Beowulf Christian or Peagan Influences Essay Example

Beowulf Christian or Peagan Influences Paper The epic poem Beowulf is a tale of a warrior, named Beowulf, and the events that lead to his death. One of the main concerns of the epic poem was whether or not it is of pagan or Christian origin, or whether it has pagan or Christian influences. Even though the poem appeared to be originally a pagan story, there are many clues in the text that point to Christian influence and tradition. Beowulf is essentially a Christian story with Christian customs: that mans survival depends on the protection of God, that earthly gifts come from God, and also that Beowulf is a Christ-figure. Throughout the poem, there are numerous references to Christianity, mostly referring to God, or the Almighty. These references begin right from the beginning of the poem. The story starts with Grendel hearing the bard telling the story of creation. The reader hears how the Almighty has made the earth and all that is beautiful, lovely, and full of life. The Almighty making the earth, shaping these beautiful plains marked off by oceans made quick with life(7-12). This shows how God has given his people great gifts like the earth they live on, and the most precious gift, life. There are also other instances where the notion of God giving his people gifts is made obvious. This is when Beowulf is dying and Wiglaf finds the dragons treasure. Beowulf clearly thanks God for his grace in giving him the treasure. This once again shows the Christian influence in the poem because Beowulf recognizes the importance of God in his life. Another display of Christian influence in the poem is how the people believe in the protection of God. This is first seen when Grendel dares not to touch Hrothgars throne because of its protection by God. This is also seen when Beowulf is speaking about fighting Grendel. We will write a custom essay sample on Beowulf Christian or Peagan Influences specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Beowulf Christian or Peagan Influences specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Beowulf Christian or Peagan Influences specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer He is not afraid of the beast because he says that God must decide who will die in this fight. This shows how Beowulf has faith in God because he knows God will protect him, or if he dies it will be with honor. This is also seen when Hrothgar is speaking about what Grendel has done to his people. Surely, the Lord Almighty could stop his madness, smother his lust! (212-213). This portrays how Hrothgar has faith in Gods protection because if nobody can defeat Grendel, God will protect Hrothgar. This undoubtedly shows the Christian influence in this poem. Drawing parallels between Grendel and Satan also displays Christianity. Grendel is referred to as a demon and a fiend throughout the poem. He is the epitome of evil and is associated with the family of Cain. Conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God, punished forever for the crime of Abels death(20-23). This is a clear Christian reference straight out of the Bible. Grendels lair is also similar to hell. The water at his lair burns like a torch at night symbolizing the fires of hell. Grendels lair is where evil lives and thus is like hell. The ultimate portrayal of Christian influence in Beowulf is that Beowulf himself can be seen as being a Christ figure. There are some significant similarities between Jesus Christ and Beowulf. Jesus is called upon by the Almighty King (God) to give his life for the purpose of defeating evil. Only Jesus could get rid of sin and evil, and nobody else. Like Jesus, Beowulf is called upon by the King of the Danes, Hrothgar, to defeat evil (Grendel). Only Beowulf could defeat Grendel. Jesus was prepared and willing to die for the sake of good and righteousness. The same can be said about Beowulf. He realized that he could die but was willing to give his life in the quest for righteousness. Also, both men were ethical. My hands alone shall fight for me(172-173). Beowulf wanted the battle between good and evil to be fair and equal, so he wanted to fight with only his hands. Jesus was also an ethical man. He is the model of ethics for Christians of all time. Both men met their death in the defense of goodness and in the battle against evil. Finally, for both men, after their deeds to defeat evil were finished, they had their stories retold. For Jesus, the apostles spread the news of Jesus victory over evil. For Beowulf, the people were so joyful from his victory over Grendel, that they retold his bravery all over the land. In conclusion, although showing signs of being a pagan story, Beowulf is primarily a Christian story. There are many Christian elements in the poem such as: earthly gifts come from God, Grendel being connected to the family of Cain, God offering protection to his people, and Beowulf being seen as Christ-like. Beowulf is a poem filled with Christian customs that show man believes in God and there is good in the world, and Beowulf is a man who is willing to die to defend the world against evil.

