Friday, December 25, 2015

What was William Shakespeare's family like?

When Willism Shakespeare was born, his family was fairly well off. His father was a leader in the town of Stratford on Avon. However, by the time William reached his teens, the family's fortunes reversed.It didn't help matters that when Shakespeare was only 18, he had to quickly marry a woman named Anne Hathaway. She give birth to a baby girl five months later. Three years later, his wife had twins. We don't know much about Shakespeare's family life but ten years later, it seems Shakespeare had left his family for London in order to become an actor and then a playwright. For the next 15 years, he stayed in London much of the time and we can infer that the relationship between he and his wife was not a particularly close one. When he retired, he did return to Stratford-upon-Avon. When he died, he left most of his money to his oldest daughter, and some money to his youngest daughters. Shakespeare's son had died as a child. Ironically he left only his "second best bed" to his wife. This suggests that he had the best relationship with his oldest daughter and that his relationship with his wife might have been strained. But he left the world more than his money; he left them some of the finest plays ever written.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is the main function of the fool in "King Lear"? What is the secondly function?

The fool as a character is confusing, but part of this is the difference between the 1600s and today, as well as the difference in place. If...