No other lyricist and poet has shaped world literature as significantly as William Shakespeare. We get to know some of his works at school, others we encounter in the theater as newly interpreted pieces. Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Macbeth are just a few of his most famous creations.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was arguably the best-known playwright and poet in the English-speaking world. His works made the writer immortal.
Because Shakespeare’s success, which he had already built up during his lifetime, outlasted his death. Shakespeare’s dramas, including Romeo and Juliet (1597), Hamlet (1602) and Macbeth (1606), are still very successful today.
But Shakespeare not only wrote sonnets and plays, but also worked as an actor on the stages of London. His works dealt with everyday themes such as love, death and conflict, which is why they are still very successful today.
In this short William Shakespeare profile you will find out the most important information:
| Surname | William Shakespeare |
| Life dates | Birth: circa April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England Death: circa April 23, 1616 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England |
| Family | Wife: Anne Hathaway
Children: Judith, Hamnet and Susanne |
| Known as | writer and actor |
| Most Famous Works | Macbeth (tragedy, 1606)
Romeo and Juliet (tragedy, 1597) Othello (tragedy, 1603) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (comedy, 1605) |
| Epoch | Elizabethan Era (1558-1603) |
William Shakespeare as an important writer
William Shakespeare wrote far more, including comedies, romances, tragedies, historical dramas and sonnets. His diverse use of imagery is characteristic of him. This is how he managed to write many of his plays very vividly. The vocabulary he used was just as varied. Over 17,500 different words can be found in his works.
The English playwright was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564 and attended a respected grammar school in England as a young pupil. There he acquired knowledge of poetics and rhetoric. He also learned the art of poetry and writing there. Later he began to write his own small plays for his theater group. He tried himself as an actor and participated financially in the acting group. Many years later, William Shakespeare moved to London and gained increasing admiration for his literary work. By 1599 he was already co-owner of the Globe Theater in London, thereby acquiring wealth and influence. He himself was a member of the drama troupe “Lord Chamberlain’s Men”, later called “King’s Men”. They made frequent appearances at Queen Elizabeth’s court, where they enjoyed the reputation of being the best acting group in London.
William Shakespeare enjoyed a certain prosperity as he aged. This was confirmed by the granting of a family crest and the possession of a large house on the outskirts of Stratford. He retired there around 1611 and enjoyed the last years of his life until he died in the spring of 1616. Not much is known about his private life. At the young age of 18 he married the farmer’s daughter Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children. He was known in the city as a proficient businessman, which enabled him to become financially involved in many drama and theater organizations.
William Shakespeare’s works
Many of his works are still part of German and literature classes. They are often also a topic in class work, for example in poetry interpretations or essays. The well-known plays A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Macbeth are often included. We give you a brief insight into his five most famous pieces.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shakespeare probably wrote this comedy in 1595 or 1596, an exact date is not known. A Midsummer Night’s Dream has five acts and is set in ancient Athens and an adjacent enchanted forest. It tells the story of the marriage of a ruling couple who have to deal with craftsmen and elves. The comedy has been performed many times and is also a popular play in school theatres.
Julius Caesar
The playwright dedicated one of his works to the Roman statesman Gaius Iulius Caesar and completed it in 1599. The tragedy consists of five acts. The play essentially deals with the conspiracy of Brutus and Cassius against the Roman ruler and his assassination. The theme of the play and its historical reference make it particularly popular with audiences.
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is probably Shakespeare’s best known and most popular work and was written between 1594 and 1596, exact details are not known. This story is a tragedy that tells the misfortune of two lovers, namely Romeo and Juliet. The lovers belong to two hostile families, which is why their love relationship is doomed to fail. Verona, where the play is set, remains a place of magical attraction for tourists to this day and is dotted with all sorts of romantic doodles. The work has often served as a screenplay and film template and is the title of many pieces of music. Romeo and Juliet enjoys strong and enduring popularity to this day. In the classroom, too, students continue to read and reflect on Shakespeare’s famous tragedy.
