I learned that you learn very little about what makes literature great by studying the life of the author. In fact, in Shakespeare's case, what we know of his life tells us nothing whatsoever about how he was able to write such great plays and poems.
the war
he got AIDs
No.
Same as it is now, a pharmacist, a druggist.
For the first thirty-nine years of it.
He got testicular cancer
His goal was to prove that people interested in literature can be smarter than mathematicians
No. Shakespeare never ever based his plays on his own life. This is probably a good thing as his life was probably pretty boring.
He was born there, married there, died there, and buried there. He lived half his life there and his family lived there all their lives.
Queen Elizabeth I was queen for all but the last 13 years of Shakespeare's life.
He was living in London, a full-time actor trying to make a break into the playwriting business.
yes he was very proud of his sons job