William Shakespeare

Many regard William Shakespeare as the greatest writer in the English language and one of the most influential dramatists of all time. His bibliography consists of nearly 40 plays, 154 sonnets, and three long narrative poems. Shakespeare was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, on April 26, 1564. His father, John Shakespeare, was an alderman, and his mother, Mary Arden, was the daughter of a wealthy landowning family. Although Shakespeare likely attended the King’s New School in Stratford, he received no formal schooling beyond a grammar school education. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582, and the couple had three children together: a daughter named Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. Much of Shakespeare’s life between the birth of his twins and his entrance into the London theater scene in 1592 remains a mystery, and scholars refer to this period as Shakespeare’s “lost years.” Nevertheless, Shakespeare became an immensely successful actor, poet, and playwright upon moving to London. He was a part-owner of the King’s Men (formerly Lord Chamberlain’s Men), a playing company supported by the patronage of Elizabeth I, and later, by James I. Shakespeare likely ended his tenure with the King’s Men and returned to Stratford-upon-Avon around 1610. He produced only a few more plays before his death in 1616, one of which was The Two Noble Kinsmen, which he wrote in collaboration with John Fletcher, the playwright who replaced him as house playwright for the King’s Men. Shakespeare died in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 23, 1616, at 52. Although John Fletcher hasn’t achieved the same lasting renown as William Shakespeare, he was a prominent playwright in his day, and scholars credit him with popularizing the tragicomedy genre in England’s theater scene. Fletcher was born in December 1579 in Sussex. Much of Fletcher’s early life remains a mystery, but scholars believe he enrolled in Corpus Christi College in Cambridge in 1591 before entering the London theater scene in the early 1600s. Fletcher worked as a playwright for the Children of the Queen’s Revels beginning around 1606. Throughout his early career, Fletcher frequently collaborated with Francis Beaumont, a contemporary playwright. Fletcher began working more closely with the King’s Men playing company around 1613. He collaborated with Shakespeare on Henry VIII; The Two Noble Kinsmen; and Cardenio, a lost play thought to have been performed by the King’s Men in 1613. After Shakespeare’s death in 1616, Fletcher took over Shakespeare’s position as house playwright for the King’s Men. He continued to collaborate with other contemporary playwrights, as well—most notably Nathan Field and Philip Massinger, the latter of whom would succeed him as house playwright for the King’s Men. Fletcher died (reportedly of the Black Death) in London in August 1625.