Mariella frostrup biography of william shakespeare

His date of birth is unknown but is traditionally observed on 23 April, Saint George's Day. Although no attendance records for the period survive, most biographers agree that Shakespeare was probably educated at the King's New School in Stratford, [ 18 ] [ 19 ] [ 20 ] a free school chartered in[ 21 ] about a quarter-mile m from his home.

Mariella frostrup biography of william shakespeare: "For eight years I've

Grammar schools varied in quality during the Elizabethan era, but grammar school curricula were largely similar: the basic Latin text was standardised by royal decree, [ 22 ] [ 23 ] and the school would have provided an intensive education in grammar based upon Latin classical authors. At the age of 18, Shakespeare married year-old Anne Hathaway.

The consistory court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage licence on 27 November The next day, two of Hathaway's neighbours posted bonds guaranteeing that no lawful claims impeded the marriage. After the birth of the twins, Shakespeare left few historical traces until he is mentioned as part of the London theatre scene in The exception is the appearance of his name in the "complaints bill" of a law case before the Queen's Bench court at Westminster dated Michaelmas Term and 9 October Nicholas RoweShakespeare's first biographer, recounted a Stratford legend that Shakespeare fled the town for London to escape prosecution for deer poaching in the estate of local squire Thomas Lucy.

Shakespeare is also supposed to have taken his revenge on Lucy by writing a scurrilous ballad about him. It is not known definitively when Shakespeare began writing, but contemporary allusions and records of performances show that several of his plays were on the London stage by Scholars differ on the exact meaning of Greene's words, [ 42 ] [ 43 ] but most agree that Greene was accusing Shakespeare of reaching above his rank in trying to match such university-educated writers as Christopher MarloweThomas Nasheand Greene himself the so-called " University Wits ".

As used here, Johannes Factotum "Jack of all trades" refers to a second-rate tinkerer with the work of others, rather than the more common "universal genius". Greene's attack is the earliest surviving mention of Shakespeare's work in the theatre. Biographers suggest that his career may have begun any time from the mids to just before Greene's remarks.

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts Ina partnership of members of the company built their own theatre on the south bank of the River Thameswhich they named the Globe. Inthe partnership also took over the Blackfriars indoor theatre.

Extant records of Shakespeare's property purchases and investments indicate that his association with the company made him a wealthy man, [ 52 ] and inhe bought the second-largest house in Stratford, New Placeand ininvested in a share of the parish tithes in Stratford. Some of Shakespeare's plays were published in quarto editions, beginning inand byhis name had become a selling point and began to appear on the title pages.

Throughout his career, Shakespeare divided his time between London and Stratford. Inthe year before he bought New Place as his family home in Stratford, Shakespeare was living in the parish of St Helen'sBishopsgatenorth of the River Thames. There, he rented rooms from a French Huguenot named Christopher Mountjoy, a maker of women's wigs and other headgear.

Nicholas Rowe was the first biographer to record the tradition, repeated by Samuel Johnsonthat Shakespeare retired to Stratford "some years before his death". Retirement from all work was uncommon at that time. Shakespeare died on 23 Aprilat the age of No extant contemporary source explains how or why he died. Half a century later, John Wardthe vicar of Stratford, wrote in his notebook: "Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and, it seems, drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted", [ 83 ] [ 84 ] not an impossible scenario since Shakespeare knew Jonson and Drayton.

He was survived by his wife and two daughters. Susanna had married a physician, John Hall, in[ 86 ] and Judith had married Thomas Quineya vintnertwo months before Shakespeare's death. Thomas was ordered by the church court to do public penance, which would have caused much shame and embarrassment for the Shakespeare family. Shakespeare bequeathed the bulk of his large estate to his mariella frostrup biography of william shakespeare daughter Susanna [ 88 ] under stipulations that she pass it down intact to "the first son of her body".

Shakespeare was buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church two days after his death. Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare, To digg the dvst encloased heare. Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear, To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones. Some time beforea funerary monument was erected in his memory on the north wall, with a half-effigy of him in the act of writing.

