ShakespearesFamily5

**Answer Prepared By: Erika B.**
 * WHO WAS SHAKEPEARE'S FAMILY? WHO WAS SHAKESPEARE'S WIFE? WHAT WAS SHAKEPEARE'S RELATIONSHI WITH HER LIKE? WHO WERE HIS CHILDREN? WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE WOMAN AND CHILDREN BEHIND SHAKEPEARE? WHAT WERE THEIR LIVES LIKE IN STARTFORD?**

William Shakespeare’s family was very large and constantly growing. He grew up in Stratford-Upon-Avon with his family. His parents were John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, and he grew up in a family of 10. However, there were many deaths of his siblings, even some before he was born. His whole family included his parents and siblings Joan, Margaret, himself, Gilbert, another Joan, Anne, Richard, and Edmund. Large families were common during this time, as the death rates expanded so large that many children died. Life expectancy was also extremely low at this time. In the article “How did Shakespeare Die?” about life expectancy, they say “in a world where plague, syphilis, typhus, scurvy, tuberculosis, smallpox, malaria, dysentery and toothaches shortened a Londoner’s life expectancy to 35 years”. Many of his extended family also grew up around the area, such as his uncle Henry Shakespeare, and many of his mother’s sisters married local men, so they live nearby as well.

John Shakespeare (left) and William Shakespeare (right).

William had many siblings. The first child Joan Shakespeare, was born September of 1558, and lived a short life, although the exact age is unknown. She was baptized in Stratford on September 15, 1558, but she died of the Black Death. (The Brothers & Sisters of William Shakespeare.) The Black Death is a disease so deadly that, as the article “The Black Death Bubonic Plague during the Elizabethan Era” says, “In 1563, in London alone, over 20,000 people died of the disease**.”** Their next daughter Margaret was born in 1562 and was baptized on December 2. She too died early at the age of one. Gilbert was William’s first brother. He was born 1566 and was baptized October of that year. Because of the early death of their first child, John and Mary named their next girl child Joan, who was born in 1569. ("The Brothers & Sisters of William Shakespeare.") The next child, Anne, was born in 1571. But, like her sister Joan, she died of the Black Death in April of 1579. (The Brothers & Sisters of William Shakespeare.)The next brother is Richard, who was born in 1574, and was baptized in March of that year. Not much is known about Richard. (The Brothers & Sisters of William Shakespeare.) Their youngest brother, Edmund, was born in 1580. It seems he lived much longer than the rest, living to age 27. (The Brothers & Sisters of William Shakespeare) Although not all the Shakespeare family grew to live long and prosperous lives, it was still a full house.

A sketch of Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway. Little is known about Shakespeare’s wife, but they do know she was born in 1556, 8 years earlier than William. She grew up in Shottery, which was a town within walking distance from Stratford. It may have been that William and Anne met on a walk between the two towns. (“Anne Hathaway”.) In the summer of 1582, as a teenager, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who was 8 years older. The couple decided to marry because Anne was pregnant with their first of three children. (“Anne Hathaway”.) The strict catholic families behind the couple weren’t too pleased with the situation because of their religious beliefs, but decided they must get married. (“Anne Hathaway”.) We don’t know as much as we’d like about their love life, since no diaries or love letters existed. By November 1582, Shakespeare, who was under the legal age of 21, had to ask permission to marry Anne, which they did in the town of Worcester at Temple Grafton. (“Anne Hathaway”.) Six months later, their first daughter Susanna was born; two years after that, in 1585, twins Hamnet and Judith were born.

William and his family. All three children were raised in Stratford at William’s parents’ home. John and Mary still had three children of their own living with them as well as William, Anne, and their three children. (The Wife of William Shakespeare”.) They all lived to be fairly old for that time period, except for Hamnet, who died from the same plague that took many of Shakespeare’s siblings. Hamnet died at the age of 11, Susanna at 62, and Judith at 77. Shakespeare grew up with a huge family that was always around him. It was constantly growing and changing, along with Shakespeare himself.


 * Works Cited **

"Anne Hathaway." //PBS. Be More//. MayaVision International, 2003. Web. 4 Apr 2010. [].

//Shakespeare's Life and Times//. Internet Shakespeare Editions, University of Victoria: Victoria, BC, 2001-2005. . Visited 4 April 2010.

"The Brothers & Sisters of William Shakespeare ." //William Shakespeare the complete works//. William Shakespeare info, 2005. Web. 4 Apr 2010. .

"William Shakespeare Biography - His Children and Grandchildren." //William Shakespeare the complete works//. William Shakespeare info, 2005. Web. 4 Apr 2010. .

Holland, Peter. //William Shakespeare//. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. 1-11. Print.

Aagesen, Colleen, and Margie Blumburg. //Shakespeare for Kids: his life and times//. Chicago: Chicago reiew press, incorporated, 1999. 43-47. Print. "How did Shakespeare Die?." //Shakespeare Online//. Amanda Mabillard, 02/19/2010. Web. 7 Apr 2010. [].

"The Wife of William Shakespeare." //William Shakespeare the complete works//. William Shakespeare info, 2005. Web. 7 Apr 2010. .