Shakespeare FAQ

Was Shakespeare ever in love?

Yes, at age 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, a woman 8 years his senior. They stayed married the rest of Shakespeare’s life for some 34 years until Shakespeare died in 1616, age 52.

Is it true nobody knows Shakespeare’s birthday?

It is true we don’t know Shakespeare’s date of birth. We know it was in 1564 but our only record at this time was of his baptism at the Holy Trinity Church on April the 26th. By convention and some guesswork, Shakespeare’s birthday is by tradition celebrated three days earlier on April the 23rd.

At what age did Shakespeare write his first play?

It is believed that Shakespeare penned his first play Henry VI, Part One, between 1589 and 1590. Shakespeare would have been 25 at the time. This play is believed to have been performed at The Rose Theatre in London.

Which are Shakespeare’s most popular plays?

With 37 plays under his belt, it is hard to place some plays above others. Nonetheless, most academics and readers alike would agree that Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, King Henry V, King Lear, Macbeth , Othello and Antony and Cleopatra are amongst Shakespeare’s most recognizable and hence most popular plays.

Did Shakespeare have any children?

Eight, including twins Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet did not survive to adulthood. Susanna his first daughter lived a very ripe 66 years and Judith lived a very respectable 77 years. Shakespeare only lived to 52.

What events happened in Shakespeare’s time?

Quite a few important historical occurrences. Shakespeare lived through the defeat of the Spanish Armada of 1588 (Shakespeare was 24 at the time), the discovery of the remains of Pompeii buried by Mount Vesuvius (Shakespeare was 28), Rembrandt was born, The Gunpowder plot was foiled with Guy Fawkes being executed (1605, 1606) and Shakespeare lived in the reigns of both Queen Elizabeth and the reign of James I.

How many plays did Shakespeare write?

37 plays and 154 sonnets.

What is Shakespeare’s most famous play?

Most academics would argue Hamlet is Shakespeare’s greatest and most famous work. In popular culture, it would probably be considered Romeo and Juliet.

Was Romeo and Juliet based on a true story?

Yes but this was not “Shakespeare in Love”. Romeo and Juliet was in fact based on the life of two real lovers who both died for each other and lived in Verona, Italy in 1303. Both the Capulets and Montagues existed in Verona at this time and Shakespeare is reckoned to have discovered this tragic love story in Arthur Brooke’s 1562 poem entitled “The Tragical Historye of Romeus and Juliet”.

What was the Globe?

This was a Theatre, Shakespeare and his fellow actors (The Lord Chamberlain’s Men later renamed The King’s Men) performed the majority of their plays at. It was built for The Lord Chamberlain’s Men expressly as a theatre on land leased from a Nicholas Brend. Opening in 1599, it was later burned to the ground in 1613 reopening a year later in 1614.

What is The First Folio?

The First Folio of 1623, complied by Shakespeare’s fellow actors John Hemminges and Henry Condell was the first ever publication of Shakespeare’s plays. It contains all 36 plays that we can read today. All publications of Shakespeare’s play’s are derived from this Folio. Only 250 original copies are said to exist today, each worth roughly just 1 Pound in 1623. Today each Folio would fetch nearly 3 million dollars (US).

Was “Shakespeare in Love” a true story?

Not really. First, there is no historical record of such a love affair ever having taken place. Second, the film is a work of plausible fiction. Third, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at age 18 and penned Romeo and Juliet which features in the film in 1595 at the age of 31. Thus any depiction of such a love affair during the writing of Romeo and Juliet would have to have meant Shakespeare was cheating on Anne. Finally the depiction that Shakespeare was short on cash around 1595 simply doesn’t wash; just two years later, he bought one of the largest properties in Stratford called The New Place and is considered to have penned 9 plays by 1595.

Did Shakespeare invent words?

Yes, among them the word “assassination”. Furthermore, Shakespeare is said to have had a vocabulary of some 29,066 words. An average person’s today might use just 2000 words used in everyday conversation.