The Reality of Fantasy in the World of Ofelia Essay Example

The Reality of Fantasy in the World of Ofelia Essay Example The Reality of Fantasy in the World of Ofelia Essay The Reality of Fantasy in the World of Ofelia Essay The Reality of Fantasy in the World of Ofelia In the movie Pan’s Labyrinth a little girl named Ofelia lives through a war but it’s not just a war to her because she’s experiencing things that other people might consider to be a complete fantasy. She talks to a monster like creature that just seems to be taking advantage of her throughout the whole movie and claims to be helping her. This creature gives Ofelia tasks and if she completes them she would become a princess elsewhere. In the end it seems like she died but re-enters a new world filled with happiness, greatness, and becomes a princess according to her. Ofelia’s other world seems to be a fantasy or a pigment of her imagination and this is true. Ofelia is imagining all of the creatures and the tasks in her mind and all of the fantasies distract her from the horrible world she’s already living in. Ofelia’s mom gives her a book full of fairy tales and she reads it and starts living it out in real life. A strange creature which is the Faun suddenly appears in her room claiming that she could become a princess if she completes some tasks that he would assign to her. The Faun seems to be like a half goat half human and it is a very creepy looking creature. He gives her magical chalk to make a magical door on the stone wall and it actually works. The door opens and she enters a medieval styled hallway which leads to a long table with a feast on it. The half goat creature had told her to not indulge in any of the food that would be on the table but since she hadn’t had dinner yet she decides to take a bite out of a grape. At the end of the table there’s another creature that looks like a mix between a ghost and a mummy. This creature is the Pale Man and was completely still until Ofelia took the bite out of the grape and then it didn’t take it very well. It got up from the table and chased after Ofelia as if it wanted to harm her but she escaped from it by drawing another magical door on the roof and climbing out of that surreal hall. The Pale Man represents her father at the dinner table just a few minutes before and how his character is. He’s a mean and selfish person and that’s why he got mad when she got something from his feast. After she got back to her room the Faun scolded her for not following his instructions and this represents how everyone is always telling her she’s doing wrong even though it was an innocent mistake. The Faun also told Ofelia that if she followed his instructions again he could cure her mother. She would have to put a plant like creature which is called the Mandrake Root in a bowl and feed it fresh milk every day. She would also have to place it under her mother’s bed. Her mother was pregnant and she seemed like if she was going to die. After awhile her mother started getting better but as soon as her father found out what she was doing he disapproved and handed the Mandrake Root to her mother. The mother was stunned and very bothered by what Ofelia had done. Ofelia tried to explain but her mother just told her stop believing all the fairytales she’s told her and that the world they live in is a very cruel world. After this the mother tosses the Mandrake into the fire. It starts screeching and screaming as if it was in pain and as soon as it begins to burn the mother starts to die as well. It might seem like if what the Faun said was true but Ofelia is just seeing things as she wants. She just liked to have hope and believe her mother was dying because they threw the Mandrake into the fire but in reality she just didn’t want to accept that her mother was dying. She wanted an excuse to accept it because her life wasn’t going well at all and she wanted to look at the positives. After the mother died the doctor saved her baby brother and of course her father didn’t treat her any better. Ofelia believed that her father was not fit to take care of her brother so she tried to steal him but it was a bit difficult for her father not to notice. She tried using the chalk that the Faun gave her to make a magical door but her father caught her in the act. The door that she drew opened up but she didn’t have time to escape and through that same door her father’s soldiers came in to tell him that he was needed outside. She escaped and ran outside with her baby brother but when her father saw them he chased after them all the way into a maze of tall bushes. Ofelia ran into a dead end which seemed to open up magically into the center of the maze. There she met with the Faun who told her that she could become the princess of the other world but only if she sacrificed blood from an innocent person. He referred to her baby brother. Even though the Faun said it would only be a small amount of blood and not