How much do we know about Shakespeare's life and why?

Answer 1

We know much less about Shakespeare's life than we would like. We know who his parents were, who his siblings were, more or less when he was born and where, more or less when he married and who, how many children he had, when they were born and died and if they married and had children. We know something about his friends from his Will. Some of the important friends mentioned in the will are three of his buddies who acted with him: we know this from lists of actors who played in certain plays (not by him), lists of actors who received royal favours, names of people who collected the moneys after plays were performed and also the names of the people who were listed on the Globe Theatre lease. We have a certain number of plays and poems which are generally agreed to be written by him at various times in his life. We know about his coat of arms which appears on his tomb and was given to Shakespeare the "player". We know about some of the places he lived in in London, as well as some other property he bought, and we know what house in Stratford he bought for his family. In other words we know quite a bit about the public man. But about the private man? Nothing. We do not know his views on religion or politics--he was too clever to ever reveal them, which might be dangerous if they were in any way different from the standard. We do not know what he liked to do to amuse himself, what he liked to eat and drink, whether he ever kept a pet or anything at all about his private life.

Answer 2

The first attempts at biographical research were not begun until over half a century after Shakespeare's death, and are therefore not based on first-hand accounts. Few biographies, even of the famous, were written during the period. Also, though it may seem odd today, drama was not considered serious literature at the time, so dramatists in general were not considered to be worthy subjects of writing.

In addition, the theaters were closed by the Puritans in 1642, 36 years after Shakespeare's death, with the result that many records and manuscripts were lost.

Nonetheless, we know a surprising number of facts about Shakespeare and his theatrical enterprises, and we can make additional inferences based on the lives of similar people. Of course, there are also many legends, which tend to gather around famous people.

Answer 3

William Shakespeare, in his time, was a well-known playwright in theatrical circles, but not considered that special. Nobody thought that playwrights were that important: they were not particularly well paid and they worked in a business that went hand-in-hand with prostitution and pickpocketing. They certainly didn't think that anyone would be interested in the life of any of the playwrights alive then. At the same time, they weren't as obsessive about keeping records as we are. Births, Marriages, Deaths, Wills, Sales of Property and Lawsuits were recorded, and not much else. This wasn't only true of Shakespeare, but also just about anyone who wasn't royalty.

Answer 4

There isn't a mystery.

However some scollars have suggested that he did not write the works attributed to him. In reality there is little or no basis for this speculation, it just allows some people to write things to earn money.

Answer 5

We know much less about Shakespeare's life than we would like. We know who his parents were, who his siblings were, more or less when he was born and where, more or less when he married and who, how many children he had, when they were born and died and if they married and had children. We know something about his friends from his Will. Some of the important friends mentioned in the will are three of his buddies who acted with him: we know this from lists of actors who played in certain plays (not by him), lists of actors who received royal favours, names of people who collected the moneys after plays were performed and also the names of the people who were listed on the Globe Theatre lease. We have a certain number of plays and poems which are generally agreed to be written by him at various times in his life. We know about his coat of arms which appears on his tomb and was given to Shakespeare the "player". We know about some of the places he lived in in London, as well as some other property he bought, and we know what house in Stratford he bought for his family. In other words we know quite a bit about the public man. But about the private man? Nothing. We do not know his views on religion or politics--he was too clever to ever reveal them, which might be dangerous if they were in any way different from the standard. We do not know what he liked to do to amuse himself, what he liked to eat and drink, whether he ever kept a pet or anything at all about his private life.

Answer 6

Records are scanty on Shakespeare and most other people who were not relatives of royalty in his time. It is not a conspiracy, and using the word Mystery is questionable.