William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

William Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564. Therefore, because Catholic tradition states baptism occurs three days after birth, it is popularly believed that William was born on April 23, 1564. His birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon, Worcester is also the place where he died exactly 52 years later in 1616. His gravestone at Holy Trinity Church bears the words:

Good frend for Jesus sake forebeare,
to digg the dust encloased heare,
Bleste be ye man yt spares thes stones,
And curst be he yt moves my bones.

William was born the eldest son of John, a glover and Alderman of Stratford. He was most likely educated at Stratford Grammar School (King's New Grammar School), but little is known of his life up to his eighteenth year. William did not attend a university, however, the Grammar School curriculum would have provided a formidable linguistic and literary education.

In 1575 when William was eleven, there was a great plague in the country and Queen Elizabeth journeyed out of London to avoid its consequences and stayed for several days at Kenilworth Castle near Stratford— enjoying "festivities" arranged by her host Lord Leicester. It is probable that these events made a strong impact on the mind of young William.

At the age of 18, William married Anne Hathaway, who 26 at the time. Five years later he left for London. William worked at the Globe Theatre and appeared in many small parts. He first appeared in public as a poet in 1593 with his Venus and Adonis, and the following year with The Rape of Lucrece. He became joint proprietor of The Globe and also had an interest in the Blackfriars Theatre.

The play writing commenced in 1595 and of the 38 plays that comprise the Shakespeare Cannon, 36 were published in the 1st Folio of 1623, of which 18 had been published in his lifetime in what are termed the Quarto publications.

When William retired from writing in 1611, he returned to Stratford to live in a house which he had built for his family. His only son, Hamnet died when still a child. He also lost a daughter Judith (twin to Hamnet), but his third child Susanna married a Stratford Doctor, John Hall.

In 1616 Shakespeare was buried in the Church of the Holy Trinity, the same Church where he was baptized in 1564. Tradition has it that he died after an evening's drinking with some of his theatre friends. In his will Shakespeare left his wife, the former Anne Hathaway, his second best bed. We cannot be sure of the reason for this. It may suggest that they had an unhappy marriage, or it may have been that his best bed was for guests and his second-best bed was his marriage bed.