Shakespeare - Short Prosopography
I wrote this for my literature class at the start of the year. Might as well add it onto this - attempt - at a collection of my adventures in literature.
William Shakespeare, born in April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, emerged from a literate and moderately affluent family, receiving a grammar school education before marrying Anne Hathaway and fathering three children, including twins Hamnet and Judith. After a period known as his “Lost Years,” during which his activities remain speculative, he established himself in London as an actor and playwright by 1592, gaining both notoriety and patronage, particularly from Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. His literary output included poetry, sonnets—some of which, like Sonnet 20, suggest homoerotic undertones—and plays spanning comedies, tragedies, and histories, performed primarily with the King’s Men at the Globe and later Blackfriars theatres. Theories regarding the identity of the “Fair Youth” in his sonnets and Shakespeare’s possible homosexual inclinations remain debated, with figures such as William Hughes proposed as inspirations. Later in life, he achieved financial stability through property acquisition, witnessed the Globe fire, and returned to Stratford, where he died on April 23, 1616, leaving a will that solidified his name’s spelling and estate distribution. His enduring legacy as arguably the greatest English literary figure is reinforced by both the breadth of his work and the persistent fascination with his life, identity, and literary genius.
Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England in April 1564. The specific date, theoretically, being on the 23rd of April. Three days later – on the 26th – he was baptised in the Holy Trinity Church. John Shakespeare (William’s father) occupied minor government positions being burgess of the borough; alderman (chose for the role in 1656) and a bailiff in 1658. In 1596 he was granted a coat of arms marking himself and his sons’ gentlemen. William’s mother (Mary Arden of Wilmcote) was an heiress to land. Interestingly she was literate and somewhat educated given the period. This is believed to be the case as she was the individual who enacted John’s will, and some believe to have aided in the education of William.
The primary form of education that William went through was most likely his time at Stratford Grammar School. In the modern this school is called the King Edward VI School. Given the positions held by his father there is no doubt William attended the school – despite no formal records existing. Rather than attending university, William chose to start his adult life by moving to London and marrying the 26-year-old Anne Hathaway in 1583. The marriage is believed to be a rushed one. Six months after the union their first child was born: Susanna. The Hamnet and Judith twins followed her sister although Hamnet died at eleven years old. In around 1585 the twins were baptised. The problem with their baptising is that this marks the beginning of Shakespeare’s “Lost Years”.
Multiple folklore-like stories exist to explain what Shakespeare was up to during these “Lost Years”. Aubrey, author of “Lives”, presents a short biography of Shakespeare (among other figures, such as: Milton, Sir Francis Bacon, Butler, etc). He believes that Shakespeare was “a schoolmaster in the country”. Given that Aubrey was writing from a London perspective that he is describing Stratford. Another popular tale is that Shakespeare was in hiding from Sir Thomas Lucy after he was hunting on her grounds and poached a deer. Other stories claim that Shakespeare was a soldier, lawyers clerk, or joined a company of players. Some scholars place him already in London working as a horse attendant.
This period comes to an end in 1592 with Shakespeare establishment of a reputation in London. His rationale for moving to London is unknown but what we do now is that he was a playwright and actor. This is best evidenced by Robert Greene with his book (1)“Greene’s Groatsworth of Wit (1592)”. On page 34 of the book, he writes:
“… there is an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his tiger’s heart wrapped in a player’s hide supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you; and being an absolute Johannes fac totum, in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country. O! that I might entreat you rare wits to be employed in more profitable courses and let these apes imitate your past excellence, and never more acquaint them with your admired inventions.”
After the plague broke out in 1593 (shutting down theatres) in London, Shakespeare turned to poetry as a source of revenue. The patronage from Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, was an important source of income for Shakespeare. For the Earl, Shakespeare wrote two long poems: Venus and Adonis (1583) & The Rape of Lucrece (1594). The following year in 1584 when theatres were re-opened Shakespeare returned to his career as an actor and playwright – but also as a acting company shareholder. His shares were in the “King’s Men” (2) are categorised as the “Fair Youth” sonnets and the latter 28 sonnets are the “Dark Lady” sonnets.
The “Fair Youth” has multiple possible identities: William Herbert ,Earl of Southampton Henry Wriothesley & William Hughes. Herbert is, supposedly, the “Fair Youth” as he refused to marry the granddaughter of Lord Chamberlain Elizabeth Carey. The initials also fit as they are “Mr. WH”. The Earl is a possible suitor to the title as well as Shakespeare already wrote poetry for him. The Earl’s initials – albeit reversed – also fit. However, doubt does exist for the Earl being “Mr. WH”. This mysterious figure is described as having no marriage plans and resembling his mother. The Earl had marriage plans (to an Elizabeth Vernon) from a young and remaining portraits of the Earl show him to not resemble his mother. Inversion of initials was also not a common literary device in the Shakesperean period. This device is also not found in any other text by Shakespeare.
