Life of William Shakespeare

The Life of William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

Widely regarded as the greatest writer of all time , William Shakespeare occupies a unique position in the world of literature. The parish register of Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, shows that he was baptised there on April 26 , 1564 ; his various kinds of trade and appears to have suffered some fluctuations in prosperity. His mother, Mary Arden, of Wilmcote, Warwickshire, came from an ancient family and was the heiress to some land. Shakespeare studied in the Grammar School , Stratford where he acquired some knowledge of Latin and Greek. He did not have the benefit of university education. His father had suffered losses in business, in order to help his family Shakespeare had to give up his studies. At the age of 18 ,he married Anne Hathaway of Stratford, and they had two daughters — Susanna and Judith and one son, Hamnet.
How Shakespeare spent the next eight years or so on, until his name began to appear in London theatre records , is not known . There are many stories; some of them being —earning his living as a schoolmaster in the country; of  going to London and gaining entry to the world of theatre by minding the horses of theatregoers, etc. But these stories have no strong proofs to assist their validity. The first reference to Shakespeare in literary world of London was made in 1592 , when a fellow dramatist, Robert Greene talked about him in a pamphlet. It is not clear how his career in the theatre began; but from about 1594 onward he was an important member of the company of players known as the Lord Chamberlain's Men. For twenty years Shakespeare dedicated himself industrious to his art,  writing thirty seven plays, one hundred and fifty four sonnets and two large narrative poems —Venus and Adonis, and Rape of Lucrece. In 1596- 1598 he wrote one biggest and famous play of the Elizabethan Era ‘The Merchant of Venice'.
The Merchant of Veniceis one of his many "comedies." Some scholars however, have made the argument that the play is one of his tragedies. Other tragedies of Shakespeare include Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare lived in a time when Jews had been expelled from England for over three centuries. However, as a playwrite, Shakespeare also probably faced much prejudice and hatred-theater was banned from his home town of London during his lifetime and so the theaters had to move outside of the city walls. This situation may have made him sypathetic to the plight of Jews, hence the play as a work of tragedy.
Shakespeare married a woman named Anne Whateley, but he may have also had a male lover during his lifetime-a practice not uncommon for men of his era. Many of his sonnets suggest the possibility of this. Shakespeare's comedies, performed at the Globe theater, were played to an audience which included as many peasants as it did nobles and loyalty, and so the comedy appeals to this lower class as well. Shakespeare's works are full of political humor, but also run rampant with sexual and scatalogical humor.
Shakespeare lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth who had a man in her service who she cared for deeply (she never married during her reign, but was rumored to have lovers) and who was rumored to be a Jew. If this had been the case, Shakespeare's play would have to have been sensitive to her favor. Hence, more evidence of the play as a tragedy.
In Shakespeare's time, it was the common practice for men to play the parts of women in most productions. For this reason, there is a double joke in the gender switch which Portia and Nerissa undergo. They would have been men dressed up as women who then "disguise" themselves as men. Such humor would not have been lost on contemporary audiences and was probably the reason behind the inclusion of the disguises.