In 1954, Shakespeare was popular enough as an actor to perform before Queen Elizabeth. By 1596, he owned considerable property in London and bought one of the finest houses in Stratford, known as New Place, in 1597. A year later, in 1598, he bought ten percent of the stock in the Globe Theatre, where his plays were produced. In 1608, he and his colleagues also purchased The Blackfriars Theatre, where they began to hold productions during the winter, returning to the Globe during the summer months. Throughout the rest of his life, Shakespeare continued to purchase land, homes, and businesses. He obviously was a busy man between handling his business ventures, performing on the stage, and writing or collaborating on the thirty-seven plays that are credited to him.

Shakespeare's most productive years were from 1594 to 1608, the period in which he wrote all of his great tragedies, such as Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Romeo and Juliet. During these fourteen years, he furnished his acting company with approximately two plays annually. After 1608, it appears he went into semi-retirement, spending more time in Stratford and creating only five plays before his death on April 23, 1616. He was buried before the altar in the Stratford Church, where his body still lies today. Many literary students and visitors make a pilgrimage to this shrine each year in order to honor William Shakespeare, still recognized after 400 years as the world's greatest poet and dramatist.

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LITERARY INFORMATION

The plot of As You Like It is borrowed from Thomas Lodge's prose romance, Rosalynde, Euphues' Golden Legacie (1590). Although Shakespeare changed the names of some characters and added others, like Jaques, Touchstone, and Audrey, the works are very similar. Rosader and Saladyine, the two brothers in Lodge's work, become Orlando and Oliver in Shakespeare's play. Lodge's Alinda becomes Celia. There are two major differences between the two works: Lodge's play is much more moral than Shakespeare's, and Lodge's plot hinges on a change of heart brought about by the woodland sanctuary.

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