ThE LiFe Of WiLlIaM ShAkEsPeArE


believe that he worked as a schoolteacher pointing to the record of a William Shakeshaft in Lancashire. However, Shakeshaft was a relatively popular name at the time. What is known for certain is that Shakespeare worked as an actor, and wrote plays and poetry. He joined a theatre group called The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. In 1603 King James I became the company’s royal patron and it changed its name to The King’s Men. Shakespeare also owned a share in the Globe Theatre in London which made him a wealthy man. Shakespeare wrote about 37 plays,


including the tragedies Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Coriolanus. His celebrated comedies include The Tempest, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Much Ado about


Nothing and The Merchant of Venice. His dramas are performed regularly throughout the world today.


Shakespeare died in 1616. He left the


bulk of his wealth to his daughter Susanna. Famously, Shakespeare left his wife his ‘second best bed’. Some commentators see this as an insult to his wife; others argue that this is a reference to the matrimonial bed and therefore a symbolic gesture. Shakespeare was buried at the Holy Trinity


Church. His epitaph warns against his body being moved:


‘Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear, To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones,


And cursed be he that moves my bones.’ [Modern spelling]


Interesting Fact There are six surviving copies of Shakespeare’s signature. His name is spelt differently in each, using abbreviated forms. Interestingly his surname is never spelt as ‘Shakespeare’. The signatures appear as: - Willm Shakp - William Shakspēr - Wm Shakspē - William Shakspere - Willm Shakspere - William Shakspeare


Shakespeae's Theate S


hakespeare was part owner of a theatre company called The Lord Chamberlains’s Men and from 1599, Shakespeare, with


this company, became part owner of The Globe Theatre. It was here that many of his plays were performed. The Globe had three roofed tiers and uncovered standing room, known as ‘the pit’. A trapdoor was set in the middle of the stage which was used for supernatural characters such as ghosts to enter and leave a scene. The theatre was huge and could seat approximately 3,500. In 1613, disaster struck the Globe. During


a performance of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII, gunpowder was used to simulate cannon fire. Accidently the thatch caught fire and the theatre burned down in about an hour. Fortunately, nobody was harmed in the fire. A man’s trousers


caught fire, but a bystander put out the flames with a bottle of beer! A new theatre was rebuilt on the site. As the


Lord Chamberlain’s Men now had more money, this new version was much extravagantly decorated, with a tiled covering for the gallery rather than thatch. When attending the theatre today, the audience are expected to be quiet and attentive. The theatre is usually indoors, comfortable and dark.


Theatre in Shakespeare’s time was very


different. All of the actors were male. Female roles were often played by boy actors. Shakespeare’s plays were originally performed


in open-air theatres during the daytime. This meant that the crowd, particularly those in the ‘pit’, were exposed to the rain and cold if the


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