what affected shakespeare's tragic plays? deaths? diseases?

Question

Which events or negative qualities could have affected shakespeare's writing? please give examples

Answer 1

God, how about just plain ol life.

Answer 2

Theatre Doc has an excellent point about speculation. Of course Shakespeare borrowed all his ideas/plots from history or already existing poems and stories. Still, I can't help but think that such an astute, brilliant writer would not draw from his own experiences. Many passages seem to point to what we know to be his own life. The fact that he married an older woman, lost a son at a young age. That his father abrubtly lost his good standing in their community. Shakespeare was also obviously a keen observer of human foibles and emotion. It stands to reason that he would bring all his good and bad experiences into his body of work. It might be interesting for you to study his sonnets. The speculations about them and his personal life are very interesting!

Answer 3

What affected his playwriting was a need for more plays for his company to present. His tragedies are generally retelling of other stories he heard or read or saw a play about. Like Romeo and Juliet, for example, was a popluar story of the time. No point on guessing if personal things or experiences affected his writing. There are some references here and there to current events, but the rest is speculation.