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Clothing wasn't just merely an insignificant thing in the days of Elizabethan England. In fact, it is quite significant that there is even an Elizabethan law related to it. These laws stated the colours as well as the type of clothing an individual was allowed to own and wear.

These laws were called 'Statutes of Apparel" and was enforced by the Queen herself in Greenwich on June 1574. The intent was to maintain the social structure as well as to keep a firm restrain on the people's expenditure towards clothing.

Basically, Elizabethan Clothing was a part of the social order. It is also indicative of a particular person's status not only reflecting how wealthy or poor they are but also of their social reputation. For example, back then it is absurd for a peasant to copy more well off individuals through "luxurious" clothing which was only worn by upper classes.

Royalty Clothing in the Elizabethan Era

The materials used for the clothes worn by the royals were very expensive and mostly imported. the women wore gowns which had many parts and layers. They also had shoulder pads. Starch was used to stiffen the fabrics. A farthingale to make the skirts and gowns look extended was also very common.

Men mostly wore a loose-fitting shirt, buttoned-down and cuffed. For pants, they wore short breeches that were puffy. women's clothes were designed to make them look slimmer and men's clothing was loose and baggy.

Social Class and Clothing

The Elizabethan era clothing materials varied according to social status. The upper class of Elizabethan England wore elegant and luxurious clothing that was made of expensive velvet, exotic silk and satin. Only the members of the Royal Family were allowed to own robes which were trimmed with ermine. Less noble folk wore clothing trimmed with either fox or otter.

Elizabethan Era Peasant's Clothing

Quite the contrast to the luxurious clothing of the affluent was the clothing worn by peasants and the lower classes. They wore clothing made of simple materials such as English cotton, wool and leather. Woollen clothing was in fact quite popular among the working as well as domestic classes since it was rather cheap and the wool trade saw an increase during the period.

Middle-Class Clothing

People of middle-class status in the Elizabethan era mostly wore clothes made of cotton, linen and broadcloth. They wore a short top called chemise which would protect the lower clothes from sweat. These chemises were like vests on which the bodice was worn. Petticoats were used to keep the body warm.

Middle-class people also used cloaks and overcoats. They wore hats in public and women often used perfumes because the streets were extremely filthy. The poor people wore doublets and jerkins. The men wore doublets over their shirts and the sleeves were detachable from the doublets.

Colours used in Elizabethan England

The dyes that were used to colour the lavish clothing of the noble of Elizabethan England cost quite a bit. In one of Elizabeth I's surviving portraits, she was shown wearing a crimson robe. The deep crimson colouring was obtained from an insect which was only found in the Mediterranean.

The brightest colours demanded a higher price tag and were only available to the upper class. The brightness of the colour and its richness are the determining factors as to how expensive it would be. The working class or peasants wore clothes dyed in yellow, orange, green, pale blue, pink and russet.

Accessories For Men and Women

Elizabethan clothing accessories for women usually consisted of gowns, underclothing, corsets, hats, ruffs, collars and shoes. The men wore doublets, underclothing, breeches, ruffs, collars, hats and shoes.

Women often wore fancy jewellery but for both men and women ruffs were an indispensable item that adds to their elegant look. The Queen herself wore many elaborate collars. The ruffs were worn around the neck or wrists and became significantly larger later on.

Rich Elizabethan women's clothing

Rich Elizabethan women also wore thick petticoats and on top of this came the corset and skirts. Their skirts were held up with hoops and are often padded at the hips. Then on top of all the was an outer bodice and a skirt or a fine dress and to finish it off, the women wore a coat or a dressing gown which went all the way down to the floor.

What Influenced Elizabethan Era clothing?

Queen Elizabeth herself was the greatest influencer of fashion during her time. Elaborate and ostentatious in her clothing choices, Queen Elizabeth even kept a detailed account of the expenditure for her clothing. Her clothing accounts listed exactly how much materials were bought, from whom and what purpose it was used for.

Elizabeth's fascination for foreign styles of clothing had a huge influence on the fashion of that era. French, Spanish, Italian, and even German fashion seeped into the clothing trends in England. Gowns and accessories worn by the Queen were imitated by women from all social classes and hence, similar clothes with cheaper materials were made.

