Shakespeare
Research Bulletin
Some Basic Background
William Shakespeare was a historically important and known man. He wrote plays, he was a poet, and he even acted. He wrote some sonnets, many short poems, and 38 plays. William Shakespeare was the man that wrote a lot of very well known plays. Some examples most people have heard of are:
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing, end them? To die, to sleep—
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
The Heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks
That Flesh is heir to? 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come," etc. etc.
- Midsummer Night's Dream
- Hamlet
- Romeo and Juliet
By the way, Hamlet is the one that has this well known line:
"To be, or not to be, that is the question—
Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to sufferThe Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing, end them? To die, to sleep—
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
The Heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks
That Flesh is heir to? 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come," etc. etc.
ALL of his plays:
- All's Well That Ends Well
- Antony and Cleopatra
- As You Like It
- Comedy of Errors
- Coriolanus
- Cymbeline
- Hamlet
- Henry IV, Part I
- Henry IV, Part II
- Henry V
- Henry VI, Part I
- Henry VI, Part II
- Henry VI, Part III
- Henry VIII
- Julius Caesar
- King John
- King Lear
- Love's Labour's Lost
- Macbeth
- Measure for Measure
- Merchant of Venice
- Merry Wives of Windsor
- Midsummer Night's Dream
- Much Ado About Nothing
- Othello
- Pericles
- Richard II
- Richard III
- Romeo and Juliet
- Taming of the Shrew
- Tempest
- Timon of Athens
- Titus Andronicus
- Troilus and Cressida
- Twelfth Night
- Two Gentlemen of Verona
- Winter's Tale
Event Information
Baptism Date
No one is sure of the date that Shakespeare was born but it was probably in April because in the Catholic church people were baptized at an early age.
When?
Sunday, Apr 26, 1564, 12:00 AM
Where?
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom
Event Information
Date of Death
When?
Saturday, Apr 23, 1616, 12:00 AM
Where?
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom
Above is an Elizabethan Theatre
Elizabethan Era
William Shakespeare lived during a team where Queen Elizabeth I ruled. It was called the Elizabethan Era because she ruled for so long. Queen Elizabeth I was very interested in plays and "the arts." She had many theaters built and she funded many plays and encouraged exploration, art, music, and acting. This particular piece of information is especially important because without Queen Elizabeth, Shakespeare probably would not have been quite as successful as he was and you and I may not even recognize his name if someone told it to you.