William Shakespeare facts
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- William shakespeare was an English poet , playwright and actor who is widely regarded as the greatest writer in history.
- Born in 1564 in Stratford London - He wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets including - Macbeth , a mid summer nights dream and Romeo and Juliet. - in 1582 at age 18 he married Anne Hathaway who was 26 - He performed his plays at the globe theatre , sometimes in front of queen Elizabeth and the king . CONTEXT The context of the play is that Shakespeare's plot is only partly based on fact. Macbeth was a real eleventh century Scottish king, but the historical Macbeth, who had a valid right to the throne, reigned capably in Scotland from 1040 till 1057. He succeeded Duncan, whom he had defeated in battle, but the real Duncan was a weak man, around Macbeth's own age, not the respected elderly figure we meet in the play. Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in 1606. It is important to understand the political context in which it was written, as that is the key to the main theme of the play, which is that excessive ambition will have terrible consequences. |