The Life of Shakespeare
Uploaded by ezcheat on Sep 14, 2006
The Life of William Shakespeare
The life of William Shakespeare, unquestionably the world’s most renowned playwright and poet, is based mostly on conjecture and inference, with the exception of documented facts acquired from his works, and surviving church and legal documents. Although the actual date of William Shakespeare’s birth was never recorded, accounts from Holy Trinity Church verify that he was baptized on April 26, 1564. Because infants were traditionally baptized within 3 days of birth, it is generally accepted that he was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.
The third of eight children, Shakespeare was the first son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, who were married in approximately 1557. John Shakespeare, a glover and leather merchant, was well respected in Stratford, where he held many civic offices, including High Bailiff, the equivalent of a city Mayor. Throughout William’s early childhood, John was considered a solid, successful citizen, but for reasons unknown, at some point during the late 1570’s his fortunes began to decline, and he ceased participation in local government affairs.
That Shakespeare actually attended grammar school is unknown, but it is likely that he was educated at The King’s New School, given his father’s status as a prominent citizen of Stratford. There, Shakespeare would have studied Latin and possibly Greek, and been exposed to such literary greats as Ovid and Plautus. While we know that Shakespeare did not attend a university, the events of his life between adolescence and early adulthood remain a mystery and have become the topic of much debate.
The next documented event in Shakespeare’s life is his marriage to Ann Hathaway on November 28, 1582. At 26, Hathaway was eight years older than Shakespeare, and three months pregnant at the time of their nuptials; it is probable that the two were hastily married in order to prevent disgrace. Whether or not Shakespeare truly loved his wife is a matter of speculation (in his will he bequeaths to her his “second best bed.”), nevertheless, on May 26, 1583, Susanna, the first of three children, was born. Twins Hamnet and Judith arrived two years later in 1585, but sadly Hamnet died in 1596 at age 11.
No records survive as to the activities of Shakespeare from the...