Elizabeth's influence, however, was not only limited to women's wardrobe but also reached men's fashion. the courtiers competed with each other to show up in the most expensive, sparkly outfit possible. They started using rich fabrics and wore clothes that would broaden their shoulders. Bright colours and elaborate embroidery was made to display wealth and class.

An astute politician, Queen Elizabeth even knew how to use fashion for political ends. When negotiations for her marriage were being made with the Anjous, she sent a portrait of herself to Catherine de' Medici where she is dressed in the most elaborate and flashy French clothes. It was met with commending response and the negotiations were successful.

Talk about grandiose and not to mention heavy. But one must remember, that just like their art and architecture, clothing in the Elizabethan Era was also an indicator of a person's wealth and status.

More info on- Elizabethan era Clothing Law for Women, Clothing Styles of different Classes, Hairstyles

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Elizabethan Era Clothing, Costume: Men, Women, Kids

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Clothing wasn't just merely an insignificant thing in the days of Elizabethan England. In fact, it is quite significant that there is even an Elizabethan law related to it. These laws stated the colours as well as the type of clothing an individual was allowed to own and wear.

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Elizabethan Clothing
The section and era covering Elizabethan Clothing and Fashion includes extensive information regarding all elements of clothing and fashion during the Elizabethan era. The subjects range from the type of clothing regarded as Upper Class Fashion - rich, sumptuous materials and elegant styles to clothes worn by the lower classes using basic materials. Each item of Elizabethan clothing has been designed.

Picture of Queen Elizabeth I

Elizabethan Women's Clothing - gowns, hats, corsets, underwear, collars, ruffs and shoes. Elizabethan Men's Clothing - doublets, breeches, underwear, collars, ruffs, hats and shoes. For additional information of the period please click the following link to Tudor Clothes.

We recommend the following site for: Facts and information about Medieval Clothing

The Hair styles, Make-up, Jewelry and even suitable Wedding Dress has also been included. But the most alien concepts of the Elizabethan era was that, regardless of their wealth, Elizabethans were not allowed to wear what clothes they liked. Their clothing and items of apparel were dictated by the Elizabethan Sumptuary Laws which governed the style and materials worn.

The Sumptuary Laws - Enforcing statutes of Apparel - Governing Elizabethan Clothing.
The Elizabethan Sumptuary Clothing Laws were used to control behaviour and to ensure that a specific class structure was maintained. English Sumptuary Laws governing the clothing that Elizabethans wore were well known by all of the English people. The penalties for violating Sumptuary Laws could be harsh - fines, the loss of property, title and even life.

Elizabethan Clothing for Men

Elizabethan Clothing for Women

Elizabethan Clothing
Additional details, facts and information about Elizabethan Clothing and Fashion can be accessed via the Elizabethan Era Sitemap.

Elizabethan Clothing

Upper Class Clothing and Fashion

Women's Clothing and Fashion - gowns, hats, corsets, underwear, collars, ruffs and shoes

Men's Clothing and Fashion - doublets, breeches, underwear, collars, ruffs, hats and shoes

Hair styles

Make-up

Jewelry

Wedding Dress clothing and garb

Sumptuary Laws governing Elizabethan Clothing

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Queen Elizabeth's Coat of Arms

Elizabethan Clothing

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Elizabethan Clothing The section and era covering Elizabethan Clothing and Fashion includes extensive information regarding all elements of clothing and fashion during the Elizabethan era. The subjects range from the type of clothing regarded as Upper Class Fashion - rich, sumptuous materials and elegant styles to clothes worn by the lower classes using basic materials.

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The Mystery Between Stratford and London

by J. M. Pressley, SRC Editor

Shakespeare Fun Fact

Although no direct descendants of William Shakespeare survived past the seventeenth century, there are still descendants alive today of his sister, Joan Hart.

William Shakespeare is the most famous writer in the history of Western literature. His plays have been performed for over 400 years. Yet we know very little about Shakespeare as a person. Only a few records have survived over the centuries, like the date of his christening, some legal documents, and his last will and testament. If Shakespeare wrote any letters to his friends or kept manuscript copies of the plays he wrote, no one has ever found them. We don't even have evidence that Shakespeare owned any books.

