Storyworks biography of william

The most famous of all English playwrights was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. William’s father John was a wealthy merchant and a respectable member of the community within the small Warwickshire town.

It appears the John’s business interests may have taken a turn for the worse when William was in his early teens, as William failed to follow his father into the family business.

Little is known of William’s early life, but it is thought that he may have attended the town’s free grammar school, learning Latin and Greek amongst many other subjects.

What he did immediately after leaving school is also a little vague; local Warwickshire legends recall tales of him poaching deer at the nearby Charlecote Estate, and nights of heavy drinking sessions in several of the local village pubs.

Perhaps the former would have closely followed the latter!

What is known is that an 18 year-old William married Anne Hathaway, a farmer’s daughter from the nearby village of Sh