William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, and he married Anne Hathaway in 1582. He wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets, becoming a significant figure in the London theater community, notably performing for Queen Elizabeth and owning part of the Globe Theatre, which was built in 1599. He passed away on April 23, 1616, and is buried at Holy Trinity Church, with an epitaph believed to be inscribed by himself.

1. The Great Bard
The life and works of
William Shakespeare

2. Birth and childhood
 Believed to have been born
April 23, 1564
 Baptised April 26, 1564
(church records)
 Born and raised in Stratford-
upon-Avon, England by
John (town official and local
businessman) and Mary
Shakespeare
 1 of 8 children but only 5 of
them survived to adulthood
 King’s New Grammar
School taught boys basic
reading and writing. We
assume William attended
this school but we have no
definite proof

3. Family
 In 1582 an eighteen
year old William
married a pregnant
Anne Hathaway
 Daughter Susanna
born 7 months later
 Twins Hamnet and
Judith born in 1585
but Hamnet died at
age 11

4. Writing
 First poem Venus and Adonis registered in April
1593
 Second poem The Rape of Lucrece in May 1594
 In 1609 his sonnets were published without his
permission
 Lived in London for work, far away from family
for 20 years
 Supposedly wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets

5. Contributions
 Performed for Queen
Elizabeth in 1594
 Named one of the owners
of the Globe theatre in
1599
 Titled one of the King’s
Men and named a
shareholder in 1594 and
1595
 All prove that he was a
performer and writer in
the theater community

6. Inside the Globe Theater
The Globe Theatre was a theater in London
associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in
1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord
Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on
June 26, 1613. A second Globe Theatre was rebuilt
on the same site by June 1614 and closed in 1642.
A modern reconstruction of the Globe, named
"Shakespeare's Globe", opened in 1997. It is
approximately 750 ft from the site of the original
theatre. You can visit it and see a show!

7. That’s a lot of plays…
HISTORIES COMEDIES TRAGEDIES
Cymbeline All's Well That Ends Well Antony and Cleopatra
Henry IV, Part I As You Like It Coriolanus
Henry IV, Part II Comedy of Errors Hamlet
Henry V Love's Labour's Lost Julius Caesar
Henry VI, Part I Measure for Measure King Lear
Henry VI, Part II Merchant of Venice Macbeth
Henry VI, Part III Merry Wives of Windsor Othello
Henry VIII Midsummer Night's Dream Romeo and Juliet
King John Much Ado about Nothing Timon of Athens
Pericles Taming of the Shrew Titus Andronicus
Richard II The Tempest Troilus and Cressida
Richard III Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter's Tale

8. 52 years to the day…
• Passed away April 23, 1616
and is buried at Holy Trinity
Church in Stratford
• Believed that he wrote his
own epitaph:
Good friend for Jesus sake
forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here!
Blest be the man that spares
these stones
And curst be he that moves my
bones