Born in 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon, England, William Shakespeare was the son of middle-class parents. Although not all the particulars of Shakespeare’s education are known, it appears that he attended the local grammar school, where the curriculum apparently included rhetoric, Christian ethics, and classical literature. During the 1580s, after an early marriage to Anne Hathaway, who was eight years his senior, Shakespeare relocated to London. He moved there without her and began a career as an actor, then a playwright, for the theater company known as the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. In the 1590s, Shakespeare wrote a series of historical plays dealing with England’s past—specifically, the tumultuous struggle for the throne called the Wars of the Roses. Richard III is actually the last in a series of four plays. It is preceded by a trilogy about Henry VI—focusing on the bloody conflict between the royal houses of York and Lancaster. This last play in the series is notable for its title character; one of Shakespeare’s greatest villains, he is a monstrous hunchback, whose wit, ambition, and audacity command the audience’s attention.
The Wars of the Roses—Richard comes to court.
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