enough to harm the baby Ofelia could sense that he had bad intentions because he took out a large knife and had an evil grin on his face. Helpless Ofelia argued with him that she didn’t want to sacrifice or harm her brother but as the Faun was leaning in to take the baby from her the father came in somehow and demanded for her to give him the baby. He ended up just taking it from her and the angry father decided to shoot Ofelia which caused her to die. When she fell on the ground she was leaned over a well which is where the blood of an innocent body was supposed to be sacrificed and a drop of blood fell from her into the well. While all of this was going on the army that was against her father’s army got to the scene because they had won the battle since Ofelia’s father was the general and he was distracted by Ofelia taking the baby when his army needed his direction. One of the females in the army that won was working for Ofelia’s father but secretly followed the direction of his enemy’s army. She was extremely close to Ofelia and loved her like a daughter so when he saw that Ofelia’s father had killed her she had her army kill him as well. This was officially the end of that battle but it was also the end of Ofelia or was it? When Ofelia drew the chalk door on the wall of her father’s bedroom it magically opened up but when her father caught her trying to steal the baby and take it through that door his soldiers came through there and tried to pull him away because they needed him. If the door was magic the soldiers would not have come through there as if it already existed. Therefore the door was already there and Ofelia was imagining it because she had hope that she could escape from her father with ease and as if by magic. The fact that her father also went through the dead end of the maze into the center of the maze as well as his enemy’s army proves that she was making it up as she went along and following her story full of fantasy through her imagination. Also when her dad arrived there he could see Ofelia arguing with someone but the problem was that there was nobody else there. The father could not see the Faun at all. At the very end of the movie Ofelia is dead but she all of a sudden appears in a world very different to the one where she lived before. The Faun is there as well as fairies and there is three golden thrones in the center of what seems to be a palace. In one of the thrones sits her mom and in the other sits her original dad, not her step dad who was the army general and the real father of her baby brother. Her mom, her dad, and the Faun tell her that she can finally be a princess in that new world which she’s now in and through the whole movie that was all she ever wanted. The fact that she’s dead is what finally took her away from the horrible life she had and finally gave her peace of mind. She was imagining this final scene while she was dying because she did not die instantly. With the horrible experiences Ofelia went through she desperately needed to get away somehow or have hope that everything could somehow get better. People sometimes wish they could use magic to get what they want or at least believe in magic or fairy tales in hope that their lives could be similar. This is exactly what Ofelia does. She creates a story in her mind where she gets opportunities to make her life better but in reality she’s a helpless little girl that has no chance of living a happy life.

Nice thing that have happened to me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nice thing that have happened to me - Essay Example I still clearly remember that I was about to turn eighteen and I was very excited about my birthday the very next day. I was hoping for many phone calls as well as wishes from my family right after midnight. But I got really disappointed when the plans did not go according to what I had wished. As the clock ticked twelve, I waited for the arrival of my parents and my siblings into my room and I kept on looking towards my cell phone to expect messages and calls from all my friends and colleagues. I waited for an hour and the thought annoyed me that nobody remembered my birthday which was the most important day of the year for me. With thoughts that I was lonely and nobody cared for me, I fell asleep. Things did not change the next morning. I woke up and got ready to leave for my school. I waited longingly for my mother to remember but she did not find anything special about the day and she bid me farewell like all the other days of the week. I was utterly disappointed and headed for s chool expecting a warm welcome from my friends but the events did not occur as per my wish and I realized that nobody even wished me. I felt very down and the day seemed to be very long at school. I did not talk much to anyone and just looked forward to reach home and not to get in contact with anyone. As soon as I reached home, there was a pleasant surprise waiting for me.