Its plaque compares him to NestorSocratesand Virgil. Most playwrights of the period typically collaborated with others at some point, as critics agree Shakespeare did, mostly early and late in his career. The first recorded works of Shakespeare are Richard III and the three parts of Henry VIwritten in the early s during a vogue for historical drama.

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Shakespeare's plays are difficult to date precisely, however, [ ] [ ] and studies of the texts suggest that Titus AndronicusThe Comedy of ErrorsThe Taming of the Shrewand The Two Gentlemen of Verona may also belong to Shakespeare's earliest period. Shakespeare's early classical and Italianate comedies, containing tight double plots and precise comic sequences, give way in the mids to the romantic atmosphere of his most acclaimed comedies.

His characters become more complex and tender as he switches deftly between comic and serious scenes, prose and poetry, and achieves the narrative variety of his mature work. In the early 17th century, Shakespeare wrote the so-called " problem plays " Measure for MeasureTroilus and Cressidaand All's Well That Ends Well and a number of his best known tragedies.

Hamlet has probably been analysed more than any other Shakespearean character, especially for his famous soliloquy which begins " To be or not to be; that is the question ". According to the critic Frank Kermode"the play His last major tragedies, Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanuscontain some of Shakespeare's finest poetry and were considered his most successful tragedies by the poet and critic T.

In his final period, Shakespeare turned to romance or tragicomedy and completed three more major plays: CymbelineThe Winter's Taleand The Tempestas well as the collaboration, Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Less bleak than the tragedies, these four plays are graver in tone than the comedies of the s, but they end with reconciliation and the forgiveness of potentially tragic errors.

Shakespeare's works include the 36 plays printed in the First Folio oflisted according to their folio classification as comedieshistoriesand tragedies. In the late 19th century, Edward Dowden classified four of the late comedies as romancesand though many scholars prefer to call them tragicomediesDowden's term is often used. It is not clear for which companies Shakespeare wrote his early plays.

The title page of the edition of Titus Andronicus reveals that the play had been acted by three different troupes. Although the performance records are patchy, the King's Men performed seven of Shakespeare's plays at court between 1 Novemberand 31 Octoberincluding two performances of The Merchant of Venice. In Cymbelinefor example, Jupiter descends "in mariella frostrup biography of william shakespeare and lightning, sitting upon an eagle: he throws a thunderbolt.

The ghosts fall on their knees. It contained 36 texts, including 18 printed for the first time. Alfred Pollard termed some of the pre versions as " bad quartos " because of their adapted, paraphrased or garbled texts, which may in places have been reconstructed from memory. The differences may stem from copying or printing errors, from notes by actors or audience members, or from Shakespeare's own papers.

In the case of King Learhowever, while most modern editions do conflate them, the folio version is so different from the quarto that the Oxford Shakespeare prints them both, arguing that they cannot be conflated without confusion. In andwhen the theatres were closed because of plagueShakespeare published two narrative poems on sexual themes, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece.

He dedicated them to Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. In Venus and Adonisan innocent Adonis rejects the sexual advances of Venus ; while in The Rape of Lucrecethe virtuous wife Lucrece is raped by the lustful Tarquin. A third narrative poem, A Lover's Complaintin which a young woman laments her seduction by a persuasive suitor, was printed in the first edition of the Sonnets in Most scholars now accept that Shakespeare wrote A Lover's Complaint.

Critics consider that its fine qualities are marred by leaden effects. Intwo early drafts of sonnets and appeared in The Passionate Pilgrimpublished under Shakespeare's name but without his permission. Published inthe Sonnets were the last of Shakespeare's non-dramatic works to be printed. Scholars are not certain when each of the sonnets was composed, but evidence suggests that Shakespeare wrote sonnets throughout his career for a private readership.

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It remains unclear if these figures represent real individuals, or if the authorial "I" who addresses them represents Shakespeare himself, though Wordsworth believed that with the sonnets "Shakespeare unlocked his heart". The edition was dedicated to a "Mr. It is not known whether this was written by Shakespeare himself or by the publisher, Thomas Thorpewhose initials appear at the foot of the dedication page; nor is it known who Mr.