One of the biggest mysteries about William Shakespeare, however, is that he completely disappears for more than seven years. When he was 21 years old, Shakespeare was married with three children and living in the small town of Stratford in England. Seven years later, he was living in London as resident playwright and part owner of a theater company. Nobody knows just what Shakespeare was doing for all those years in between.

In fact, the first attempt at any kind of coherent biography wasn't until 1709, nearly a century after Shakespeare had died. Much of the source material by then consisted of anecdotes and gossip rather than any documented evidence. Compounding the problem, all of Shakespeare's direct line died well before the eighteenth century, leaving neither descended heirs nor family lore to help round out our knowledge of the man.

The earliest and most common tale was related around 1616 by a clergyman in Gloucestershire by the name of Richard Davies. According to Davies, Shakespeare was known to poach deer and rabbits on the property of local landowner Sir Thomas Lucy, who "who oft had him whipped and sometimes imprisoned." Rowe elaborated that Shakespeare eventually left Stratford to avoid Lucy's punishment. Rowe even says that Shakespeare lampooned Lucy in a ballad, and there are those that believe Justice Shallow of The Merry Wives of Windsor is based largely upon Shakespeare's supposed tormentor. There is no evidence, though, that any of it ever happened, and most scholars do not believe the story credible.

In the late 1600s, John Aubrey's Brief Lives spoke of Shakespeare as a schoolmaster in rural England for at least part of those years. This story is considered more believable since it comes from the son of an actor who had been in Shakespeare's theater company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It also helps to explain how Shakespeare may have gotten more education between leaving Stratford and arriving in London. However, there is no documentary evidence to support this tale, either.

In 1985, noted scholar E. A. J. Honigmann put forth a startling new theory in his work Shakespeare: The Lost Years. Based on some admittedly circumstantial documentary evidence, he proposes that Shakespeare served a wealthy Catholic family in Lancashire, and that Shakespeare was likely a recusant Catholic himself, which may have prompted his departure from Stratford. The theory hinges on the reference to a "William Shakeshafte" in the will of Alexander Hoghton, in which there is also mention of costumes and musical instruments. Honigmann's premise remains a theory, albeit an intriguing one, in the absence of definitive proof.

This period continues to be the subject of much speculation. Other popular-if apocryphal-tales have Shakespeare leaving Stratford with a traveling troupe of actors, or working as a soldier, law clerk, butcher, glover, scrivener, or merchant. One story even puts a young Shakespeare in London, holding horses outside of theaters for patrons. These are overwhelmingly tall tales with roughly the same legitimacy as George Washington chopping down the cherry tree. Only Shakespeare knows for certain what happened during his "Lost Years," and he didn't leave behind any clues.

Sources

Bevington, David, ed. The Complete Works of Shakespeare—5th ed. New York: Longman, 2003.

Honigmann, E. A. J. Shakespeare: The "Lost Years". Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1985.

Schoenbaum, Sam. William Shakespeare: A Compact Documentary Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Wood, Michael. In Search of Shakespeare. London: BBC Books, 2005.

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Shakespeare Resource Center - Shakespeare's Lost Years

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William Shakespeare is the most famous writer in the history of Western literature. His plays have been performed for over 400 years. Yet we know very little about Shakespeare as a person. One of the biggest mysteries about William Shakespeare is that he completely disappears for more than seven years.

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Visit this site dedicated to William Shakespeare including information about William Shakespeare and the Lost Years.Fast and accurate details about William Shakespeare and his Lost Years'.Learn about William Shakespeare Lost Years.

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According to tradition, the great English dramatist and poet William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23, 1564. It is impossible to be certain the exact day on which he was born, but church records show that he was baptized on April 26, and three days was a customary amount of time to wait before baptizing a newborn. Shakespeare's date of death is conclusively known, however: it was April 23, 1616. He was 52 years old and had retired to Stratford three years before.

Although few plays have been performed or analyzed as extensively as the 38 plays ascribed to William Shakespeare, there are few surviving details about the playwright's life. This dearth of biographical information is due primarily to his station in life; he was not a noble, but the son of John Shakespeare, a leather trader and the town bailiff. The events of William Shakespeare's early life can only be gleaned from official records, such as baptism and marriage records.

