a company of boy actors, the Children of the Chapel Royal). They now had two theatres, the open-air Globe for summer performances in front of a large public and the indoor Blackfriars for winter performances with a smaller audience (who paid more for tickets).

1609: Shakespeare’s Sonnets published—some had already been circulating in manuscript by 1598.

Cymbeline

The Winter’s Tale

The Tempest

Henry VIII (collaboration with John Fletcher)

The Two Noble Kinsmen (collaboration with John Fletcher)

1613: The Globe burned down during a performance of Henry VIII.

1614: The rebuilt Globe opened, but Shakespeare seems not to have been involved in the company any more.

1613-1616: back in Stratford

25 April 1616: burial of William Shakespeare in Stratford – cause of death not recorded

1623 – Mr.

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