William Hughes being “Mr. WH” is a more obscure theory but has an interesting history in of itself. The scholar Thomas Tyrwhitt is the origin of the theory, but it was mainly developed by Oscar Wilde who conducted an in depth study of William Hughes.
1. In Sonnet 20 the word “Will” is italicised in original copies
2. Sonnets 135 and 143 (respectively) feature puns regarding the name Will: “Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy Will, / And Will to boot, and Will in over-plus” & “So will I pray that thou mayst have thy Will".
3. Puns feature again in the Sonnet 20, where in the eighth line is properly spelled and italicized as "A man in hew, all Hews in his controwling" (3). The use of such pun with the words "hue," "hew," and "usury" can be found in Sonnets 4, 20, 67, 82, 135 & 136.
Through his short book “The Portrait of Mr. W. H.”. Wilde comes to the conclusion that William Hughes was a boy-actor who played the role as a female character in some of Shakespeare’s plays. He supposedly also left the King’s Men for a rival acting company. Wilde argues this giving evidence from Sonnet 78 when Shakespeare writes: “Every alien pen hath got my use/ And under thee their poesy disperse,”. This meaning that that Mr. W.H. is speaking in the words of another playwright. Theories as to who William Hughes is vary but they include:
- Thomas Hews:
o Playwright
o Knew Sir Francis Bacon
o Perhaps a kinsman
- William Hewes
o Musician for the Earl of Essex
o Believed their son or brother could be Mr. W.H.
These sonnets also spawned a theory which questions the sexuality of Shakespeare. Sonnet 20 can be read as a homoerotic poem given the semi-androgynous motif of the character. Rictor Norton argues that: “This single sonnet raises a wealth of speculations, all of which are more relevant to the homosexual literary tradition than to the spiritual friendship tradition. Shakespeare's genealogical argument is that Nature, falling in love with the woman she was creating, added "one thing" to make fulfillment of that love possible: that "one thing" — punningly underlined by "prick'd thee out" — is of course a penis.” (4) (https://azurianoaktree.substack.com/p/shakespeare-short-prosopography#_ftn4)
Another aspect of Sonnet 20 which is homoerotic in nature is the closing lines:
_“And for a woman wert thou first created,
Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated,
By adding one thing, to my purpose nothing”
These lines give the impression that the sonnet is about a person who has such a feminine body that they should’ve been born a girl (“… women wert thou first created), that this was God’s original intention (Till nature, as she wrought thee) but with the “… adding one thing” God had created a male – a feminine male. Such argument is expanded upon in “International Journal of Greek Love I”.
His plays on English history were also wrote during this period alongside two of his tragedies and seven of his comedies. We know this thanks to the publication of the “Palladis Tamia” by Francis Meres. According to Meres: Shakespeare is comparable to Seneca for tragedy and Platus for his comedy. This publication also heavily implies that Shakespeare’s sonnets were published at an earlier time given Meres remark: “sugared sonnets among his private friends,”
In around 1599 the “Globe” is built. This was built for the King’s Men with its location across a river from London. Most of Shakespeare’s most revered is believed to have been wrote here. These including: Othello, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and Macbeth. These plays were even performed for Queen Elizabeth the First and King James I. The King’s Men went on tour multiple times including at Inns of Court and at some universities. However, Shakespeare’s plays from 1599 to 1608 were never performed outside of the Globe. Some of Shakespeare’s more minor plays, like “The Tempest” were wrote for a new theatre opened by the King’s Men around the 1608 – 1612 called the Blackfriars theatre.
John Shakespeare, his father, had also died in 1601 allowing William to inherit all his family home. The next year he purchased 107 acres for £320.
In 1616 he wrote his will. His daughter Judith receiving £300, and his other daughter Susanna received his entire estate of properties. Shakespeare’s wife, Anne, received very little with it only being deemed “My second-best bed.” Through Shakespeare’s will we also find the permanent spelling of his name. Before this Shakespeare had spelt his name like: Shakspe, Shaksper, Shakespeare and Shakp. There was a change in his will on the 25th of March 1616 which some say was to reflect the marital status of Judith and of Shakespeare himself. Judith had married Thomas Quiney on February 10th and given the rather lacking contents for his wife it is believed their relationship had soured over their years of marriage.
