A. On or about 22 April 1564, Mary Arden, the wife of John Shakespeare, gave birth to a son in Stratford-uponAvon. She had lost two baby girls before that. Now, all through the hot summer, she was afraid of losing her third
child because there was a plague in Stratford. Her husband was a member of the town council, so they could not
leave the town. By the end of the year, 300 of the population of 1,500 were dead, but fortunately for Mary and for
us, her baby William did not die. He grew up, and became the greatest writer in the English language.
B. Mary was about twenty-four when he was born. She was the youngest of four daughters of a farmer near
Stratford. Soon after her father died, in 1557, she married John Shakespeare, who was about ten years older. As a
young man, John had worked on one of the Ardens’ farms, but he had left the village and moved to Stratford. He
learnt how to make gloves and other things from leather, and he became a successful businessman. A year before
his marriage, he bought two houses that are now known as Shakespeare’s birthplace. The family lived in one and
used the other as their shop.
C. Nobody can explain how ordinary parents produce sons like William Shakespeare. He had three younger
brothers and a sister, but none of them did anything very important in life. But William became a good
businessman, like his father, and his mother was clearly intelligent. Though she was the youngest daughter, her
father had made her responsible for his will when he died and had left her the best property.
D. William’s childhood was probably quite happy. His father’s business was doing well and when William was four
years old. John Shakespeare became the leader of the town council. The school that William went to was one of
the best in England. From the age of nine or ten, all the lessons were in Latin, and the boys stayed until they were
fifteen. William’s last years at school were probably not as happy as the early ones. From 1576, when he was
twelve, his father stopped going to council meetings. Perhaps he was ashamed to meet his friends; his business
was not going so well.
E. It is unlikely that William thought of being an actor or of writing plays at this time. The theatre was not a
profession for gentlemen. Actors were either employed by lords and rich men to entertain them and their guests,
or they travelled around the country, performing plays if the council allowed it. Most councils refused permission.
Actors did not earn their living just by acting either. They were expected to dance and sing, to tell jokes and
perform tricks.
F. There was a great tradition of acting in England, but the actors were not professionals. In big cities groups still
performed religious plays on Corpus Christi day (a Catholic celebration) every summer. Shakespeare saw them
when he was very young because Coventry, near Stratford, was the last city where they were performed. But
Protestants did not celebrate Corpus Christi, and the government thought that the plays kept the old religion
alive. They did not punish anyone for performing them. They just asked for the play books to check that there was
nothing in them against Protestant beliefs.
G. At that time, the professional theatre was only just beginning and there were very few plays for actors to
perform. The first real theatre in London opened in 1576. The owner and builder was James Burbage. Years later,
his son Richard became Shakespeare’s close friend and played the hero in all of his greatest successes, from
young Romeo to old King Lear. In those days, Richard Burbage the actor was as famous as Shakespeare the
dramatist. Their theatre the Globe was most popular in London
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