Shakespeare's first plays were written in the conventional style of the day. He wrote them in a stylised language that does not always spring naturally from the needs of the characters or the drama. The grand speeches in Titus Andronicusin the mariella frostrup biography of william shakespeare of some critics, often hold up the action, for example; and the verse in The Two Gentlemen of Verona has been described as stilted.

However, Shakespeare soon began to adapt the traditional styles to his own purposes. The opening soliloquy of Richard III has its roots in the self-declaration of Vice in medieval drama. At the same time, Richard's vivid self-awareness looks forward to the soliloquies of Shakespeare's mature plays. Shakespeare combined the two throughout his career, with Romeo and Juliet perhaps the best example of the mixing of the styles.

He increasingly tuned his metaphors and images to the needs of the drama itself. Shakespeare's standard poetic form was blank versecomposed in iambic pentameter. In practice, this meant that his verse was usually unrhymed and consisted of ten syllables to a line, spoken with a stress on every second syllable. The blank verse of his early plays is quite different from that of his later ones.

It is often beautiful, but its sentences tend to start, pause, and finish at the end of lineswith the risk of monotony. This technique releases the new power and flexibility of the poetry in plays such as Julius Caesar and Hamlet. Shakespeare uses it, for example, to convey the turmoil in Hamlet's mind: [ ]. Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting That would not let me sleep.

Methought I lay Worse than the mutines in the bilboes. Rashly— And prais'd be rashness for it—let us know Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well After HamletShakespeare varied his poetic style further, particularly in the more emotional passages of the late tragedies. The literary critic A. Bradley described this style as "more concentrated, rapid, varied, and, in construction, less regular, not seldom twisted or elliptical".

These included run-on linesirregular pauses and stops, and extreme variations in sentence structure and length. The listener is challenged to complete the sense. Shakespeare combined poetic genius with a practical sense of the theatre. This strength of design ensures that a Shakespeare play can survive translation, cutting, and wide interpretation without loss to its core drama.

He preserved aspects of his earlier style in the later plays, however. In Shakespeare's late romanceshe deliberately returned to a more artificial style, which emphasised the illusion of theatre. Shakespeare's work has made a significant and lasting impression on later theatre and literature. In particular, he expanded the dramatic potential of characterisationplot, languageand genre.

The Romantic poets attempted to revive Shakespearean verse drama, though with little success. Critic George Steiner described all English verse dramas from Coleridge to Tennyson as "feeble variations on Shakespearean themes. His work has inspired several operas, among them Giuseppe Verdi 's MacbethOtello and Falstaffwhose critical standing compares with that of the source plays.

In Shakespeare's day, English grammar, spelling, and pronunciation were less standardised than they are now, [ ] and his use of language helped shape modern English. Shakespeare's influence extends far beyond his native England and the English language. His reception in Germany was particularly significant; as early as the 18th century Shakespeare was widely translated and popularised in Germany, and gradually became a "classic of the German Weimar era ;" Christoph Martin Wieland was the first to produce complete translations of Shakespeare's plays in any language.

Some of the most deeply affecting productions of Shakespeare have been non-English, and non-European. He is that unique writer: he has something for everyone. According to Guinness World RecordsShakespeare remains the world's best-selling playwright, with sales of his plays and poetry believed to have achieved in excess of four billion copies in the almost years since his death.

He is also the third most translated author in history. Shakespeare was not revered in his lifetime, but he received a large amount of praise. Between the Restoration of the monarchy in and the end of the 17th century, classical ideas were in vogue. But during the 18th century, critics began to respond to Shakespeare on his own terms and, like Dryden, to acclaim what they termed his natural genius.

A series of scholarly editions of his work, notably those of Samuel Johnson in and Edmond Malone inadded to his growing reputation. During the Romantic eraShakespeare was praised by the poet and literary philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridgeand the critic August Wilhelm Schlegel translated his plays in the spirit of German Romanticism. The modernist revolution in the arts during the early 20th century, far from discarding Shakespeare, eagerly enlisted his work in the service of the avant-garde.

