Who was Shakespeare?
Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, and died in 1616.
During his life, Shakespeare wrote between 38 and 40 plays, depending on which scholar you listen to. These included comedies, tragedies, romances and historical pieces.
Shakespeare's Biography
Shakespeare the Playwright
Shakespeare was deeply involved with London’s Theatre scene, but not just as a playwright. He was also an actor and owned part of a theatre company (the Lord Chamberlain’s Men).
Shakespeare and his business partners built the Globe Theatre where his plays were performed regularly.
Shakespeare's plays were also performed in many other indoor and outdoor spaces and theatres, both private and public. For instance, his plays were performed at the Royal Court, Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and some private households.
contribution to the English language
Words invented by Shakespeare
Shakespeare invented over 1700 words still commonly used today!
Some of these words were entirely original, but others were made by turning nouns into verbs, verbs into adjectives, adding prefixes and suffixes to existing words, or connecting two or more words together.
Read more about the words Shakespeare invented...
The First Folio
Although Shakespeare’s plays began to be printed in 1594, the First Folio was the first published collection of his plays. It was put together and edited by two of Shakespeare's fellow actors and friends, and published 1623 - seven years after Shakespeare's death (1616). The folio was divided into comedies, tragedies and histories.
Why is the First Folio so important?
Without the First Folio, many of Shakespeare’s most well known and loved plays, including Twelfth Night, Macbeth, and The Tempest, might never have survived. Of the 36 plays in the First Folio collection, 18 had never been printed before!
Shakespeare Authorship Debate
Theatre scholar Lee Jamieson writes:
"Shakespeare’s true identity has been in dispute since the Eighteenth Century because only fragments of evidence have survived the 400 years since his death. Although we know a great deal about his legacy through his plays and sonnets, we know little about the man himself - Exactly who was Shakespeare? Unsurprisingly then, a number of conspiracy theories have built up around Shakespeare’s true identity...."
