Shakespeare: Life, Theatre, and Literary Legacy

Introduction

In the modern world we still do not forget the great playwright William Shakespeare, and this is because his work is unique and unmatched by any other. His lifetime, as we are convinced, was full of literary activity. Yet the truth is that we know very little about how he grew up or how he came to be married. We do know that from around 1597 he began an active life in acting, during which he performed before the queen. It was in London that he learned how to manage the theatre, and it was not long before he flourished into an expert playwright whose work would touch the hearts of all who read it.

Shakespeare's Early Life and Career

William Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1564 to parents of the farming class. He grew up in a town where the majority of people could neither read nor write, which makes his life all the more remarkable. It is known that about five years after his marriage he left his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon and went to London, where he began acting before the queen. His careers as both an actor and a theatre manager were illustrious, and he experienced many years of both criticism and success. He lived the latter part of his life actively and died a wealthy man.

Family Life and the Play Hamlet

Shakespeare and his wife were blessed with a daughter shortly after their marriage. A year later, the couple welcomed twins — one girl and one boy. The boy was named Hamnet, and many believe this is the reason the famous play is called Hamlet. The personal losses and relationships Shakespeare experienced throughout his life are thought by many scholars to have influenced the emotional depth found throughout his dramatic works.

Feminist Critiques of Shakespeare's Work

There have been many critics of Shakespeare's works, and one area that has received particular attention is feminist criticism. Shakespeare wrote his plays at a time when patriarchy was the order of the day and women had far less social influence, if any at all. He has been criticized for portraying women as sex symbols and depicting them as man's weakness — as the cause of man falling into sin.

In contrast, Shakespeare also wrote about women of strong influence and considerable agency. Yet even in those portrayals, critics argue, there remains a hint of the objectifying gaze. An example of this tension can be seen in Twelfth Night, where Sir Andrew Aguecheek attempts to court the wealthy and strong-willed Lady Olivia, illustrating how female power and male desire exist uneasily alongside one another in Shakespeare's dramatic world.

Elizabethan Theatre and the Globe

Compared to the technically sophisticated theatres of today, the London public theatres of Queen Elizabeth I's era seem terribly limited. Plays had to be performed during daylight hours only, and stage scenery had to be kept very simple — perhaps just a table, a chair, a throne, and a tree to symbolize a forest. These constraints required the playwright to write in vivid, descriptive language so that audiences could fully imagine the world being depicted on stage.

Shakespeare's theatre was far from bare in spirit, however, and the playwright made full use of whatever technical resources were available to him. The theatrical company to which Shakespeare belonged built the Globe Theatre, the most popular of all the Elizabethan theatres. The Globe was not located within the city itself but on the south bank of the Thames River. This location had been chosen because, in 1574, public plays had been banned from the city by an ordinance that blamed them for corrupting the youth and promoting prostitution.

Conclusion

Because a playwright had to please all members of the audience — from the groundlings standing in the yard to the wealthy patrons seated above — the range of topics in Elizabethan plays was necessarily wide. This commercial and social pressure helps explain the extraordinary breadth of Shakespeare's dramatic output, from tragedy and comedy to history and romance.

The initial part of Shakespeare's life was indeed very uncertain, even though he had a reasonably good education. He faced difficulties in his personal relationships that may have shaped his approach to both writing and acting. After having three children, he left his home and went to London, where his career blossomed quickly. Though he faced considerable criticism throughout his life, he still prospered a great deal and died a wealthy man — a striking contrast to his simpler, more modest early years.