Shakespeare Influence Essays - Shakespeares Life,

Shakespeare Influence Let me tell you a story of two young lovers torn apart by the wrath of their parents... oh, you've heard this one already? How about the story of the evil villain plotting to overthrow his king? Heard that one too? Surprisingly enough, these stories came into creation over two hundred years ago. The wonder lies not in the stories, but in the man behind them. William Shakespeare is really the defining icon for modern literature. Because of his plays, prose, and poems; the works of Shakespeare are considered to be some of the finest literature ever written. His stories established a foundation off which thousands of dramas, romances, and histories have been based. During his fifty-two year life, Shakespeare produced plays that have been the models for books and movies for hundreds of years. One of Shakespeare's outstanding points as a writer was his colorful mastery of the English language, which was nothing short of genius. Shakespeare's keen annotations into the 16th century granted historians a glimpse into traditional 16th century life. The one quality in Shakespeare's writing that never fails to astound me is his ability at capturing the essence of human passion and feeling. My goal for this paper is to convince you, reader, that William Shakespeare had the greatest affect on the future of modern literature. Wish me luck. Before I begin to verify my thesis, I shall give you little history of the Shakespeare family. William's family was fairly well off, and their wealth fluctuated as according to John Shakespeare's income. John Shakespeare was William's father. John Shakespeare came to Stratford from Snitterfield some time before 1532. He came as a leather tanner's apprentice, although he later became involved in dealing wool and farm products. In 1582, Shakespeare married Mary Arden, William's mother. Throughout William's life, John had a number of professions, but was predominantly a trader in farm products and wool. Prior and after William's birth, John Shakespeare was an exceptional member of the Stratford community. He was elected to several high civic positions, such as ale-taster to the borough, chamberlain of the borough, alderman, chief alderman, and high bailiff, or mayor. However, by 1578, John Shakespeare was behind in his taxes and became an absentee on the civic council. Finally, he was forced to mortgage his wife's estate; and was even fined for missing church. John Shakespeare's business ventures would affect William's future. John began as a leather tanner, became a farm products and wool dealer, and later a justice of the peace. However, luckily for literature, it was John's later financial difficulties that would prevent William from becoming an apprentice to his father. The now world-renowned author began his life with humble beginnings. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, on April 26, 1564, (St. George's Day) to John and Mary Shakespeare. William's accepted birthplace was John Shakespeare's home on Henley Street. William faced many obstacles while growing up, and was lucky to have lived till adulthood at all. During Shakespeare's childhood, plague and pestilence was running rampant throughout England and Europe. Although we are certain William did survive childhood, little information is known about William's education. It is assumed he began Stratford Grammar School, because of its proximity to his house, and because of John Shakespeare's social status. If Shakespeare did attend school there, he would have learned reading and writing from a hornbook. This would be an accomplishment, since most scholars believe both John and Mary Shakespeare were illiterate. Assuming William did attend Stratford Grammar School, he would have been trained in English literature as well as been familiarized with Latin authors such as Seneca, Cicero, Ovid, Virgil, and Horace. Shakespeare's grasp of Latin evidently expanded beyond what he was taught in school, for both his Latin vocabulary as well as grammar is both used cleverly and eloquently in his writings. Aside from Latin, Shakespeare had the tendency to incorporate events from his own life into his writings. In some of his later stories, William recounts events which are taken as those from his own childhood schooling. Unfortunately, because of his father's financial troubles, William had to be removed from Stratford Grammar School at the age of thirteen. After being removed from school, fragmented sources say William worked for a butcher as well as helping his father with his business. After Shakespeare left school at 13, and before he re-emerged as an actor in the late 1580's, historians have no firm ideas of what was happening in his life. This period in Shakespeare's life was known as the "lost period." The