GREAT BRITISH POETS

"William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in a half-timbered house
in Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon. His father was John Shakespeare,
a glove maker and wool dealer, and his mother was Mary Arden, daughter
of a farmer from Wilmcote.
Young William attended Stratford Grammar School from the age of
7 until he was 14. The grammar school was held on the upper floor
of the old Guildhall, and here the classes were held in Latin,
concentrating on grammar and the ancient classics of Greece and
Rome.
Shakespeare was withdrawn from school due to his familiy's financial
difficulties, and never completed his education, which makes his
subsequent accomplishments all the more remarkable.
At the age of 18 Shakespeare married, to Anne Hathaway, daughter
of a yeoman farmer from Shottery, close to Stratford. The marriage
may have been forced, as Anne was already 3 months pregnant with
a daughter, Susanna. This first child was followed by twins Hamnet
and Judith in 1585.
The next 7 years of Shakespeare's life are a mystery, though he
is rumoured to have worked as a school teacher. Sometime before
1592 Shakespeare fled his home and family to follow the life of
an actor in London.
London's theatres were closed in January 1593 due to an outbreak
of the plague, and many players left the capital to tour the provinces.
Shakespeare preferred to stay in London, and it was during this
time of plague that he began to gain recognition as a writer, notably
of long poems, such as Venus and Adonius, and Rape of
Lucrece.
He was fortunate to find a patron, Henry Wriothsley, Earl of Southampton,
to support him in his writing. Venus and Adonius was wildly
successful, and it was this work that first brought the young writer
widespread recognition.
Apart from his longer poetry, Shakespeare also began writing his
sonnets during this period, perhaps at the behest of Southampton's
mother, who hoped to induce her son to marry.
When the theatres reopened in late 1594, Shakespeare was no longer
a simple actor, but a playwright as well, writing and performing
for the theatre company called "Lord Chamberlain's Men",
which later became "The King's Men".
Shakespeare became an investor in the company, perhaps with money
granted him by his patron, Southampton. It was this financial stake
in his theatre company that made Shakespeare's fortune. For the
next 17 years he produced an average of 2 plays a year for The
King's Men.
The early plays were held at The Theatre, to the north
of the city. In 1597 the company's lease on The Theatre expired,
and negotiations with the landlord proved fruitless. Taking advantage
of a clause in the lease that allowed them to dismantle the building,
the company took apart the place board by board and transported
the material across the Thames to Bankside.
There they constructed a new circular theatre, the grandest yet
seen, called The Globe. The Globe remained London's premier
theatre until it burned down in 1613 during a performance of Shakespeare's Henry
VIII.
Shakespeare held a share in the profits from the Globe, which
netted him a princely yearly income of £200-£250. His financial
success enabled Shakespeare to purchase New Place, the second largest
house in Stratford. It was here that he retired around 1611.
When he died in 1616, William Shakespeare divided up his considerable
property amongst his daughters (his son Hamnet had died in childhood),
but left only his second best bed to his wife, Anne. Shakespeare
was buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity church."
Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.