8-3EarlyLife&Education

What was Shakespeare's early life and education like in Stratford-upon-Avon? //Answer prepared by Emily C.//

Although there are no specific records proving that Shakespeare attended school, it is assumed that the following is true, according to Diane Stanley. William Shakespeare was born and raised in [|Stratford-upon-Avon] where education at all levels was based on repetition and regular testing. Once he was five years old he started to attend “Petty” or “Dame” School. The teacher was usually a well educated woman who taught out of her own home. At this school, the children learned to behave, read and write in English, and they would also be taught catechism. It was important in the Elizabethan Era for the children to respect their parents, have good manners, and be good Christians. [|Shakespeare: Birth and Schooling] Shakespeare's parents home in Stratford

According to Henry Ward, at the age of seven, the children of wealthy families would continue their education with Grammar School; William Shakespeare was certainly one of the fortunate few who did. Shakespeare and the rest of the younger boys would have been taught by an Usher, one of the older students at the Elizabethan Grammar School. The boys attended this school from six or seven in the morning until five or six at night from Monday to Saturday. There was no time for play or exercise during their long days. Grammar School focused mainly on learning Latin. Latin was used throughout Europe and was necessary in any profession relating to the law, medicine, or the church. All of the boys used //Lily's// //Short Introduction of Grammar//// which was authorized by King Henry VIII and used as the sole Latin textbook throughout the country. Once the boys became ten, a Master would start to teach them. Now, they would study the famous authors and dramatists //// ; //Ovid, Plautus, Horace, Virgil, Cicero and Seneca were carefully studied. While studying these men, they were concurrently learning to think logically and argue their ideals with eloquence. Usually boys would have attended Grammar School until they were fourteen, then he would continue their education at a University. Unfortunately, Shakespeare wasn’t able to continue his education after Grammar School because his father was having financial problems. William Shakespeare therefore missed his chance at a higher education where he would have had the choice of studying the Arts, Philosophy, Rhetoric, Poetry, History, Music, Astronomy, Arithmetic, Geometry, Theology, Law or Medicine . Stratford's Grammar School

__Works Cited__ Cowell, Stephanie. //The Players: A Novel of the Young Shakespeare//. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 1997. Pressely, J.M. “Shakespeare’s Biography.” __Shakespeare__ __Resource Center__. February 18, 2008 . Visited April 6, 2009. Stanely, Diane. //Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare//. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc, 1992. The British Library Board. “Stratford upon-Avon.” __The British Library.__ February 22, 2009 . Visited April 6, 2009. Ward, Henry, and Catherine Weed Barnes Ward. //Shakespeare's Town and Times.// 2nd ed. Boston: Adamant Media Corporation, 2005.