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William Shakespeare – Life and Works for Upcoming Exams

Vishal Gupta
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William Shakespeare has always been a very important topic for the Examinees of UGC English NET and Lecturer Recruitment Related exams. He has produced great literary work for the coming generation to read and enjoy. His works include Plays, Drama, Poetry etc. WE shall discuss the facts related with his life as well as his literary achievement in this blog post.

A brief Details about Shakespeare’s Life

A brief Details about Shakespeare's LifeThere is not much known about Shakespeare. Still on the basis of the records available , we get some information about him. William Shakespeare was born on 26th of April 1564. He was one of the eight children. He couldn’t get the full benefits of the formal education because of the poor financial condition of the family. Shakespeare was married to Ann Hathaway in 1582. Ann was eight years older to him.

Shakespeare had three children – Susanna,, Hamnet and Judith. The Earl of Southampton was his patron. He died on 23rd of April 1616 and was buried at Stratford Church on 25th April.

Works of Shakespeare –

For convenience sake, Shakespeare’s long literary career can be divided in to Four Phases –

The First Period – From 1588 to 1594

The works of this period are –

  • Romeo and Juliet 1592
  • The Merchant of Venice – 1594
  • Love’s Labour’s Lost 1591
  • The Comedy of Errors 1592
  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1594
  • Henry VI
  • Richard III
  • Richard II
  • King John

He also wrote two poems in this period –

  • Venus and Adonis
  • The Rape of Lucrece

The Second Phase of Shakespeare’s Works – 1594 to 1600

  • Henry IV 1597
  • Henry V 1598
  • The Taming of the Shrew 1595
  • The Merry Wives of Windsor 1598
  • Much Ado About Nothing 1599
  • As You Like It 1600
  • Twelfth Night 1601

The Third Period – 1600 to 1608

Chiefly Tragedies were written in this phase –

  • All’s Well that Ends Well 1595
  • Measure for Measure 1604
  • Troilus and Cressida 1603
  • Julius Caesar 1601
  • Hamlet 1602
  • Othello 1604
  • King Lear 1605
  • Macbeth 1606

The Fourth Period Works –

This period is marked by Romantic Plays by Shakespeare.

  • Antony and Cleopatra 1609 ( Tragedy )
  • Coriolanus 1609
  • Timon of Athens 1608
  • Henry VIII 1612
  • Pericles 1608
  • Cymbeline 1610
  • The Tempest 1611
  • The Winter’s Tale  1611

Other Facts Related with Shakespeare’s Life –

  • The Theatre named the Globe belonged to Shakespeare
  • The Age was known as Elizabethan Age or Shakespearean Age.

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