Since William Shakespeare lived more than 400 years ago, and many records from that time are lost or never existed in the first place, they don’t know everything about his life. For example, they know that he was baptised in Stratford-upon-Avon, 100 miles Northwest of London, on April 26, 1564. But we don’t know his exact birthday, which must have been a few days earlier.
We do know that Shakespeare’s life revolved around two locations: Stratford and London. He grew up, had a family, and bought property in Stratford, but he worked in London, the centre of English theatre. As an actor, a playwright, and a partner in a leading acting company, he became both prosperous and well-known. Even without knowing everything about his life, fans of Shakespeare have imagined and re-imagined him according to their own tastes, just as we see with the 19th-century portrait of Shakespeare wooing his wife at the top of this page.
William Shakespeare was probably born on about April 23, 1564, the date that is traditionally given for his birth. He was John and Mary Shakespeare’s oldest surviving child; their first two children, both girls, did not live beyond infancy. Growing up as the big brother of the family, William had three younger brothers, Gilbert, Richard, and Edmund, and two younger sisters: Anne, who died at seven, and Joan.
Their father, John Shakespeare, was a leather worker who specialized in the soft white leather used for gloves and similar items. A prosperous businessman, he married Mary Arden, of the prominent Arden family. John rose through local offices in Stratford, becoming an alderman and eventually, when William was five, the town bailiff—much like a mayor. Not long after that, however, John Shakespeare stepped back from public life; we don’t know why.
Shakespeare, as the son of a leading Stratford citizen, almost certainly attended Stratford’s grammar school. Like all such schools, its curriculum consisted of an intense emphasis on the Latin classics, including memorization, writing, and acting classic Latin plays. Shakespeare most likely attended until about age 15.
A few years after he left school, in late 1582, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. She was already expecting their first-born child, Susanna, which was a fairly common situation at the time. When they married, Anne was 26 and William was 18. Anne grew up just outside Stratford in the village of Shottery. After marrying, she spent the rest of her life in Stratford.
In early 1585, the couple had twins, Judith and Ham net, completing the family. In the years ahead, Anne and the children lived in Stratford while Shakespeare worked in London, although we don’t know when he moved there. Some later observers have suggested that this separation, and the couple’s relatively few children, were signs of a strained marriage, but we do not know that, either. Someone pursuing a theatre career had no choice but to work in London, and many branches of the Shakespeare’s had small families.
Shakespeare’s only son, Ham-net, died in 1596 at the age of 11. His older daughter Susanna later married a well-to-do Stratford doctor, John Hall. Their daughter Elizabeth, Shakespeare’s first grandchild, was born in 1608. In 1616, just months before his death, Shakespeare’s daughter Judith married Thomas Quinine, a Stratford vintner. The family subsequently died out, leaving no direct descendants of Shakespeare.
What its like to be a woman in the 1500 to the 1600
The role of woman were very limited during this time.Woman were expected to be housewife’s and look after there children.And due to sickness woman didn’t have many children.If a child was born and if it was alive after the birth they would consider it as a blessing.Woman were proud of being mothers and took pride in it.Woman were preferred to be a weaker gender physically and emotionally . They thought that woman always had to be looked after by somebody.If a woman was married the husband would have to look after them but if they were single there brother or father looked after the woman.Woman were not allowed to attend any type of school they were only allowed to have a private tutor.They were allowed to only be cooks or maids so basically anything to do with house work.
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