InexaminingShakespeare'slife,threebroadpointsshouldbekeptinmindfromthestart.First,despitethefrustrationofShakespearebiographerswiththeabsenceofaprimarysourceofinformationwrittenduring(orevenshortlyafter)hisdeathon23April1616(hisfifty-secondbirthday),Shakespeare'slifeisnotobscure.Infact,weknowmoreaboutShakespeare'slife,itsmaineventsandcontours,thanweknowaboutmostfamousElizabethansoutsideoftheroyalcourtitself.
Shakespeare'slifeisunusuallywell-documented:therearewellover100referencestoShakespeareandhisimmediatefamilyinlocalparish,municipal,andcommercialarchivesandwealsohaveatleastfiftyobservationsaboutShakespeare'splays(andthroughthem,hislife)fromhiscontemporaries.ThestructureofShakespeare'slifeisremarkablysound;itisthefleshofhispersonalexperience,hismotives,andthelikethathavenofirmbasisanditis,ofcourse,thisdescriptivecontentinwhichwearemostinterested.
Second,theappealofseeinganautobiographicalbasisinShakespeare'splaysandpoetrymustbetemperedbywhatthebulkoftheevidencehastosayabouthim.AlthoughtherearefancifulstoriesaboutShakespeare,manycenteringuponhisromanticaffairs,connectionsbetweenthemandtheeventsorcharactersofhisplaysareflimsy,andtheygenerallydisregardouroverallimpressionoftheBard.Inhispersonallife,Shakespearewas,infact,anexceedinglypracticalindividual,undoubtedlyajackofmanyusefultrades,andashrewdbusinessmanintheatrical,commercialandrealestatecircles.
Third,thenotionthatplaysascribedtoShakespearewereactuallywrittenbyothers(SirFrancisBacon,thepoetPhillipSidneyamongthecandidates)hasbecomeevenweakerovertime.ThecurrentstrongconsensusisthatwhileShakespearemayhavecollaboratedwithanotherElizabethanplaywrightinatleastoneinstance(probablywithJohnFletcheronTheTwoNobleKinsman),andthatoneortwoofhisplayswerecompletedbysomeoneelse(possiblyFletcheronanoriginalorrevisedversionofHenryVIII),theworksascribedtoShakespearearehis.