A brief biography of William Shakespeare.

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William Shakespeare

The baptismal register of the Holy Trinity parish church, in Stratford, shows Shakespeare was baptised just 3 days after birth, this is probably because of the strong religious beliefs at the time. His parents were worried he would not survive his first few days, so they had him baptised to make sure he went to heaven. The actual date of Shakespeare's birth is not known, but, traditionally, April 23, St George's Day, 1564, has been Shakespeare's accepted birthday. William Shakespeare was indeed lucky to survive to adulthood in sixteenth-century England. Waves of the plague swept across the countryside, and pestilence ravaged Stratford during the hot summer months. Mary and John Shakespeare became parents for the first time in September of 1558, when their daughter Joan was born. Shakespeare probably began his education at the age of six or seven at the Stratford grammar school, which is still standing only a short distance from his house on Henley Street and is in the care of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Although we have no record of Shakespeare attending the school, due to the official position held by John Shakespeare it seems likely that he would have decided to educate young William at the school, which was under the care of Stratford's governing body. Recordings in the Episcopal register at Worcester on the dates of November 27 and 28, 1582, reveal that Shakespeare desired to marry a young girl named Anne. There are two different documents regarding this matter, and their contents have raised a debate over just whom Shakespeare first intended to wed. However, Shakespeare married another woman called Anne on the 28th November. The couple had their first child in May, 1583, named Susanna. 2 years later, Anne and William had twins, Hamnet and Judith, in late January/ early...