He probably attended the grammar school in Stratford, where he would have studied Latin and read classical literature. He did not go to university but at age 18 married Anne Hathaway, who was eight years his senior and pregnant at the time of the marriage. Their first daughter, Susanna, was born six months later, and in 1585 William and Anne had twins, Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet, Shakespeare's only son, died 11 years later, and Anne Shakespeare outlived her husband, dying in 1623. Nothing is known of the period between the birth of the twins and Shakespeare's emergence as a playwright in London in the early 1590s, but unfounded stories have him stealing deer, joining a group of traveling players, becoming a schoolteacher, or serving as a soldier in the Low Countries.

The first reference to Shakespeare as a London playwright came in 1592, when a fellow dramatist, Robert Greene, wrote derogatorily of him on his deathbed. It is believed that Shakespeare had written the three parts of Henry VI by that point. In 1593, Venus and Adonis was Shakespeare's first published poem, and he dedicated it to the young Henry Wriothesley, the 3rd earl of Southampton. In 1594, having probably composed, among other plays, Richard III, The Comedy of Errors, and The Taming of the Shrew, he became an actor and playwright for the Lord Chamberlain's Men, which became the King's Men after James I's ascension in 1603. The company grew into England's finest, in no small part because of Shakespeare, who was its principal dramatist. It also had the finest actor of the day, Richard Burbage, and the best theater, the Globe, which was located on the Thames' south bank. Shakespeare stayed with the King's Men until his retirement and often acted in small parts.

By 1596, the company had performed the classic Shakespeare plays Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. That year, John Shakespeare was granted a coat of arms, a testament to his son's growing wealth and fame. In 1597, William Shakespeare bought a large house in Stratford. In 1599, after producing his great historical series, the first and second part of Henry IV and Henry V, he became a partner in the ownership of the Globe Theatre.

The beginning of the 17th century saw the performance of the first of his great tragedies, Hamlet. The next play, The Merry Wives of Windsor, was written at the request of Queen Elizabeth I, who wanted to see another play that included the popular character Falstaff. During the next decade, Shakespeare produced such masterpieces as Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, and The Tempest. In 1609, his sonnets, probably written during the 1590s, were published. The 154 sonnets are marked by the recurring themes of the mutability of beauty and the transcendent power of love and art.

Shakespeare died in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23, 1616. Today, nearly 400 years later, his plays are performed and read more often and in more nations than ever before. In a million words written over 20 years, he captured the full range of human emotions and conflicts with a precision that remains sharp today. As his great contemporary the poet and dramatist Ben Jonson said, "He was not of an age, but for all time."

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William Shakespeare born - Apr 23, 1564 - HISTORY.com

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According to tradition, the great English dramatist and poet William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23, 1564. It is impossible to be certain the exact day on which he was born, but church records show that he was baptized on April 26, and three days was a customary amount of time to wait before baptizing a newborn.

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Words Shakespeare Invented
The English language owes a great debt to Shakespeare. He invented over 1700 of our common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together, adding prefixes and suffixes, and devising words wholly original. Below is a list of a few of the words Shakespeare coined or adapted, hyperlinked to the play and scene from which it comes. When the word appears in multiple plays, the link will take you to the play in which it first appears. For a more in-depth look at Shakespeare's coined words, please click here.

** Please note that the table below gives both a sample of words Shakespeare coined and words he adapted. For example, "elbow" was a noun before Shakespeare, but he turned it into a verb. There are many books on the subject and etymological dictionaries if you want a list of only words coined. **

For more words that Shakespeare coined please see the Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language by Dr. Ernest Klein (1966) or Shakespeare-lexicon: A Complete Dictionary of All the English Words, Phrases and Constructions in the Works of the Poet by Alexander Schmidt (1902). For words Shakespeare used only once, please see The Once Used Words in Shakespeare by James Davie Butler (1886).
How to cite this article:
Mabillard, Amanda.Words Shakespeare Invented. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/wordsinvented.html >.

