Itis believed that William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, inStratford-on-Avon. His father, John Shakespeare, produced gloves,bought and sold wool, and lent money to other people. He was also animportant citizen in the town, becoming its mayor in 1568.Shakespeare’s mother, Mary, was the daughter of a prominent farmer.Besides William, she gave birth to seven other children, but onlyfive lived beyond childhood.

    Asa boy, William likely attended grammar school and studied subjectslike Greek and Latin literature. However, for reasons unknown,Shakespeare left school when he was 15 and did not pursue furtherstudies. Just three years later, in 1583, he married Anne Hathaway, awoman eight years his senior. Soon after, they started a family.

    Noone really knows how or when Shakespeare first began writing andacting, but in the 1590s, he left Stratford-on-Avon and moved toLondon to pursue a career in theater. In 1599, he joined The LordChamberlain’s Men, an acting company protected by the Queenherself. Since actors of the day were jacks-of-all-trades, it can beassumed that Shakespeare was already skilled in dancing, singing,acrobatics and playing musical instruments.

    Duringhis lifetime, Shakespeare authored 37 impressive plays. Hisachievements also included writing 15 sonnets. Each of these poems isfourteen-lines long. They express a wide range of human emotion, fromlove and joy to jealousy and grief. Over the years, they have beenpublished countless times and are available today in everything frompocket editions to beautifully illustrated books.