8-2EarlyLife&Education

What was Shakespeare’s early life and education in Stratford-upon-Avon? //Answer prepared by Raythan.P//

Stratford-upon-Avon is a town that is located in the center of England and is an important river-crossing settlement and market center. According to onlineshakespeare, this is the city in which William Shakespeare was born to John and Mary Shakespeare on April 23, 1564. Three days later, William was baptized in Stratford’s Holy Trinity Church. He was born to middle class parents. His father was a glove maker and was well known and respected in their community. William was the third child of John and Mary Shakespeare. After him, John and Mary Shakespeare had five other children. Joan, Margaret, and Anne were three of William’s siblings that did not live past the age of eleven. The house that they lived in was, and still is, located on Henley Street. Williams’ father, John, was the owner of this house. Williams’ boyhood must have been fun and fascinating because Stratford was a lively town that held pageants and shows during the holidays. His plays often show his love of nature and rural life thus, reflecting his childhood. This small excerpt ‘Henry V’ portrays his love of nature during his childhood: “// Her vine, the merry cheerer of the heart, // // Unpruned dies; her hedges even-pleach'd, // // Like prisoners wildly overgrown with hair, // // Put forth disorder'd twigs; her fallow leas  // // The darnel, hemlock, and rank fumitory, // //  Do root upon, while the coulter rusts,   // // That should deracinate such savagery;   // // The even mead, that erst brought sweetly forth  // // The freckled cowslip, burnet, and green clover, // // Wanting the scythe, all uncorrected, rank,   // // Conceives by idleness, and nothing teems  // // But hateful docks, rough thistles, kecksies, burs,   // // Losing both beauty and utility.” // There is not much known about Shakespeare’s early life, but we can see his childhood through his plays where he gets inspiration from the thoughts and feelings he had as a kid. Shakespeare’s father, John, was a high bailiff. So, his father would have been able to grant his children free education, which he definitely must have taken advantage of. __The Age of Shakespeare__, by Francois Laroque, states that William attended Stratford’s junior school until the age of seven where he progressed to the Grammar School. The schools in this time period were usually called ‘Petty Schools’ because they were small. The word, ‘”petty”, is probably derived from the French word, “petit”, which means small. They were also taught not in schools, but in the house of the teacher or a local and well-educated housewife. The curriculum of this school focused on teaching its pupils to speak and write Latin. He, along with his classmates, spent long hours at school devoted to this Latin grammar based on Lily’s __Grammaticis Latina__. This introduction to Latin grammar, written by William Lily, had been authorized by Henry VIII as the sole Latin grammar textbook to be used in education and schools. It is also possible that the classical writers studied in the classroom influenced the plays and poems of Shakespeare. School began from six to seven a.m. depending on the time of year. Also, the school day would last throughout the day with breaks at certain times from meals. School was in session six days a week. In school, Shakespeare would have used a hornbook, which had the alphabet and the Lord’s Prayer on it. The instruction from the Bible and Prayer book would have been in English if in a protestant education. Normally boys attended grammar school until the age of fifteen or sixteen, but Shakespeare was forced to leave school at the age of thirteen because of his father’s financial difficulties (17-18). __Shakespeare A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Plays, His Poems, His Life and Times, and More__, by Charles Boyce, explains that these financial difficulties occurred in 1577 when he stopped attending council meetings even though he was an alderman; he then mortgaged a property of his wife’s and sold her share in another. This led to multiple fines and thus, his financial difficulties. Despite Shakespeare getting two to three years less schooling than normal, he was still able to become successful and raise a family

It was on November 27, 1582 when Shakespeare received a marriage license to marry Anne Hathaway. According to __Shakespeare’s Wife__, by Germaine Greer, this marriage took place on December 2, 1582. The Bishop of Worcester conducted the wedding. Anne Hathaway was the daughter of Richard Hathaway. He was a Warwirkshire farmer with a large country residence and land. She lived a mile from Stratford in the village of Shottery. When they were married, William was eighteen years old, and, Anne Hathaway was twenty-six years old. As a matter of fact, at the time of the marriage, Anne was already pregnant. Together they had three children. Susanna was their first child who was baptized on May 26, 1583. Two years later, Anne gave birth to twins Hamnet and Judith. Unfortunately, Hamnet died in 1596, William’s only son (47). Thus, Shakespeare didn’t have anyone to carry on his family name. Works Cited Boyce, Charles. //Shakespeare A to Z//. New York, NY: Dell Publishing Group Inc., 1991.

Greer, Germaine. //Shakespeare's Wife//. 1. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007.

Laroque, Francois. //The Age of Shakespeare//. 2. Abrams, New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1993. Print.

"The Works & Life of William Shakespeare." //www.onlineshakespeare.com//. 7 Apr 2009

This is a picture of the inside of the school that Shakespeare attended (it is a present-day photo). It comes from the site likesnail.org.uk/buildings/schoolroom.