Thesis William Shakespeare is one of the most influential playwrights we know, however, many are unaware of his ability to create madness within the characters in his 37 plays, as well as a challenge almost all literary ideas during the Elizabethan era, as well as the way his life and works have sculpted to way we speak and write today. Shakespeare's life was thought to begin on april 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. At the time of Shakespeare's birth it was not uncommon for the people of this era to not keep records, so we are unsure of shakespeare's actual date of birth, because his birth was never officially recorded, however there is a record of his baptism that took place on april 26. At this time it was custom to have your child …show more content…
Shakespeare's family was a part of the middle class, his father dealt with leather as a glove maker as well as held some places in local political offices like of alderman and bailiff during the 1560s (Forster 1) (“William Shakespeare” 1). Shakespeare was born into a catholic family, however people of catholic faith were being persecuted at this time so Shakespeare and his family were officially member of the church of England (Forster 1). Shakespeare grew up in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England and more than likely attended local grammar school where he would have been educated in the basic early fundamentals of education as well as, particularly in Latin grammar and literature. After grammar school shakespeare's education exceeded to high school and that is as far as his education surpassed (“William Shakespeare” 1). To this day many details of shakespeare boyhood are still relatively unknown to our generations (“William Shakespeare” …show more content…
His plays have faced examination and evaluation by critic after critic attempting to explain their appeal, which does not appear to root from any set of profound or clearly formulated set of ideas. Shakespeare has been criticized for not consistently holding to any particular philosophy, religion, or ideology (“William Shakespeare” 4). Shakespeare's works stands out due to his unique characters that are seen neither as wholly good nor wholly evil, but are always flawed; the characters inconsistent nature makes them memorable and distinct. For example of one of shakespeares most individualistic characters, Hamlet fascinates audiences with his ambivalence about revenge and the uncertainty over how much of his madness is feigned and how much genuine (“William Shakespeare” 4). Shakespeare’s ability to play out political leaders as tragic heroes, the study of politics and social history as well as the psychology of individuals shakespeare's plays became symbolic and makes his works very rememberable, and making Shakespeare's work quoted more than the works of any other single author (“William Shakespeare”