William Shakespeare is believed to be born on April 23, 1564, since he was baptized on April 26 and at that time children were baptized three days after their birth, in Stratford-upon-Avon to John Shakespeare, a merchant, and Mary Arden, a daughter of a prosperous farmer. Part of eight children, William Shakespeare grew up in a small town and attended a small school. Since his family was poor, Shakespeare, instead of attending a university, married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18, even though she was much older to him and was already pregnant. After his children were born first in 1583 and then in 1585, the famous “Lost Years” of William Shakespeare began. During these “Lost Years”, no record or account of Shakespeare has been found or has …show more content…
However when the bubonic plague hit Europe, many theaters were closed. During this time, Shakespeare wrote many narratives and his famous sonnets. Today only one hundred and fifty four sonnets have survived. In 1594, William Shakespeare joined the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, an acting company that was very popular in London at that time. During his time with this acting company, Shakespeare wrote most of his famous plays, including Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. With his success, William Shakespeare and the Lord Chamberlain’s Men decided to build the Globe Theater. This theater was one of the biggest and was more famous than most of the theaters back then in London. In 1603, when Queen Elizabeth I died, King James obtained the throne. Because of this change, William Shakespeare changed the name of his acting company to the King’s Men, since the company’s new patron was King James himself. With the King’s Men, Shakespeare performed some of most famous plays about court and power, including Macbeth and King Lear. In 1611, William Shakespeare wrote his so-believed last play, the Tempest, before leaving his acting company in