2007 December 26 » International Youth Theater Network

The Childhood of William Shakespeare

Wednesday, December 26th, 2007

Very little is known about the personal history of William Shakespeare. To date, there are only two major sources of information about his life and these are his works as well as various legal and church documents from the Elizabethan era.

Scholars had hugely debated the childhood years of the Bard. It was speculated that he might have been educated in a free grammar school in Stratford due to his knowledge of Latin and Classical Greek. Though there had been no records found to substantiate this theory, scholars are convinced that Shakespeare must have had a solid education due to the literary quality of his works.

What happened to Shakespeare from childhood until his marriage when he was 18 years of age was a mystery to many. His marriage to Anne Hathaway in 1852 and the baptism of his children, Susanna and twins, Hamnet and Judith were documented. However, after the birth of his twins in 1585, no trace or record of Shakespeare had been found until seven years later. This period was labeled by scholars as Shakespeare’s “lost years.” His name resurfaced only in 1592 when he came to London to start his career as an actor and playwright.

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