Hamlets
At least as well-known and above all important play by Shakespeare is the tragedy Hamlet, which was composed around 1602. The story is set in the Kingdom of Denmark and deals with the intrigues in the royal family. After King Hamlet is murdered by his own brother, Prince Hamlet decides to avenge his father. In doing so, he tears everyone involved into misfortune and the tragedy takes its course. Characteristic of the play are Hamlet’s long monologues, from which some idioms such as “To be or not to be” and “The rest is silence” come from. Hamlet is also one of Shakespeare’s most performed plays.
Macbeth
Macbeth, in English “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, is also a tragedy and was written around 1606, probably in London. The play, consisting of five acts, deals with the rise and fall of the king of Scotland Macbeth after his royal reign was prophesied to him. Shakespeare describes his transformation into a tyrant, which is supported by his equally power-hungry wife, and the downfall. The work allows for many interpretations, but at its core deals with the greed for power and domination. Like Hamlet, Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s strong literary works and has been performed countless times. A remake of the Shakespearean classic will be released in 2015.
Shakespeare’s Biography
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England in 1564. However, his exact date of birth is not known. Although he received a good education in a Latin school, Shakespeare left at the age of 15 and pursued his dream of becoming a writer. For this reason he did not go to university.
Shortly thereafter, at the age of 18, he married the elderly Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a farmer friend. With Anne he had three children, twins Judith and Hamnet and a daughter, Susanne. What events then took place in Shakespeare’s life can only be guessed at today. That is why this gap in Shakespeare’s life is also known as “Shakespeare’s lost years”.
Shakespeare in London
But Shakespeare soon left his family idyll to establish himself as a writer. He therefore went to London, where he worked at various theaters. There he began to work as an actor and at the same time wrote his first sonnets (sound poems). The poems from this period were later among his most successful poems.
As a member of the drama group “Chamberlain’s Men”, later “King’s Men”, he celebrated double success: both as an actor and as a playwright. People knew and appreciated his first plays, including Hamlet and Macbeth, even then beyond the borders of London.
From 1599 he led the London Globe Theater as a co-owner. The Globe Theater was the most famous theater in the metropolis of London in Shakespeare’s time. Shakespeare’s notoriety even enabled him to act a few times at the court of Queen Elizabeth I herself.
Despite his achievements in the English capital, he returned to his family in Stratford-upon-Avon at the age of 46. The reason for this was that he no longer wanted to work as an actor. He died in his native town in 1616 at the age of 52.
The hard-to-decipher signature on his will suggests that Shakespeare was seriously ill before his death. He could only write with a trembling hand. It was not until seven years after William Shakespeare’s death that his plays were published as a complete work under the name First Folio.
Shakespeare’s influence on today
You may already know some of William Shakespeare’s works, but why is he so successful with them to this day? This was partly because he lived in the Elizabethan era. During this time, more and more people got access to literature, so that it could flourish.
The Elizabethan Age
The period between 1558 and 1603 is referred to as the Elizabethan Age. The name comes from the British Queen Elizabeth I, who ruled at the time. It was marked by economic success, the expansion of the British Empire and a heyday for literature. The age ended with the death of Elizabeth.
The type of poem favored by William Shakespeare was the sonnet. It is characterized by his strong emotional emphasis. The author wrote more than 154 of these poems during his lifetime.
Shakespeare’s plays are known today for their richness and complexity of characters. They skilfully combine pictorial language with everyday human conflicts.
Shakespeare was able, despite his high literary art, to integrate comic elements and at the same time to write realistically. His best-known tragedies include the tragic love story “Romeo and Juliet” (1597) or the rise and fall of a general in “Macbeth” (1606).
But Shakespeare could do things differently, as evidenced by his comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1605), about a wedding in ancient Athens. Another wedding, but this time in Florence, wreaks havoc in the comedy Much Ado About Nothing (1599).
Good to know: Shakespeare’s works also provide material for modern film adaptations such as the youth drama “10 Things I Hate About You” (1999), which is based on the comedy “The Taming of the Shrew” (1592).