The Expressionists in Germany and the Futurists in Moscow mounted productions of his plays. Marxist playwright and director Bertolt Brecht devised an epic theatre under the influence of Shakespeare. The poet and critic T. Eliot argued against Shaw that Shakespeare's "primitiveness" in fact made him truly modern. Wilson Knight and the school of New Criticismled a movement towards a closer reading of Shakespeare's imagery.

In the s, a wave of new critical approaches replaced modernism and paved the way for post-modern studies of Shakespeare.

Mariella frostrup biography of william shakespeare: Mariella Frostrup: 'Neither of

He encloses us because we see with his fundamental perceptions. Around years after Shakespeare's death, doubts began to be expressed about the authorship of the works attributed to him. Shakespeare conformed to the official state religion, [ k ] but his private views on religion have been the subject of debate. Shakespeare's will uses a Protestant formula, and he was a confirmed member of the Church of Englandwhere he was married, his children were baptised, and where he is buried.

Some scholars are of the view that members of Shakespeare's family were Catholics, at a time when practising Catholicism in England was against the law. The strongest evidence might be a Catholic statement of faith signed by his father, John Shakespearefound in in the rafters of his former house in Henley Street. However, the document is now lost and scholars differ as to its authenticity.

Other authors argue that there is a lack of evidence about Shakespeare's religious beliefs. Scholars find evidence both for and against Shakespeare's Catholicism, Protestantism, or lack of belief in his plays, but the truth may be impossible to prove. Few details of Shakespeare's sexuality are known. At 18, he married year-old Anne Hathawaywho was pregnant.

Susanna, the first of their three children, was born six months later on 26 May Over the centuries, some readers have posited that Shakespeare's sonnets are autobiographical, [ ] and point to them as evidence of his love for a young man. Others read the same passages as the expression of intense friendship rather than romantic love. No written contemporary description of Shakespeare's physical appearance survives, and no evidence suggests that he ever commissioned a portrait.

From the 18th century, the desire for authentic Shakespeare portraits fuelled claims that various surviving pictures depicted Shakespeare. Some scholars suggest that the Droeshout portraitwhich Ben Jonson approved of as a good likeness, [ ] and his Stratford monument provide perhaps the best evidence of his appearance. After a three-year study supported by the National Portrait Gallery, Londonthe portrait's owners, Cooper contended that its composition date, contemporary with Shakespeare, its subsequent provenance, and the sitter's attire, all supported the attribution.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read View source View mariella frostrup biography of william shakespeare. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. English playwright and poet — For other uses, see Shakespeare disambiguation and William Shakespeare disambiguation. The Chandos portraitlikely depicting Shakespeare, c.

Stratford-upon-AvonWarwickshire, England. Elizabethan Jacobean. Lord Chamberlain's Men King's Men. Anne Hathaway. John Shakespeare Mary Arden. Play comedy history tragedy. Poetry sonnet narrative poem epitaph. Main article: Life of William Shakespeare. London and theatrical career. Mariella Frostrup born 12 November [ citation needed ] is a British-Norwegian journalist and presenter, known in British television and radio mainly for arts programmes.

For almost 20 years until she was The Observer' s agony aunt on its relationships page. Frostrup was born in OsloNorway, to Peter and Joan Frostrup, [ 1 ] but moved with her family when she was six [ 2 ] to Ireland in[ 3 ] living in Kilmacanoguea small village near the town of Greystones in County Wicklow. Her Norwegian father, who died aged 44 when Frostrup was 15, [ 2 ] was a journalist including Foreign Editor [ 4 ] on The Irish Timesand her Scottish mother an artist.

After the death of her father, in she moved to London. Following a period training to be a tape op for the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio during which she worked with Simple Minds on their Real to Real Cacophony album[ 7 ] she went on to work as a public relations executive for Phonogram Records between and ; coordinated the publicity for the Live Aid concert at Wembley in ; and, after leaving Phonogram, started television work as a presenter and film critic.

Frostrup has interviewed many celebrities, writers and artists and has presented a variety of television programmes, including one on travel, and has appeared in other television shows such as the series Have I Got News for You and the sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. She made several guest appearances as herself in the series Couplingincluding an episode where one of the characters fantasizes about her, then meets her in person.