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Portraits of Shakespeare

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Shakespeare's Boss: The Master of Revels
Hamlet Essays and Study Guide

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Romeo and Juliet Essays and Study Guide
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Top 10 Shakespeare Plays
Shakespeare's Metaphors and Similes
Shakespeare's Blank Verse
Elements of Comedy

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What is Tragic Irony?
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Did You Know?
Shakespeare was familiar with seven foreign languages and often quoted them directly in his plays. His vocabulary was the largest of any writer, at over twenty-four thousand words. According to James Davie Butler, "the total vocabulary of Milton's poetical remains is more nearly seventeen than eighteen thousand (17,377); and that of Homer, including the hymns as well as both Iliad and Odyssey, is scarcely nine thousand. Five thousand eight hundred and sixty words exhaust the vocabulary of Dante's Divina Comedia." ( The Once Used Words in Shakespeare)

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Ben Jonson and the Decline of the Drama
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The English language owes a great debt to Shakespeare. He invented over 1700 of our common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together, adding prefixes and suffixes, and devising words wholly original.

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Who Was William Shakespeare?

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor of the Renaissance era. He was an important member of the King's Men company of theatrical players from roughly 1594 onward.

Known throughout the world, Shakespeare's writings capture the range of human emotion and conflict and have been celebrated for more than 400 years. And yet, the personal life of William Shakespeare is somewhat a mystery.

There are two primary sources that provide historians with an outline of his life. One is his work - the plays, poems and sonnets - and the other is official documentation such as church and court records. However, these provide only brief sketches of specific events in his life and yield little insight into the man himself.

When Was Shakespeare Born?

No birth records exist, but an old church record indicates that a William Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564. From this, it is believed he was born on or near April 23, 1564, and this is the date scholars acknowledge as Shakespeare's birthday.

Located about 100 miles northwest of London, during Shakespeare's time Stratford-upon-Avon was a bustling market town along the River Avon and bisected by a country road.

Family

Shakespeare was the third child of John Shakespeare, a leather merchant, and Mary Arden, a local landed heiress. Shakespeare had two older sisters, Joan and Judith, and three younger brothers, Gilbert, Richard and Edmund.

Before Shakespeare's birth, his father became a successful merchant and held official positions as alderman and bailiff, an office resembling a mayor. However, records indicate John's fortunes declined sometime in the late 1570s.

Childhood and Education

Scant records exist of Shakespeare's childhood and virtually none regarding his education. Scholars have surmised that he most likely attended the King's New School, in Stratford, which taught reading, writing and the classics.

Being a public official's child, Shakespeare would have undoubtedly qualified for free tuition. But this uncertainty regarding his education has led some to raise questions about the authorship of his work (and even about whether or not Shakespeare really existed).

Wife and Children

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582, in Worcester, in Canterbury Province. Hathaway was from Shottery, a small village a mile west of Stratford. Shakespeare was 18 and Anne was 26, and, as it turns out, pregnant.

Their first child, a daughter they named Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583. Two years later, on February 2, 1585, twins Hamnet and Judith were born. Hamnet later died of unknown causes at age 11.

Shakespeare's Lost Years

There are seven years of Shakespeare's life where no records exist after the birth of his twins in 1585. Scholars call this period the "lost years," and there is wide speculation on what he was doing during this period.

One theory is that he might have gone into hiding for poaching game from the local landlord, Sir Thomas Lucy. Another possibility is that he might have been working as an assistant schoolmaster in Lancashire.

It's generally believed he arrived in London in the mid- to late 1580s and may have found work as a horse attendant at some of London's finer theaters, a scenario updated centuries later by the countless aspiring actors and playwrights in Hollywood and Broadway.

The King's Men

By the early 1590s, documents show Shakespeare was a managing partner in the Lord Chamberlain's Men, an acting company in London with which he was connected for most of his career.

Considered the most important troupe of its time, the company changed its name to the King's Men following the crowning of King James I in 1603. From all accounts, the King's Men company was very popular. Records show that Shakespeare had works published and sold as popular literature.

Although the theater culture in 16th century England was not highly admired by people of high rank, some of the nobility were good patrons of the performing arts and friends of the actors.

