The Stratford Guide - Shakespeare

The Life of William Shakespeare
(23rd April 1564 - 23rd April 1616)

Stratford is undoubtedly now best known for being the birth place, and final resting place of William Shakespeare. Below is a brief glimpse of his work and his life over his 52 years. I have also included links that contain a great wealth of information on this most famous Stratfordian.

William's Father John Shakespeare married Mary Arden daughter of Robert Arden a Farmer from Wilmcote in 1557. John was a Glover by trade maker by trade but also traded in wool and was a money lender, something which caused him to be accused of usury in later years for charging high interest rates of around 20 - 25%. On the whole though John seems to have carved out a good position for himself in Stratford serving on the council for many years and occupying such roles as, Chamberlain; Alderman and later in 1568 became Bailiff or Mayor of Stratford. Not a bad achievement for someone who it is thought was illiterate and was rumoured to use a glovers compasses as his signature. Probably the most unusual and perhaps enviable role John was elected to was that of Ale Taster which he was elected to in 1557, a role that unfortunately does not exist on the council today to my knowledge.

John and Mary had eight children in all while they lived at their home in Henley Street now known as Shakespeare's Birth Place. Their first two children together died very young, the first child was born in 1558 and died after only two months and their second child Margaret who was baptised on December 2nd 1562. Margaret only lived for about a year and both are thought to have died from the bubonic plague. The other children are William born 23rd April 1564; Gilbert born October 13th 1566 (died 1612); Joan 1569; Anne 1571; Richard 1574; Edmund 1580.

William's early life was spent in Stratford where he received his education. Due to the paucity of records, little is known of his early life and schooling, but it is thought he almost certainly attended the King Edward VI Grammar school which was then run by a high proportion of Oxford graduates and still stands today.

In November 1582 William married Anne Hathaway the daughter of Richard Hathaway a local farmer. At the time of their marriage William was just eighteen and Anne was twenty six. Anne's home is now known as Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and still stands today in the picturesque village of Shottery. William and Anne had three children together their first, Susanna, was baptised on the 26th May 1583 and their two twins Hamnet and Judith were baptised on February 2nd 1585.

Very little is known of Shakespeare's whereabouts between the years of 1585 - 1592, which are in consequence widely known as his Lost Years. There are many conflicting stories about what he was doing during this period, the most common of these is that he was a school master in Stratford before leaving for London around 1587.

Most of Shakespeare's great works are believed to have been written during his period in London. Despite the success he found in the capital, he maintained close ties with Stratford buying property here and eventually retiring to his home town to spend his final years. William was certainly in the public eye by 1592 where he was now famously called "an upstart crow" in a leaflet called the "Groatworth of Wit" published by a poet and playwright by the name of Robert Greene who was presumably jealous of the success William was enjoying.

Williams’s first published works were poems, Venus and Adonis which was published in 1593 and The Rape of Lucrece (1594) both of which were dedicated to his patron the Earl of Southampton.

In 1594 Shakespeare was involved in the formation of a new theatre company under the patronage of the Lord Chamberlain called the Lord Chamberlain's Men. For Approximately 20 years, William Shakespeare was the leading dramatist for the Chamberlain's Men, (latterly the King's Men) during which time he was averaging two plays per year and penned such works as Richard III, Hamlet and Othello. In 1599 the company built a theatre to perform their works in on the south bank of the Thames which they named the Globe. The Globe was actually built from materials obtained from the first theatre in England called The Theatre built by James Burbage. The Theatre was leased for 21 years, when the lease expired the Ground Landlord Giles Allen, who disapproved of the theatre and plays, refused to renew the lease. However Burbage found a clause in the lease and much to the fury of Giles this allowed the Chamberlain's Men to use the materials from the Theatre to build the Globe. In 1603 the Lord Chamberlain's men were granted Royal Patronage from James I from which date they became known as the King's Men. The King's men were hugely successful and the Kings patronage must have been a huge marking of respectability given that in 1596 Theatres were banned within the City of London. In 1608 the King's Men added Blackfriars Theatre within the City of London to their performance venues. Blackfriars had been purchased by James Burbage for £600 but had been unable to use it to stage plays due to public protests and the banning of plays in the city of London described above.

During his time as a playwright Shakespeare enjoyed great success and became a wealthy man, achieving a form of immortality through his 37 plays and 154 sonnets (You can view more info on these and even download his great works using the links at the bottom of this page). During this time William purchased a number of properties in Stratford. In 1597 he purchased one of the largest houses in Stratford a house called New Place and was known to make further investments in Stratford during his time in London including 107 acres of Land which he purchased in 1602.

Around 1611 Shakespeare moved back to Stratford-Upon-Avon to his house New Place and seemed to cut his ties with the London theatre scene. In March 1616 he signed his will and subsequently died in Stratford aged 52 on the 23rd April 1616.

William Shakespeare is buried at the Holy Trinity Church who had in 1605 bought a share of the tax privileges when the College was closed for £440. With the privileges came the responsibility of employing a Priest and looking after the Chancel and also the right to be buried there. When Shakespeare was buried it was still common to dig up the bones of people who had been buried there to make room for new burials, these bones were moved to the charnel house to the south of the Chancel. William obviously didn't like this idea and had a curse put on his grave. A curse that obviously worked as visitors to the Holy Trinity Church can still see his grave today.

"If you cannot understand my argument, and declare "It's Greek to me", you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger, if your wish is father to the thought, if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or lived in a fool's paradise - why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare; if you think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage, if you think it is high time and that that is the long and short of it, if you believe that the game is up and that truth will out even if it involves your own flesh and blood, if you lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul play, if you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop) without rhyme or reason, then - to give the devil his due - if the truth were known (for surely you have a tougue in your head) you are quoting Shakespeare; even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing, if you wish I was dead as a door-nail, if you think I am an eyesore, a laughing stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded or a blinkin idiot, then - by Jove! O Lord! Tut, tut! For goodness' sake! What the dickens! But me no buts - it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare."

A Quote from Bernard Levin