Following the year 1612 Shakespeare seems to have written very little although the writing of “King Henry VIII” is believed to have taken place that year. Tragedy struck a year later in 1613 during a performance of the play when the Globe caught fire and was burnt down. This led to his return to a large property in Stratford-upon-Avon where his family had been living. This is contested – however – by scholars as some believe that Shakespeare’s leaving of London only took place just before his death. Shakespeare’s death is supposed to have happened in Stratford on the 23rd of April 1616. His burial happening on the 25th. It took near a decade – seven years – for his collected works to be published.
Shakespeare’s legacy proves one thing: a man dies two times. For Shakespeare his second death – that of his name and image – is likely to never happen. In the literary canon of all of English he is often deemed the best with deniers rebuked as uneducated. Interestingly some believe Shakespeare himself was so uneducated that it was a pseudonym for another author. Sir Francis Bacon, Edward de Vere and even Queen Elizabeth the First appear on this list of supposed Shakespeare’s. Whilst fun to debate about these claims are false. His life as an educated boy of a grammar school; years of acting and playwrighting; running a company and then becoming a property developer show him to be an intelligent figure.
Bibliography
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. n.d. When Was Shakespeare Born? https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/william-shakespeare/when-was-shakespeare-born/
Spencer, T. John Bew, Bevington, . David and Brown,. John Russell. "William Shakespeare." Encyclopedia Britannica, September 15, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Shakespeare
Donica, Adrienne. “William Shakespeare.” Biography, August 21, 2024. https://www.biography.com/authors writers/william-shakespeare#early-life.
Mary Arden (no date) Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Available at: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/william-shakespeare/william-shakespeares-family/mary-arden
“Shakespeare’s Life: From the Folger Shakespeare Editions | Folger Shakespeare Library,” Folger, n.d., https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/shakespeares-life-from-the-folger-shakespeare-editions/
“King Edward VI Shakespeare’s School | Stratford-upon-Avon | History of the School,” n.d., https://www.kes.net/about-us/history-of-the-school/.
“Shakespeare’s ‘Lost Years,’” Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, n.d., https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/william-shakespeare/shakespeares-lost-years/
Becky Clifford, ““a Tiger’s Heart Wrapped in a Player’s Hide”: Shakespeare Under Attack,” OUPblog, February 8, 2023, https://blog.oup.com/2023/01/a-tigers-heart-wrapped-in-a-players-hide-shakespeare-under-attack/.
“STC 12245, Signatures F1 Verso and F2 Recto,” Shakespeare Documented, n.d., https://shakespearedocumented.folger.edu/file/stc-12245-signatures-f1-verso-and-f2-recto.
Greene, Robert. Greene’s Groats-Worth of Wit. PDF. 1st ed. Dodo Press, 2008. https://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~ndas/teaching/renpp/Greene_Groatsworth.pdf.
“William Shakespeare: The Mysterious Life and Enduring Legacy of the Bard of Avon.” 2024. Biography. April 2, 2024. https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/william-shakespeare#poems-and-sonnets.
Royal Shakespeare Company (n.d.). Shakespeare’s Sonnets | Royal Shakespeare Company. [online] www.rsc.org.uk. Available at: https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeares-sonnets.
Rictor Norton, "Enter Willie Hughes as Juliet: or, Shakespeare's Sonnets Revisited", Gay History and Literature Canon, 9 Jan. 2000, updated 19 June 2008 [https://rictornorton.co.uk/shakespe.htm](https://rictornorton.co.uk/shakespe.htm).
Wilde, Oscar. The Portrait of Mr W.H. PDF. 1st ed. Mitchell Kennerly, 1921. https://www.greek-love.com/media/PDFs/Wilde.Portrait.of.Mr.W.H.pdf.
Eglinton, J. (1965). SHAKESPEARE’S BOYFRIEND AND SONNET XX BY J. Z. EGLINTON, NEW YORK. [online] Greek Love Through the Ages. Available at: https://greek-love.com/index.php/europe-5th-17th-centuries/england-pederasty/shakespeare-boyfriend-sonnet-xx-pederasty.
Meres, Francis. “Palladis Tamia: Wit’s Treasury.” Enter Willie Hughes as Juliet: or, Shakespeare’s Sonnets Revisited, 1598. https://sourcetext.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1598_mere_palladis_tamia.pdf.
1 (https://azurianoaktree.substack.com/p/shakespeare-short-prosopography#_ftnref1) Scholars now believe that Henry Chettle was the main author of the work. See ““A tiger’s heart wrapped in a player’s hide”: Shakespeare under attack” by Robert Stagg. in the OUPblog.
2 Beforehand this company was called “Lord Chamberlain’s Men”.
3 According to historian Richard Norton: “Hews is an acceptable Renaissance spelling for Hughes”, from his essay “Enter Willie Hughes as Juliet Or, Shakespeare's Sonnets Revisited”