DOWNLOAD BIOGRAPHY'S WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE FACT CARD

Actor and Playwright

By 1592, there is evidence Shakespeare earned a living as an actor and a playwright in London and possibly had several plays produced.

The September 20, 1592 edition of the Stationers' Register (a guild publication) includes an article by London playwright Robert Greene that takes a few jabs at Shakespeare: "...There is an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tiger's heart wrapped in a Player's hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes factotum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country," Greene wrote of Shakespeare.

Scholars differ on the interpretation of this criticism, but most agree that it was Greene's way of saying Shakespeare was reaching above his rank, trying to match better known and educated playwrights like Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Nashe or Greene himself.

Early in his career, Shakespeare was able to attract the attention of Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton, to whom he dedicated his first and second published poems: "Venus and Adonis" (1593) and "The Rape of Lucrece" (1594).

By 1597, Shakespeare had already written and published 15 of his 37 plays. Civil records show that at this time he purchased the second-largest house in Stratford, called New House, for his family.

It was a four-day ride by horse from Stratford to London, so it's believed that Shakespeare spent most of his time in the city writing and acting and came home once a year during the 40-day Lenten period, when the theaters were closed.

Globe Theater

By 1599, Shakespeare and his business partners built their own theater on the south bank of the Thames River, which they called the Globe Theater.

In 1605, Shakespeare purchased leases of real estate near Stratford for 440 pounds, which doubled in value and earned him 60 pounds a year. This made him an entrepreneur as well as an artist, and scholars believe these investments gave him the time to write his plays uninterrupted.

Shakespeare's Writing Style

Shakespeare's early plays were written in the conventional style of the day, with elaborate metaphors and rhetorical phrases that didn't always align naturally with the story's plot or characters.

However, Shakespeare was very innovative, adapting the traditional style to his own purposes and creating a freer flow of words.

With only small degrees of variation, Shakespeare primarily used a metrical pattern consisting of lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter, or blank verse, to compose his plays. At the same time, there are passages in all the plays that deviate from this and use forms of poetry or simple prose.

William Shakespeare's Plays

While it's difficult to determine the exact chronology of Shakespeare's plays, over the course of two decades, from about 1590 to 1613, he wrote a total of 37 plays revolving around several main themes: histories, tragedies, comedies and tragicomedies.

Early Works: Histories and Comedies

With the exception of the tragic love story Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's first plays were mostly histories. Henry VI (Parts I, II and III), Richard II and Henry V dramatize the destructive results of weak or corrupt rulers and have been interpreted by drama historians as Shakespeare's way of justifying the origins of the Tudor Dynasty.

Julius Caesar portrays upheaval in Roman politics that may have resonated with viewers at a time when England's aging monarch, Queen Elizabeth I, had no legitimate heir, thus creating the potential for future power struggles.

Shakespeare also wrote several comedies during his early period: the whimsical A Midsummer Night's Dream, the romantic Merchant of Venice, the wit and wordplay of Much Ado About Nothing and the charming As You Like It and Twelfth Night.

Other plays written before 1600 include Titus Andronicus, The Comedy of Errors, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew, Love's Labour's Lost, King John, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry V.

Works after 1600: Tragedies and Tragicomedies

It was in Shakespeare's later period, after 1600, that he wrote the tragedies Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. In these, Shakespeare's characters present vivid impressions of human temperament that are timeless and universal.

Possibly the best known of these plays is Hamlet, which explores betrayal, retribution, incest and moral failure. These moral failures often drive the twists and turns of Shakespeare's plots, destroying the hero and those he loves.

In Shakespeare's final period, he wrote several tragicomedies. Among these are Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. Though graver in tone than the comedies, they are not the dark tragedies of King Lear or Macbeth because they end with reconciliation and forgiveness.

Other plays written during this period include All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, Timon of Athens, Coriolanus, Pericles and Henry VIII.

When Did Shakespeare Die?

Tradition holds that Shakespeare died on his 52nd birthday, April 23, 1616, but some scholars believe this is a myth. Church records show he was interred at Trinity Church on April 25, 1616.

The exact cause of Shakespeare's death is unknown, though many believe he died following a brief illness.

