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"Young Will"

© Meg Greene Malvasi

Who could have predicted that William Shakespeare would transform many of his vivid childhood memories into some of the greatest literature ever written? That, of course, is precisely what he did. In the process, he also left behind a few important clues to what it was like to grow up in sixteenth-century England.

William Shakespeare was born on or about April 23, 1564. He grew up in a house on Henley Street in the market town of Stratford-upon-Avon, England. His father, John Shakespeare, was a respected tradesman in the town and was active in local politics. His mother, Mary, came from a family of prosperous farmers near the town of Wilmcote.

Little is known about William Shakespeare's early years, yet historians have pieced together a few events that took place during his early life in Stratford-upon-Avon. It is likely that from the time he was six or seven until he turned twelve or thirteen, young William attended the King's New School, a local grammar school open to the sons, but not the daughters, of middle-and upper-class families. Before young boys like William could enroll in school, they already had to know how to read and write in English. Students of all ages sat in one classroom where they studied logic, rhetoric, composition, versifying, and public speaking - reciting their lessons in Latin as well as English!

School days in sixteenth-century England were long by today's standards. Students attended class five days a week throughout the year. Classes began between six and seven o'clock in the morning and lasted until five in the afternoon. Students, though, did get a two-hour break to return home for a midday meal with their families. Shakespeare never forgot his early school days. In fact, he often drew on his lessons in many of his plays, using phrases from his school books and even caricaturing (comically portraying) his teachers.

Chances are that young William, accompanied by his father, saw his first theater production at the age of four or five. During the Elizabethan era, traveling theatrical troupes auditioned before town officials in order to gain permission to perform in the area. Since William's father for a time served as high baliff, or mayor, of Stratford-upon-Avon, it is entirely possible that William attended some of the plays produced by the theatrical troupes that passed through town once or twice a year. While the future playwright may not have understood everything he saw and heard, no doubt he was thrilled by the productions, with their loud and exaggerated acting, "magic" illusions, and numerous sword "fights" after which actors always lay "bleeding" on the stage.

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