William Shakespeare - Poetry for Kids: William Shakespeare

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE WAS AN ENGLISH PLAYWRIGHT, ACTOR, AND POET who lived during the reigns of two monarchs, Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. Widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, he has gained fame across the globe for his brilliance as a dramatist. For all of his fame and fortune, Williams beginnings were humble. He was born in April 1564 in Stratford, a small town on the River Avon one hundred miles from London. He was the oldest surviving child of John Shakespeare, a successful glove maker, and Mary Arden. William attended the Kings New School in Stratford, taking classes six days a week, primarily in Latin grammar and literature, until about the age of fifteen.

At age eighteen, William married a local girl, Anne Hathaway. They had three children: Susanna and twins named Judith and Hamnet. Sadly, Hamnet lived only to the age of eleven. By all appearances, Williams life was relatively quiet until his mid-twenties when he left Stratford to try his fortune in the big city. In the late 1580s, the London-area theatres were on the rise, teeming with excitement and life. William made his way to London to work in this vibrant artistic world, where a new show played every afternoon in gorgeously painted wooden playhouses.

William got his start as an actor, but it did not take long for him to realize that his greatest talent lay in playwriting. He joined an acting company called the Lord Chamberlains Men, later known as the Kings Men (when James I became their patron). William became the companys resident dramatist at the Theatre, the first professionally built playhouse in London. The Lord Chamberlains Men were a travelling company as well, which meant that Williams plays were performed at inns, royal courts, universities, and in other English towns. William first won fame with his history plays in the early 1590s, which brought the thrilling stories of Englands kings to the stage. He then gained further popularity with comedies like A Midsummer Nights Dream and tragedies, such as Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet.

His soaring poetry, lifelike characters, and dramatic innovations made William the most popular playwright of his time. He also earned a reputation as a poet, writing a number of long poems and 154 sonnets. William is best known for his association with the Globe Theatre. When the Lord Chamberlains Men lost their lease to the land under the Theatre, they took a risk that changed the course of history. In the dead of night, the men met at the Theatre, and despite the wintry cold, they worked to dismantle the entire building. Then they carried the timber across the frozen River Thames to another site, where the playhouse was rebuilt and named the Globe.

Although it was demolished eventually in 1644, a new Globe playhouse was built many years later and opened in 1997. William died a wealthy man in Stratford in April 1616 at the age of fifty-two. Seven years later, his friends from the Kings Men, John Heminge and Henry Condell, did something that would change literary and theatrical history profoundly. They collected all of Williams handwritten scripts and brought them to a printer. In 1623, the collected plays of Shakespeare, called the First Folio, appeared in print. Among the thirty-six plays were eighteen that would have been lost had they not appeared in the Folio, including some of Williams best loved works: Macbeth, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and The Tempest.

As his friend and fellow dramatist Ben Jonson wrote, William was not of an age, but for all time.

All the worlds a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurses arms. And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress eyebrow. Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard, Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannons mouth.

And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lined, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances; And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slipperd pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side, His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. MewlingwhimperingLike furnacelike a furnace emitting smokeBearded like the pardhaving whiskers like a leopardJealous in honourcarefully guarding his honourBubble reputationfleeting gloryCaponcock fattened for eating; often presented to judges as a bribeSawssayingsModern instancescommonplace illustrations or proofs against universal beliefsPantaloonridiculous old merchant from Italian comedyHoseleggingsA worldfarShanklegMere oblivioncomplete forgetfulnessSanswithout

O, for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention, A kingdom for a stage, princes to act And monarchs to behold the swelling scene! Then should the warlike Harry, like himself, Assume the port of Mars; and at his heels, Leashd in like hounds, should famine, sword and fire Crouch for employment. But pardon, and gentles all, The flat unraised spirits that have dared On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth So great an object: can this cockpit hold The vasty fields of France? or may we cram Within this wooden O the very casques That did affright the air at Agincourt? O, pardon! since a crooked figure may Attest in little place a million; And let us, ciphers to this great accompt, On your imaginary forces work. Musesource of inspirationInventionimaginationSwellingincreasing in magnificencePortappearanceScaffoldstages platformWooden Oa circular amphitheatreVery casqueactual helmetsAgincourta village in Northern France where Henry V won his greatest victoryCrooked figurezeroAtteststand forNarrow Oceanthe English ChannelCipherszeroesPartsactors rolesPuissancearmies We were, fair Queen, Two lads that thought there was no more behind But such a day to-morrow as to-day, And to be boy eternal.