8-1Children




 However, there are two documentations concerning this matter. A debate over just whom Shakespeare first intended to wed has been drawn up. Some questions people ask were there two Anne? Was Shakespeare in love with one but in lust with the other? Was Shakespeare ready to join in matrimony with the Anne of his dreams only to have an attack of conscience and marry the Anne with whom he had carnal relations (relating to somebody's physical needs or appetites, especially as contrasted with spiritual or intellectual qualities.)? All of these questions go unanswered. To discuss this controversy properly, people have looked at the documents in question. According to Amanda Mabillard in the article “//Shakespeare’s Marriage and Children//”, there are three possible conclusions have been reached from the records: 1) The Anne Whateley in the first record and the Anne Hathwey in the second record are the same woman, 2) The Wm Shaxpere and the Annam Whateley who wished to marry in Temple Grafton were two different people entirely from the Wm Shagspere and Anne Hathwey who were married in Stratford. 3) The woman Shakespeare loved and the woman Shakespeare finally married were two different Annes. But which of the following is the correct statement? We will never know 100% for sure. So who did William really have his kids with? We will never know 100% on that matter either!

Children. Children, Children! Shakespeare had a family amongst his bustling life, believe it or not. The Shakespeares' first child was Susanna. Susanna was born in May 1583, six months after the wedding of her parents Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare. The baptism of Susanna Shakespeare took place in Stratford Parish Church on May 26th 1583. On May 5th, 1606, Susanna was named as a recusant, or a Roman Catholic for not attending an Easter Day Church service. When Susanna was 24 years old, she announced her betrothal to Dr. John Hall. Hall had settled in Stratford around 1600, where he founded a prosperous medical practice and became one of the town's leading citizens. The wedding took place on June 5th 1607. Susanna's marriage to the noted physician must have satisfied Anne and William a great deal. Evidence of the respect and esteem that Shakespeare held for Dr. John Hall and his marriage to his daughter was that Shakespeare appointed John and Susanna executors of his will. Susanna gave birth to a baby girl eight months after her wedding to Dr. John Hall. Anne and William's granddaughter, Elizabeth, was baptized February 21, 1608 at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford according to, Anna Claybourne in an article from __The Usborne World of Shakespeare.__ William and Dr. Hall also had mutual business interests as they were known to have travelled to London on business concerning Stratford tithes, or a tenth of somebody’s income or almost like a tax for the support of a church or its clergy. In Janurary of 1585, twins Judith and Hamnet Shakespeare arrived! These twins made the Shakespeare’s three children, the three legitimate children of the Bard. The twins were baptized i n Stratford Parish Church on February 2 of that year and Judith and Hamnet were named after two very close friends of William- the baker, Hamnet Sadler, and his wife, Judith. The Sadlers became the godparents of the twins so the baker and his wife named their own son William.

Little is known about the life of William Shakespeare's son, Hamnet. He was raised in his grandfather's house primarily by his mother Anne as his father's work in the theatre was based in London. There are no records that show that Hamnet Shakespeare ever attended a school although it was customary for a boy from Hamnet's background to have an education. Neither of Hamnet’s sisters had an education nor were able to read or write. There were constant outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the Black Death or the Black Plague, during Elizabethan times. In 1596, Hamnet unfortunately contracted the deadly disease and died at the age of eleven. Shakespeare's son Hamnet was buried in Stratford on August 11, 1596. Are you starting to wonder why there were so many plagues and deaths back in Shakespeare’s era? I am! In fact, it’s almost weirding me out. Anne and William's younger daughter, Judith, the youngest of the Bard's children was betrothed to Richard Quiney, a vintner and tavern owner from Stratford. Anne and William would have originally approved of this betrothal because he came from a good family. Changes in his family's circumstances and his own advancing years and possibly declining health, William Shakespeare cautiously drafted his will on January 25th 1616, a few days before Judith and Quiney's marriage. Judith married Thomas Quiney, on February 10th, 1616. At this time, Judith was 31 and Quiney 27. However, the previous approval of the marriage quickly changed once again with the scandalous news that Quiney had made another girl pregnant. This message spread all throughout Stratford quickly. It then appeared that Quiney did not obtain the special license necessary for a wedding during Lent before his marriage, as stated by Charles Boyce in __Shakespeare A to Z.__ This situation had turned severe and on March 12th, Judith and Thomas were excommunicated, which is basically excluding a baptized Christian from taking part in Communion because of doctrine or moral behavior that is adjudged to offend against God or the Christian community. It was considered a huge disgrace and definitely not an honor in any way, shape, or form. Works Cited Boyce, Charles. __Shakespeare A To Z__. 1. New York, New York: Roundtable Press, Inc., 1991.

Claybourne, Anna. __The Usborne World of Shakespeare__. 1. London, England: Usborne Publishing Ltd. 2001.

Mabillard, Amanda. "Shakespeare's Marriage and Children." __Shakespeare Of Stratford__ 1999 8 Mar 2009 .