During the middle of the 1500s Europe was a very confusing place. For the Shakespeare family, the rulers of the country could completely control their lives. Also the church was a major part of peoples lives, but it was controlled by the country's rulers as well. William Shakespeare one of today's most famous writers, playwrights, and poets was raised during this time and was influenced by many things including his Mother and father, his wife, his children, and the Kings or Queens in rule at the time.
William Shakespeare's father, John Shakespeare, was of a higher-class family in Europe. He himself was the town mayor, and also a glove maker. During this time a glove maker was more of a high-class job then it may seem. John was skilled in both leatherworking and the curing and processing of fine leather to make ladies gloves and purses for the nobility and traded as a glove maker .The gloves were worn as a status symbol. The demand for quality gloves was kept very high, since they were in great need . Williams father had a great influence on Shakespeare, he gave him the chance to become his apprentice in glove making, but William chose not too.
William Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, was also from a richer family. In the 1540s the Ardens, were one of the most prominent families around Stratford. She was one of eight children, but she was the most favored daughter. She raised William in a Catholic way, he was baptized Catholic, attended Catholic Church, and William was later married in a Catholic church.
Shakespeare attended a primary school at the age of seven where he was taught basic knowledge. He attended the school 6 days a week from early in the morning until five or six at night. The students were made to speak Latin, and improve their English. This school first introduced the theater to William. William Shakespeare's education was cut short though. He was taken out because of his father's financial problems. It is amazing that he achieved so much when he did not go on to a university to receive a higher education.
William married Anne Hathaway, in November 1582 while pregnant with his child. Hathaway was twenty-six years old, while Shakespeare was only eighteen. They had three children, Susana, Judith, and Hamnet. Having this family Shakespeare found that he needed to support them and left to go perform and write theater. His family was a great influence on him to be a successful playwright.
Shakespeare lived during a time of political and religious confusion. Under the Rule of King Edward III the people were under Catholic rule. This affected the Shakespeares, because John Shakespeare, William's father was the mayor of the town. Under this Catholic rule, he had much more authority and much more power and wealth. This gave Shakespeare the opportunity to attend his second school, the New King's School of Stratford-upon-Avon. In this school William first learned of poetry.
After Queen Elizabeth's rule, the country's national religion was changed to Protestant. For Shakespeare's father, John, this was a horrible thing. He lost his power in the town, and lost his position as mayor. He was forced to remove William from his secondary school at fourteen, halting him from attending a University, and gaining a higher education in literature. Although this did not stop him from obtaining his own fame, he began to write things that the Queen would approve of and eventually became hired to perform for her as the Lord Chamberlain's Men.
Shakespeare was a legendary English writer. He was raised in a high-class family who seemed to have a plan for him, but he did not follow this plan. The many influences around him such as His parents, and his wife and children, seemed to keep his life changing constantly. Also the rapid change of rulers, and religions, may have been a crucial reason for some of his inspirations, and finest literary works.