InFrostrup received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from Nottingham Trent University in recognition of her contribution and commitment to journalism and broadcasting. As the presenter of The Book Show on Sky Arts 1, she interviewed an extensive list of guests on their recent works and their "favourite heroes and heroines from fiction".

The show was cancelled in She is the voice in lifts on the London Overground. Her 'gravelly' voice is often used on television commercials and in was voted the sexiest female voice on television. Frostrup was one of the celebrities portrayed as a puppet on that programme. She later published a book on the subject and has spoken of her own experience of menopause.

In June she joined Times Radio to present a programme in the early afternoon from Monday to Thursday. It features celebrity interviews, alongside arts, culture and social issues coverage. InFrostrup is the presenter of the documentary series Britain's Novel Landscapes with Mariella Frostrup ; which investigates how British mariella frostrup biographies of william shakespeare have influenced some of the UK's best loved authors.

Frostrup's political views have been described as "a bit left-of-centre". ByShakespeare and several fellow actors built their own theater on the south bank of the Thames River, which they called the Globe Theater. Julius Caesar is thought to be the first production at the new open-air theater. Owning the playhouse proved to be a financial boon for Shakespeare and the other investors.

The company quickly rebuilt it, and it reopened the next year. InPuritans outlawed all theaters, including the Globe, which was demolished two years later. Centuries passed until American actor Sam Wanamaker began working to resurrect the theater once more. The third Globe Theater opened inand today, more than 1. Some plays blur these lines, and over time, our interpretation of them has changed, too.

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.

Download our complete William Shakespeare Study Guide for free to explore the key themes and characters from three of his most important plays. Download Free Study Guide. Character in OthelloKing Learand Macbeth present vivid impressions of human temperament that are timeless and universal. Possibly the best known of these plays is Hamletwhich explores betrayal, retribution, incest, and moral failure.

Shakespeare wrote comedies throughout his career, including his first play The Taming of the Shrew. Some of his comedies might be better described as tragicomedies. Although graver in tone than the comedies, they are not the dark tragedies of King Lear or Macbeth because they end with reconciliation and forgiveness. Additional Shakespeare comedies include:.

Shakespeare is known to have created plays with other writers, such as John Fletcher. They also collaborated on Cardenioa play which was not preserved. When including these works, Shakespeare has 41 plays to his name. Around the turn of the 17 th century, Shakespeare became a more extensive property owner in Stratford. When his father, John, died inhe inherited the family home.

Then, inhe purchased about acres for pounds. By using blank verse and crafting intricate plots, he set new standards for narrative complexity and emotional depth. His ability to write in various genres allowed him to appeal to diverse audiences, establishing a theatrical legacy that persists today. Plays such as "Hamlet," "Othello," and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" continue to be performed worldwide, adapted into countless films and productions.

Through his enduring contributions, Shakespeare has cemented his status as one of history's greatest playwrights, whose works continue to resonate with and inspire generations. In the later years of his life, William Shakespeare became increasingly focused on property investments in Stratford-upon-Avon. Following the death of his father inhe inherited the family home, and inhe bought approximately acres of land for a substantial sum.

Byhe had also acquired leases for real estate near Stratford that proved to be profitable, suggesting that Shakespeare was not only a gifted playwright but also a shrewd entrepreneur. These ventures likely allowed him the leisure and financial security necessary to dedicate more of his time to writing, leading to some of his most acclaimed works.

Tradition holds that Shakespeare died on April 23,which interestingly falls on the same date as his birth. However, while church records confirm he was interred at Holy Trinity Church on April 25, the exact cause of his death remains uncertain, with speculation ranging from a sudden illness to other unforeseen health issues. In his will, Shakespeare bequeathed the bulk of his estate to his eldest daughter, Susanna, while notably leaving his wife, Anne Hathaway, his "second-best bed.

William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on November 28,in Worcester, while she was already pregnant. At the time, Shakespeare was just 18 years old, and Anne was Their union was somewhat unconventional, and they had their first child, Susanna, just six months later, born on May 26, Two years later, on February 2,they welcomed twins, Hamnet and Judith.