November 28 - The Marriage of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway

This Day in History: 28 November 2020

 

28 November 1582

 

438 years ago, today, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, when he was 18 years old and she was 26. The two paid for a 40-pound bond for their marriage license in Stratford-upon-Avon. Six months later, Anne gave birth to their daughter, Susanna, and two years later, to twins. Despite this, little is known about Shakespeare's early life, apart from that his father was a tradesman, and Shakespeare's baptism took place in April 1564. Sometime after the birth of his children, Shakespeare set off for London to become an actor. By 1592, he was well established in London's theatrical world as an actor and a playwright.

 

His earliest plays, including 'The Taming of the Shrew', were written in the early 1590s. Later in the decade, he wrote tragedies like 'Romeo and Juliet' and comedies including 'The Merchant of Venice'. However, his greatest tragedies were written after 1600, like 'Othello', 'King Lear' and 'Macbeth'. Shakespeare also became a member of the popular theatre group, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. They built and operated the famous Globe Theatre in London in 1599, which Shakespeare would later become a major shareholder in. In 1610, he retired to Stratford, where he wrote his last plays, including 'The Winter's Tale'. He also had written more than 100 sonnets, which were published in 1609. His plays, on the other hand, were not published during his lifetime.

 

Want to find out more about the life of Shakespeare? Click here for more information, or here for more about his marriage.