Who Was Shakespeare?

First, from Google we find shakespeare.mit.edu, which takes us to a time line of important events in William Shakespeare's life. Born in 1564 at Stratford-upon-Avon, he married Anne Hathaway in 1582. His children Susana, Hamnet, and Judeth were born between 1583 and 1584. In 1596, Hamnet dies, then 1598 Shakespeare's first play is published. The next important point on the time line is Shakespeare's death in 1616.

Then, again from taking my search on Google further from "William Shakespeare" to "William Shakespeare's life" we find a more detailed summary of the life of Shakespeare. From http://www.enotes.com/, we find that William was the eldest son of John and Mary Arden. John was today's equivilant of the town's mayor, and his wife, Mary, was the daughter of local gentry. William was born in April of 1564, and attended the local grammar school until age 15. After leaving school, he worked for his father. William lived in Stratford-upon-Avon and it was there that he met his wife, Anne Hathaway, who was 8 years his senior. His daughter Susana was born 6 months later. William, then became an actor and writer for the theatre in London. When the plague closed the theatres William worked for, he began to write sonnets and narritave poetry. The Earl of Southampton has been recognized as Shakespeare's benifactor, although no real evidence exists. From this narritave of Shakespeare we learn that the sonnets that were written, were more likley signs of the time, instead of being expressions of a relationship as often thought. After becoming partner in the Globe Theatre, William Shakespeare became co-owner of another theatre. He worked until retiring to Stratford-upon-Avon where he died in 1616.

We are left to wonder much about the life of this man. Where the sonnets a reflection of feeling? How could a man write such passionate works of poetry, and it only be a sign of the time? Why did Shakespeare leave his rural life for London? What inspired him to write?

Students see Shakespeare in two ways. Hoplessly romantic (almost overly romantic) or dumb. Many students don't understand the simplicity of expression in Shakespeare's wordy lines. He expresses extreme emotion in legnthy, beautiful language, that many don't take the time to understand. They hear the words, without listening to the meaning behind the lines. Shakespeare leaves no emotion unturned as he goes to the depths of the human heart. Exploring and expressing what no man has before. My first real exposure to Shakespeare was a sonnet in the 7th grade that my literature class took apart to understand, and learn more about. I fell in love with the symbolism and the imagry used. It was like nothing I had experienced in my eight years of education. I had heard the name, but had never read the words. I understood then that it was beautiful. Now, I know that it is complex. There is more said in Shakespeare's word than is ever actually said. So much of Shakespeare is unwritten, and open to a person's own understanding. Shakespeare can mean something to everyone, but at the same time, every reader can come away with a message tailored for their mood, and state of mind at the time they read the work. I still struggle understanding what other people want me to see in the words on the page of anything written by Shakespeare. I read what the words on my page say to me. Not what the words on their page say to them.