FAQ Shakespeare
Who was William Shakespeare?
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor who worked in the Elizabethan and Jacobean period. He was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, and died in 1616. His birthday and date of death are dated to 23 April. Shakespeare’s works include 38 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 narrative poems and further lyrical works.
Shakespeare made his career in London. When exactly he arrived in the capital is unknown, but it is proveable that by 1592 he was established in London. What exactly happened between the baptism of his twins in 1585 and the beginning of his career in London is unknown. His first printed works were the two narrative poems “Venus and Adonis” (1593) and “The Rape of Lucrece” (1594). He was a founding member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, an acting company for which he was the main playwright for nearly twenty years. Under the patronage of King James I, starting in 1603, the company transformed into The King’s Men. Due to his success in the London theatre scene, Shakespeare became wealthy enough to purchase New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon, the largest house in the borough. He also bought several plots of land in Stratford.
On 23 April 1616, Shakespeare died at the age of 52 years in Stratford. He was buried in Holy Trinity Church and his memorial remains there to this day.
More about Shakespeare’s life on the website of the Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare’s life | Folger Shakespeare Library
More about Shakespeare’s life on the website of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust: Shakespedia
What kind of education did Shakespeare receive?
Shakespeare went to grammar school in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he learned Latin and read works by Latin authors like Ovid and Horace. There are no records that Shakespeare went to university.
Find more information about Shakespeare’s education here: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust – Shakespeare’s School
What did Shakespeare’s family life look like?
At 18 years old, Shakespeare married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, who was born six months after the wedding, and later the twins Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died at the age of only 11 years old. It was long assumed that Shakespeare travelled to London alone while his family remained in Stratford. New research by Matthew Steggle (Bristol University) has shown that it is likely that Anne also spent time in London.
Read more about Shakespeare’s family life here: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust – William Shakespeare’s Family
How were Shakespeare’s works published?
There are no extant manuscripts of Shakespeare’s works. During his life, some of his plays were released in quarto editions. A quarto is a paper format in which a page is folded twice to produce four sheets or eight pages. Only after Shakespeare’s death, two actors of the King’s Men, John Heminges and Henry Condell, published the First Folio, in which 36 plays were released in one volume. A folio is a larger – and more costly – format compared to the quarto, because the page is only folded once. Without the first folio, about half of Shakespeare’s place would be lost today.
More about the publication history of Shakespeare’s works: Shakespeare in print | Folger Shakespeare Library
More about the First Folio: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust – First Folio and Shakespeare First Folio | Folger Shakespeare Library
On the website of the Folger Shakespeare Library you can leaf through a digitised First Folio: Read a Shakespeare First Folio | Folger Shakespeare Library
Where can I read Shakespeare’s works online?
A free collection of Shakespeare’s works is available on the page of the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/
German translations of Shakespeare’s plays are available on pages like Project Gutenberg. Due to copyright reasons, only older translations are available for free online: https://projekt-gutenberg.org/authors/william-shakespeare/.
Where can I see Shakespeare’s plays on stage?
During each theatre season, you can find a collection of Shakespeare performances in larger German theatres on our website. Please be understanding that we are unable to list every theatre in Germany and therefore limit ourselves to larger houses. If you are aware of a performance in a smaller or amateur theatre, feel free to write us an email, and we will add it to our lists!
You can find the lists here.