Anne and William’s first daughter, Susanna, was baptised on May 26th 1582. A set of twins, Hamnet and Judith, were born two years later. In 1596 Hamnet died at the age of eleven.
It is believed that Shakespeare did not have a very good education. He attended Stratford Grammer School, a school that specifically served prominent citizens. It is not known how long Shakespeare attended, but it is assumed that this is the only education he received.
Between 1585 and 1592 no records of Shakespeare were found. This period of his life is usually referred to as “The Lost Years”. Some have speculated that he either became a schoolteacher, became a butcher’s apprentice, or he was running from the law during this time.
The first evidence of Shakespeare after 1592 was in London. Here he had established himself as a play writer and actor and had found a sponsor, Henry Wriothsley. However Shakespeare’s work in the theatres came to a stop in January 1593, when the theatres closed because of the plague. The company that Shakespeare worked for was called “Lord Chamberlain’s Men” and changed their name to “The Kings Men” after James I took over the throne in 1603. Because Shakespeare worked and performed for them, this company became the biggest and the most famous. Shakespeare became very wealthy as a director, writer, actor and stockholder in “The Kings Men”.
In 1611 Shakespeare retired and left London. He made a will on March 25th, 1616 and died on April 23rd, 1616. he was fifty-two years old. The cause of Shakespeare’s death is not known. He also wrote his own gravestone ‘passage’ because during his time, when the graveyard was full, people would dig up someone’s corpse and burn it so that another could be buried in its place. This disgusted Shakespeare, and he didn’t want this type of disrespect after his death.
His ‘passage’ reads as follows:
Good friends, for Jesus’ sake forbear,
To dig the bones enclosed here!
Blest be the man that spares these stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones.
To this day no on has disturbed Shakespeare’s grave.
