The Complete Works of William Shakespeare I-II.

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WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
One of the great mysteries of English drama is the fact that so very little is known about the life of William Shakespeare. This is so, primarily, because there was no Shakespeare biography written until nearly 100 years after his death. During that 100 year span, fact became mingled with legend—and what we do know has been pieced together from secondary sources or implied from his work.
Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford, England, into a prosperous family of wool and leather merchants. His father, John, was also a minor government official in the area. There is practically nothing known of his early life and childhood, and the next time that his name appeared officially was in 1582 when he married Anne Hathaway. Although there is no clear record of when, why or how Shakespeare became interested in the theatre, it is known that he spent the time between 1582 and 1587 as an actor, stage manager and "provider of plays" for several acting... Tovább

Fülszöveg

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
One of the great mysteries of English drama is the fact that so very little is known about the life of William Shakespeare. This is so, primarily, because there was no Shakespeare biography written until nearly 100 years after his death. During that 100 year span, fact became mingled with legend—and what we do know has been pieced together from secondary sources or implied from his work.
Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford, England, into a prosperous family of wool and leather merchants. His father, John, was also a minor government official in the area. There is practically nothing known of his early life and childhood, and the next time that his name appeared officially was in 1582 when he married Anne Hathaway. Although there is no clear record of when, why or how Shakespeare became interested in the theatre, it is known that he spent the time between 1582 and 1587 as an actor, stage manager and "provider of plays" for several acting companies near Stratford.
Shakespeare left Stratford in 1586 and arrived in London the following year where he became the stage manager of The Theatre, which was at the time the only theatre in London. Soon after, he joined the acting company of The Theatre, and along with Richard Burbage and William Kemp performed at court in many plays.
Shakespeare's earliest works were produced in 1591-92; several of the Histories; Love's Labour's Lost; Two Gentlemen of Verona and Comedy of Errors. In 1592 Romeo and Juliet was written, and then, in quick succession, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, All's Well That Ends Well, The Taming of the Shrew and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
One of the most important moves Shakespeare ever made came in 1598, when, with Richard Burbage and several other famous actors, he built the Globe Theatre. This gave him financial security, and a first-rate acting company to work with. It ushered in his greatest writing period. In 1599-1600 he wrote Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It and Twelfth Night and then moved on to the greatest plays of his career, the Tragedies; Julius Caesar in 1600, Hamlet in 1602, Othello in 1604, Macbeth in 1606, King Lear in 1607, Antony and Cleopatra in 1608 and Corio-lanus in 1609. All during this period he was writing his sonnets, 154 in all, which were published in 1609.
At the height of his fame and popularity, Shakespeare moved back to Stratford after the production of The Tempest in 1611. He continued to write, and travel to London until his death in 1616. Vissza