Energy and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Energy and Development - Essay Example This paper thematically focuses on energy development in view of attaining the millennium development goals with a bias towards developing countries. In reference to meeting energy demands in the developing countries, the focus should be on renewable sources. Over the years, environmental pollution has been a challenge to the human population. In fact, environmental pollution poses the greatest threat to human development. In view of that, in order for the developing countries to meet their goals, the focus has to be in harnessing renewable sources of energy. The sources of renewable energy include, for instance, hydroelectric power. Electricity forms a significant energy source for both domestic as well as industrial consumption. Its generation from hydroelectric turbines makes it a preferred choice since it is relatively non pollutant to the environment. In addition, the fact that it is generated by water through rotating turbines implies that it is renewable since the water used can be used again. Its generation is in tandem with the MDGs since it promotes su8stainable environment. However, in view of developing countries, the challenge they face in generating electricity may be attributed to financial in ability as well as lack of appropriate technological expertise. Solar offers a form of renewable energy which is both cheap and safe to the environment. In addition, the harnessing of solar as a form of energy for the developing counties would create the much needed jobs for economic sustenance. However, there are imminent challenges in adopting solar as the preferred form of energy for the developing countries. For instance, unpredictable weather patterns in some of the demography imply that it can not be relied on throughout the year. Some of the countries, for instance those in Africa, experience tropical weather patterns which

Bible New Testament Summaries Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bible New Testament Summaries - Assignment Example He fasts in the desert for 40 nights and forty days during which the devil tempts him in vain. He then chooses his 12 disciples and starts his ministry, which he delivers using parables. He engages in controversies at the temple and concerning the Sabbath law that leaves people questioning on whether he is the one they have been waiting for. Jesus is arrested tried by the Jewish authorities, and condemned to death by Pilate. He is crucified where he dies and is buried. On Easter, he resurrects and meets several people. The major personalities in the book include Jesus, Joseph, Mary, John, and King Herod (New Jerusalem Bible, Mathew). The book is largely narrative whose theme are Jesus commissioning the disciples, coming of the Holy Spirit, Paul’s conversion, Jerusalem conference, and Paul in Rome. After Jesus ascension, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples at Pentecost. They speak in many languages and people think them drunk. Peter heals a lame man at the temple’s gate but is arrested afterwards for proclaiming salvation in Jesus Christ. Due to continued opposition, Stephen is stoned to death. The gospel regains its glory when Philip bears witness in Samaria to the North and to an Ethiopian heading south. Paul’s encounters with the church and Peter’s vision enhance the beginning of the ministry to the Gentiles. Paul continues with his mission from Antioch to Cyprus and parts of Asia. A conference held at Jerusalem where concluded that Gentile converts to Christianity do not have to undergo circumcision. Upon return to Jerusalem Paul is arrested and imprisoned at Caesarea. The m ajor personalities in this book are Peter and Paul (New Jerusalem Bible, Acts). The book is largely epistle and its themes include Power of the Gospel, Justification by faith, Future hope, and Shape of Christian life. In his letter to the romans, Paul tries to explain that the gospel is the power of God for salvation of both Gentiles and Jews. He further explains

Influential Thinkers In Enlightenment

Influential Thinkers In Enlightenment The most significant development in the 18th century was intellectual progress, known as the Enlightenment. It is a thought movement which gathered various conceptions of god, nature and human beings to a kind of world outlook. Many people approve it. The movement caused revolution changes in art, philosophy and politics. It also advocated reason, suspected church authorities and Feudalism. The ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers had a deeply impact on the European and the Euro-American societies. The most important factor of the Enlightenment was the scientific revolution. Between the 17th century and the 18th century, based on direct observation and mathematical reasoning, astronomers and physicists saw the earth and the universe in a new vision. Relying on observation and mathematics, scholars transformed the natural science in a process which is known as the scientific revolution. Some astronomers and mathematicians also made contribution to the revolution. Ptolemy wrote a book known as the Almagest that combined opinions about the universe. He thought that the earth was at its centre. However, in 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus published a treatise On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres that broke with Ptolemaic theory and argued that the sun stood at the centre of the universe. Kepler demonstrated that planetary orbits are elliptical. Gailleo who invented the telescope used it to view the universe. He popularized the idea that the universe is rational and subject to the laws of mathematics (Bentley, 2002). Another powerful figure was Isaac Newton who culminated the new approach to science. He combined mathematical modeling and scientific observation to derive his famous laws of motion and theory of universal gravitation. Newtons vision of the universe was so powerful and persuasive that its influence extended well beyond