William Shakespeare is undoubtedly the most famous writer in the English language, known for both his plays and his sonnets. Much of his life remains open to debate due to incomplete evidence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In the mid-sixteenth century, William Shakespeare's father, John Shakespeare, moved to the idyllic town of Stratford-upon-Avon. There he became a successful landowner, moneylender, glove maker, and merchant of wool and agricultural products. In 1557 he married Mary Arden. City records indicate that William Shakespeare was the third son of John and Mary. His birth is not recorded, but legend sets the date at 23 April 1564, perhaps because he is known to have died on the same date, 52 years later. Little is known of his childhood, although it is generally assumed that he attended the local grammar school. school, the King's New School. The school was staffed by Oxford-trained teachers who taught students mathematics, natural sciences, logic, Christian ethics, and classical languages ​​and literatures. Shakespeare did not attend university, which was not unusual for the time. University education was reserved for the wealthy sons of the elite, and even then, mostly, only for those who wanted to become clergymen. The numerous classical and literary references in Shakespeare's works are testimony to this; however, to the excellent education he received in high school, and speaks to his ability to be self-taught. His first plays were inspired in particular by the works of Seneca and Plautus. Even more impressive than Shakespeare's formal education is the wealth of general knowledge he exhibits in his work. His vocabulary far surpasses that of any other English writer of his time. In 1582, at the age of eighteen, William Shakespeare married twenty-six-year-old Anne Hathaway. Their first daughter was Susanna. In 1585, Anne gave birth to twins, Hamnet and Judith Shakespeare. Hamnet died at the age of eleven, when William Shakespeare was already a successful playwright. Around 1589, Shakespeare wrote Henry VI, Part 1, which is considered his first play. At some point between his marriage and the writing of this play, he moved to London, where he pursued a career as a playwright and actor. Although many documents survive from Shakespeare's life as a citizen of Stratford, including his marriage and birth certificates, very little information exists about his life as a young playwright. Legend characterizes Shakespeare as a dishonest young man who was once forced to flee London under suspicious circumstances, but the paltry amount of written information does not necessarily confirm this aspect of his personality. In any case, young Will was not an immediate universal success. The first written record of Shakespeare's life in London comes from a statement by his rival playwright Robert Greene. With Richard III, Henry VI, The Comedy of Errors and Titus Andronicus under his belt, Shakespeare became a popular playwright by 1590. The year 1593, however, marked a major breakthrough in his career when he secured a major patron: the Earl of Southampton. Furthermore, Venus and Adonis was published; it was one of Shakespeare's first known works to be printed and was a huge success. Then came The Rape of Lucrezia. By this time, Shakespeare had also made his mark as a poet, as most scholars agree that he wrote most of his sonnets in the 1590s. In 1594, Shakespeare returned to the theater and became a founding member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, a.