The Life and Times of Shakespeare

There is much speculation as to what we know about William Shakespeare. However, we know that William Shakespeare, the oldest of eight children, was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564, to Mary Arden and John Shakespeare. Mary was the daughter of a substantial landowner, and John was a glovemaker and later bailiff (or mayor) of the town.

Speculation has it that Shakespeare began attending a Stratford grammar school at six or seven years of age. There he studied Latin grammar, literature, rhetoric, and logic around eight to ten hours a day, six days a week. This education, influenced by classical humanism, is evident in his plays. Legend says that in 1577 Shakespeare may have left the school and was reported to have been a butcher's apprentice, but there is no proof of this.

On November 28, 1582, at eighteen years of age, William married Anne Hathaway of Shottery. Their first child was Susanna, who was born in May of 1583, and twins Hamnet and Judith were born in 1584. There is no evidence concerning Shakespeare's activities between 1585 and 1592. There is, however, evidence which leads us to believe that Shakespeare's influence at the courts of Queen Elizabeth may have helped his father in achieving a family coat of arms in 1599.

In 1564, a contagious disease known as the Bubonic plague swept through Europe. The disease, which was carried by black house rats and fleas, was characterized by swelling of lymph nodes, fever, and delirium. In Stratford, the plague killed more than one seventh of the population. Shakespeare's survival of the plague may be attributed to the closing down of the theaters. It was during this period that Shakespeare began writing comedies.

On April 25, 1616, only three years after Shakespeare wrote "The Winter's Tale," England mourned his death. Shakespeare's gravestone lies in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church at Stratford-upon-Avon. Written on the epitaph is a curse referring to the practice of removing the bones to a charnel house to make more burial space in the church.