science. His work suggested that rational analysis of human behavior and institutions could lead to fresh insights about the human as well as the natural world (Bentley, 2002). Inspired and supported by three innovative astronomers, physicists and mathematicians. European and Euro-American thinkers started an ambitious project to transform all human thought. They abandoned Aristotelian philosophy, Christian religion, and other traditionally recognized authorities, and they began to analyze the world where they live in a rational way. Enlightenment thinkers sought to discover natural laws that governed human society. John Lock, the English philosopher, is the founder of empiricis. He sought to identify the principles of psychology and argued that all human knowledge comes from sense perceptions. He threw away Rene Descartess innate ideas and argued that experience offered spiritual conception to humans heart. He believed the world is consisted of material. His empiricism was continuously developed by later people and became the European main philosophy trend. In politics, he held constitutional monarchy and natural right which includes life, freedom and prop erty right. Between 1689 and 1690 he wrote the most important political treatises The Government. In the first treatise, he disproved Filmers idea that god conferred the monarch authority. In the second treatise, he advocated the rulers authorities should be agreed by the ruled and the only purpose of building country is protecting the security and peoples right. When the government went against the purpose, people have the right to take back the authority by taking action (John Locke, 2010). The Scottish philosopher Adam Smith devoted special thought to the nature of early capitalist society and the principles that made it work. In 1776 he published a lengthy book An inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, a wide-ranging work that uphold free, unregulated markets and capitalist corporation as the main factor of prosperity. The source of Smiths optimism about capitalism is his conviction that society as a whole benefits when individuals pursue their own economic interests and trade on a free market (Bentley, 2002). France , the center of the Enlightenment, produced many prominent intellectuals known as philosophes who advanced the cause of reason. For example, the French nobleman Charles Louis sought to establish a science of politics and discover principles that would promote political liberty in a prosperous and stable state. Different from philophers, philosophes addressed their works more to the educated public than to scholars. Instead of formal philosophical treatises, they mostly composed histories, novels, dramas, satires, and pamphlets on religious, moral, and political issues. The leader of the Enlightenment is Voltaire who is a philosophe, a writer and a philosopher. Voltaire championed individual freedom and attacked oppressive policies with encouraged witty remark and intense irony. He held nature right and thought that people are equal in nature and before the law. He also waged a long literary campaign against the Roman Catholic church, which he is in the charge of crazy, intolerance and incalculable human suffering. He considered that the church is a factor of oppression (Voltaire, 2010). As the earlier famous philosophe, Hobbes created machine materialism. He thought that the universe consisted of all the moving extension object. He tried hard to explain humans emotion and desire by the principle of mechanical motion. His moral thought includes natural rights and natural laws. The former one means that humans natural character is egoism. The latter means that humans reason rules morality. He disproved the idea that god confers the authority to rulers. He advocated absolute monarchy. He also considered that society had to follow the general will (Hobbes, 2010). As one of the representative of the Enlightenment, Rousseau is a radical who made the most fierce and severe criticize on French feudal society. His ideological essence and basic principle is sovereignty of the people. He considered that all rights belongs to people, government and officials are appointed by people, people have the right to appoint the government, people have the right to replace them, even have the right to revolt in order to abolish rulers who oppress people. He also thought that citizens should observe the law because it is free behaviour. In education, he proposed the idea return to nature that let childrens body freely develop (Rousseau, 2010). Although Enlightenment thinkers reached common ground on the excellence and the effect of humans reason, yet they hold different opinions on detailed issues in politics, religion, philosophy and so on. In politics, Locke, Rousseau, Voltaire and Hobbes all supported with natural rights. Locke and Hobbess nature rights includes life right, freedom right and property right, they thought that people have the right to gain legal property; however, Voltaire thought that the unequal property right can not be avoided and Hobbes thought that natural rights is egoism. Locke and Hobbes both objected to innate ideas and Voltaire and Rousseau both approved with innate ideas. Locke and Rousseau advocated revolutionary legitimacy. But Hobbes insisted on the opinion that people must obey if the ruler was conferred authority. Locke, Voltaire and Rousseau all advocated freedom and equality. Rousseau considered that the law is very important, people should accept it. Hobbes and Voltaire did not agree w ith division of power. Voltaire thought that rulers power came from the ruled, the only purpose of building country is protecting the security and peoples right, when the government went against the purpose, people have the right to take back the authority by taking action. But Locke advocated distribution of power. Locke, Rousseau and Hobbes all advocated social contract. Rousseau considered private ownership is the source of unequal state. In philosophy, Locke and Voltaire both admitted the