In his will, he left the bulk of his possessions to his eldest daughter, Susanna. Though entitled to a third of his estate, little seems to have gone to his wife, Anne, whom he bequeathed his "second-best bed." This has drawn speculation that she had fallen out of favor, or that the couple was not close.

However, there is very little evidence the two had a difficult marriage. Other scholars note that the term "second-best bed" often refers to the bed belonging to the household's master and mistress - the marital bed - and the "first-best bed" was reserved for guests.

Did Shakespeare Write His Own Plays?

About 150 years after his death, questions arose about the authorship of Shakespeare's plays. Scholars and literary critics began to float names like Christopher Marlowe, Edward de Vere and Francis Bacon - men of more known backgrounds, literary accreditation, or inspiration - as the true authors of the plays.

Much of this stemmed from the sketchy details of Shakespeare's life and the dearth of contemporary primary sources. Official records from the Holy Trinity Church and the Stratford government record the existence of a Shakespeare, but none of these attest to him being an actor or playwright.

Skeptics also questioned how anyone of such modest education could write with the intellectual perceptiveness and poetic power that is displayed in Shakespeare's works. Over the centuries, several groups have emerged that question the authorship of Shakespeare's plays.

The most serious and intense skepticism began in the 19th century when adoration for Shakespeare was at its highest. The detractors believed that the only hard evidence surrounding Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon described a man from modest beginnings who married young and became successful in real estate.

Members of the Shakespeare Oxford Society (founded in 1957) put forth arguments that English aristocrat and poet Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, was the true author of the poems and plays of "William Shakespeare."

The Oxfordians cite de Vere's extensive knowledge of aristocratic society, his education, and the structural similarities between his poetry and that found in the works attributed to Shakespeare. They contend that Shakespeare had neither the education nor the literary training to write such eloquent prose and create such rich characters.

However, the vast majority of Shakespearean scholars contend that Shakespeare wrote all his own plays. They point out that other playwrights of the time also had sketchy histories and came from modest backgrounds.

They contend that Stratford's New Grammar School curriculum of Latin and the classics could have provided a good foundation for literary writers. Supporters of Shakespeare's authorship argue that the lack of evidence about Shakespeare's life doesn't mean his life didn't exist. They point to evidence that displays his name on the title pages of published poems and plays.

Examples exist of authors and critics of the time acknowledging Shakespeare as the author of plays such as The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Comedy of Errors and King John.

Royal records from 1601 show that Shakespeare was recognized as a member of the King's Men theater company and a Groom of the Chamber by the court of King James I, where the company performed seven of Shakespeare's plays.

There is also strong circumstantial evidence of personal relationships by contemporaries who interacted with Shakespeare as an actor and a playwright.

Literary Legacy

What seems to be true is that Shakespeare was a respected man of the dramatic arts who wrote plays and acted in some in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. But his reputation as a dramatic genius wasn't recognized until the 19th century.

Beginning with the Romantic period of the early 1800s and continuing through the Victorian period, acclaim and reverence for Shakespeare and his work reached its height. In the 20th century, new movements in scholarship and performance have rediscovered and adopted his works.

Today, his plays are highly popular and constantly studied and reinterpreted in performances with diverse cultural and political contexts. The genius of Shakespeare's characters and plots are that they present real human beings in a wide range of emotions and conflicts that transcend their origins in Elizabethan England.

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William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor of the Renaissance era. He was an important member of the King's Men company of theatrical players from roughly 1594 onward. Known throughout the world, Shakespeare's writings capture the range of human emotion and conflict and have been celebrated for more than 400 years.

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The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

Welcome to the Web's first edition of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. This site has offered Shakespeare's plays and poetry to the Internet community since 1993.

For other Shakespeare resources, visit the Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet Web site.

The original electronic source for this server was the Complete Moby(tm) Shakespeare. The HTML versions of the plays provided here are placed in the public domain.

5/10/23: Current copy taken from https://github.com/TheMITTech/shakespeare/ and hosted by MIT IS&T in a static location.

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The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Welcome to the Web's first edition of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. This site has offered Shakespeare's plays and poetry to the Internet community since 1993. For other Shakespeare resources, visit the Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet Web site.