Shakespeare

Events

Shakespeare is born

1564 - 1564

His birthplace was the small market town of Stratford-upon-Avon in England.

Shakespeare is christened

26 April 1564 - 26 April 1564

Shakespeare attended small private school

1568 - 1568

From the age of four he attended school and learned how to read and write. He would have left school when he was fifteen.

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway

27 November 1582 - 27 November 1582

When he was 18 years old, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who was the daughter of a local farmer and 8 years older than Shakespeare.

Shakespeare's first child, Susana, was born

1583 - 1583

Shakespeare's twins, Judith and Hamnet were born

1585 - 1585

Shakespeare wrote 10 comedies

1590 - 1600

Audiences enjoyed the bawdy humour and liked the happy endings. Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne during this time.

Shakespeare's first play; Comedy of Errors

1592 - 1592

Shakespeare stopped playwriting because of the Plague

1592 - 1594

The playwriting stopped for two years, between 1592 and 1594, when the London playhouses had to close because of the plague - a disease which killed many thousands of people.

Shakespeare was described as an up-and-coming playwright and had already left his family to live in London

1592 - 1592

In terms of his career as a writer, historians are unsure of what Shakespeare did until 1592. It was this year that William was described as an up-and-coming playwright. By this time, Shakespeare had already left his family to live in London.

Shakespeare's second play; Titus Andronicus

1593 - 1593

England and Spain at war and Shakespeare wrote nine plays

1595 - 1604

Shakespeares plays made them feel proud about their country. During this time, Shakespeare wrote nine plays that had English history as their theme.

Shakespeare buys a house in Stratford-upon-Avon for his family

1597 - 1597

Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet.

1600 - 1600

In the early 1600s, Shakespeare wrote the tragedies Hamlet, King Lear, Othello and Macbeth. Macbeth was written to please the new king who was from Scotland. Romeo and Juliet is also written during this period.

Shakespeare wrote plays set in Rome

1600 - 1600

The first play set in Rome was Julius Caesar, closely followed by Antony and Cleopatra.

King James I became new monarch and became the patron of Shakespeare's theatre company

24 March 1603 - 24 March 1603

Queen Elizabeth I died on 24 March 1603. King James I became the new monarch. He also became the patron of Shakespeare's theatre company.

Shakespeare moved back to Stratford-upon-Avon after writing The Tempest

1611 - 1611

In 1611, after he wrote the play The Tempest, Shakespeare returned to live in Stratford-upon-Avon. He moved into a house he had bought for his family in 1597.

Shakespeare passes away

1616 - 1616