idea that the world is consisted of material. Rousseau and Voltaire both considered that acknowledge rose from experience. Locke thought peoples heart was just like a paper and experience offered mind conception to it. Hobbes considered that material can not be separated from idea and material did not rely on our thought. In religion, Voltaire and Rousseau are both deist. Voltaire and Hobbes both disproved religion, they thought religion is requisite to maintain social order. The ideas of these Enlightenment thinkers made a lot of contribution to the community. What worth being mentioned is that their ideas not only exert great influence on the scholars, but also affect the European political world, including the most influential figures at that that time such as Napoleon and Queen Catherine. Influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, Napoleon who overthrew the Diretory and became a French military dictator created a united legal code for France. The code included that equal before the law, careers open to talent, free belief, protection of private property, abolition of feudalism and a secular state (Napoleon, 2010). Napoleon also valued education. As the most able Russian monarch, Catherine also influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment. She encouraged nobles to travel in Western Europe and building school to educate aristocrats. She often communicated with some philosophes. She regarded herself as an enlightened despot. She limited the punishment s that the nobles inflicted on the serfs. She also abolished the death punishment. But when the thoughts challenged her rule, she began to object to it (Catherine, 2010). Although the ideas were not carried out completely to the end, it also shook some traditional thoughts. The impact of Enlightenment on human history should never be undervalued. It weakened the influence of organized religion. It also encouraged the replacement of Christian values, which had guided Europeans on religion and moral affairs for a very long time. Furthermore, it encouraged political and cultural leaders to rationally analyze the society and intervene actively in the Enlightenment matters for the interests that brought from promoting progress and prosperity. In many ways, the Enlightenment thought continues to influence European and Euro-American societies in the following centuries. Reference List Bentley Jerry H. (2002). Adam Smith on the capitalist market. Traditions Encounters. The McGraw-Hill companies. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from p657 Bentley Jerry H. (2002). The limits of westernization. Traditions Encounters. The McGraw-Hill companies. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from p786 Bentley Jerry H. (2002). Science and enlightenment. Traditions Encounters. The McGraw-Hill companies. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from pp658-662 Hobbes. (2010). Baike baidu. Retrieved May 22 2010, from http:// baike.baidu.com/view/34984. htm Locke, J. (2010). Baike baidu. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from http://baike. baidu.com/view/51406.htm Napoleon. (2010). Baike baidu. Retrieved May 22, 2010, fromhttp://baike.baidu.com/view/4866.htm Rousseau. (2010). Baike baidu. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from http;//baike.baidu com/view/6499.htm Voltaire. (2010). Baike baidu. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from http://baike.baidu.com/view/view/4782.htm

perfectly Imperfect: The Shakespeare Story :: essays research papers fc

"Perfectly Imperfect: The Shakespeare Story" Few authors today write with such universal understanding that their works will be popular with all types of people, and so successfully that their work survives centuries. These authors posses qualities we can seldom identify in their lifetimes. Yet we do know this -- William Shakespeare was one of them. William Shakespeare's parents were John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. John Shakespeare was born in 1529. His father was a small tenant farmer in Snitterfield, near Stratford-upon-Avon. He became a successful glover and trader, and owned civic office in Stratford. He was not born to the nobility, but he did have some authority in the town. In 1596 he was given by the College of Arms the right to a coat of arms and a crest. Doing that advanced his status to that of a country gentleman. He would belong to the upper class of rural society. That was the class just under the knights and the nobility to which the country gentleman could be promoted if he made money in trade or the law and had influence at court. His rise in authority began the year after he was married. He became constable of Stratford, in charge of keeping the town safe. From 1561 to 1565, he was Chamberlain, responsible for the oversight and maintenance of Corporation of Stratford property. In 1564, his name appeared on the list of Capital Burgesses. He was likely a member for a number of years, just without his name on the list. Capital Burgesses were the main English parliament representatives for towns or boroughs. Later on, he was bailiff of the town, and held many important positions throughout his life. William Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, was born to nobility, a wealthy family. She was the youngest daughter of Robert Arden, also a country gentleman, of Wilmcote. He left in his will to Mary the estate of Asbies in Wilmcote and six pounds, thirteen shillings, and sixpence. Within a year of her father's death, in 1557, Mary married John Shakespeare. William Shakespeare was the third child, born after Joan and Margaret Shakespeare. Margaret died before William was born, and Joan died sometime before 1569. William was born in 1564. His exact birth date is not known, though it is known that he was baptized on April 26 in the Holy Trinity Church of Stratford. His birthday could have been any of the four or five days before that day. Traditionally, it has been said that he was born on the 23 of April, the same day of his death and St.