William Shakespeare, a famous poet and playwright, was born on April 23, 1564, in the United Kingdom. After going to school until he was fifteen, married Anne Hathaway on November 27, 1582 at the age of eighteen. Following his marriage and the birth of his children, Shakespeare decided to move to London to pursue the theatre. He was considered a leading actor in his day and wrote his first play by 1592. Over his lifetime scholars believe that he wrote thirty-seven plays, 156 sonnets, and five narrative poems. However, no one knows for sure how many plays Shakespeare wrote during his lifetime because of poor record keeping. Three well known plays are “Romeo and Juliet”, “Hamlet”, and “Macbeth”. While the story of “Romeo and Juliet” has been around since the fifteenth century, Shakespeare put the story into a play between 1594 - 1596. The story takes place in the fourteenth century in Verona, Italy. There is a feud between the Montague and Capulet families. One evening Romeo disguises himself to attend a ball at the Capulet family home. Romeo and Juliet fall in love that evening and they get married in secret. Sadly it was not happily ever after, as they both ended up committing suicide. “Romeo and Juliet” was first performed at Globe Theater in 1595. …show more content…
“Hamlet” takes place during the middle ages. This Shakespearean play is about young prince Hamlet of Denmark. He is called home from Germany where he was attending school after his father’s death. He is surprised to find that after his father’s funeral his father’s ghost appears and says that he was murdered. The story then follows as Hamlet tries to avenge his father’s murder. “Hamlet” was first performed in 1609.