William Shakespeare was a great English playwright, dramatist and poet that lived in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest playwright of all time. No other writer's plays have been produced so many times or read so widely in so many countries as his have.
Shakespeare was born into a middle class family. His father, John, was a Straford businessman. He was a glove maker who owned a leather shop. John Shakespeare was a well known and respected man in the town that upheld several important local government positions. William's mother was Mary Arden. Even though Mary was the daughter of a local farmer, she was related to a family of considerable wealth and social standing. Mary Arden and John Shakespeare were married in 1557.
William Shakespeare was born in Straford in 1564. He was one of eight children. The Shakespeare's were well respected, prominent people.
List of titles of works based on Shakespearean phr...
English: Birth place of William Shakespeare, Strat...
Sir John Gilbert's 1849 painting: The Plays of Wil...When William Shakespeare was about seven years old, he began attending the Straford Grammar School with the other boys of his social class.
The schools were run on year round schedules and they ran for nine hours everyday. Even though Shakespeare spent the long hours at school, his boyhood was very fascinating. Straford was a lively town, and during holidays it was known to put on pageants and many popular shows. It also held several large fairs during the year. It was a quaint little town that was an exciting place to live. Straford also had fields and woods surrounding it that gave William the opportunity to hunt and trap small game. The River Avon which ran through the town allowed him to fish also. Shakespeare's poems and plays show his love of nature and rural life which reflect his childhood.
On November 28, 1582, Shakespeare married...