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William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-on-Avon, England in 1564. His father was a merchant and public figure. Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest writers of all time.?We know very little about his early life. At the young age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, who was eight years older than him. They had twodaughters and one son, who died aged eleven. ?Actor and Playwright In his mid-twenties, Shakespeare moved to London without his wife and family. He became an actor and writer of plays with the King's Men, a theatre company. They performed in the Globe Theatre. Sometimes he acted in his own plays, for example as the Ghost in Hamlet. Over the next twenty years, he wrote thirty eight plays. These plays made him rich and famous. Not alone were his plays performed in the Globe, they were also performed before Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. He became a partner in the Globe Theatre and also bought property in Stratford and London. ?Shakespeare's Characters Shakespeare's plays had a wide variety of interesting characters, from kings and queens to rogues. His characters were very realistic. They displayed many human emotions — love, ambition, cruelty, jealousy; humour and selfishness. He showed wide learning, drawing on classical (Greek and Roman) knowledge as well as the histories of England published at the time. His plays were very varied: His tragedies (plays with a sad ending) include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and King Lear. His comedies include The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream. His histories include Henry V, Richard II and Julius Caesar. He also wrote some poetry and sonnets.?Performing the Plays The Globe Theatre was an open air theatre. Plays were performed during daylight, usually in the afternoon. Women were not allowed to act, so young boys whose voices had not broken played the female parts. There was no stage scenery, so Shakespeare had to put the time and place of the action into the words of the actors. The audience took part in the plays by cheering, or by booing and throwing bad fruit if they did not like the play. ?His Death In 1613, Shakespeare returned to Stratford-on-Avon. He died there in 1616 and was buried in the church where he had been baptised fifty-two years before. No name was put on his gravestone, but he may have composed these words:Blest be the man that spares these stones,And curst be he that moves these bones ? ................
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