Introduction to the Poem “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” by William Shakespeare

Content

1: The Biography of the Poet / Background Study of the Poem -William Shakespeare

2: Plot of the Poem Subject matter and Theme

The Biography of the Poet

William Shakespeare record of birth was not found, but his church record revealed that he was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564. It was from this that his birth was believed to be April 23, 1564 William was the third child of John Shakespeare, a leather merchant, and Mary Arden, a local landed heiress. William had two older sisters, Joan and Judith, and three younger brothers, Gilbert, Richard and Edmund. William Shakespeare got married to Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582, in Worcester, in Canterbury Province. He was 18 years old while his wife was 26 years old. Their first child, Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583. Two years later, on February 2, 1585, twins Hamnet and Judith were born. Hamnet later died of unknown causes at age 11.

Early in his career, Shakespeare was able to attract the attention of Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton, to whom he dedicated his first- and second-published poems: “Venus and Adonis” (1593) and “The Rape of Lucrece” (1594).