The world's most quoted poet and dramatist was born in the market town of Stratford-upon-Avon between 22 and 24 April, 1564. As the eldest surviving child of a successful middle-class glover and businessman who held several important borough offices, he may have attended the local grammar school, but his formal education probably ended around 1577 when his father's fortunes abruptly declined. Several reasons have been suggested: his own faults (drink and bad judgement), unavoidable factors (national economic depression), and conscience (he may have been a Roman Catholic, susceptible to increasing penalties from 1570 on).

Shakespeare married the already pregnant Anne Hathaway in 1582, when he was only 19, and by 1585 was the f

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First published 31 July 2001

Citation: Potter, Lois. "William Shakespeare". The Literary Encyclopedia. 31 July 2001.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5160, accessed 20 November 2009.]