The author William Shakespeare William Shakespeare is the greatest playwright and poet of the Elizabethan age. He lived in Stratford-upon-Avon from his birth (23rd April 1564) until he was a young man. In this small market town, 32 kilometres south of Birmingham, Shakespeare attended1 the local Grammar School2 for eight years. His family was important and respected: his father, a merchant and glove-maker3, had various offices in the local administration and was Mayor4 for a time. After leaving school, Shakespeare perhaps helped his father in his business; at eighteen he married an older girl, Anne Hathaway and they had a daughter, Susan (1583), and later twins5, Judith and Hamnet (1585). The next few years are a mystery, but probably around 1590 Shakespeare left his family and moved to London to start a career in the theatre. In 1592, Shakespeare was already famous in London, because a rival playwright6 accused him of copying other authors works. First he worked as an actor and then he started writing plays. Soon he was a rich man and invested his money well: he formed a theatrical company, the Lord Chamberlain s Men and built the Globe Theatre (1599) with some partners. He also bought a very large house in Stratford for his family (1597) and obtained7 a personal coat of arms8. In 1613 he returned to Stratford, where he died at the age of 52, on 3rd April 1616. 1. attended: went to regularly. 2. Grammar School: here pupils studied Latin and the Classics, History and Language. 3. glove-maker: craftsman who makes coverings for the hands. 4. Mayor: head of a city. 5. twins: born to the same mother on the same day. 6. playwright: dramatist. 7. obtained: got. 8. coat of arms: family emblem. 4