If asked what was the strongest influence for good in their lives, I think most men of any worth or eminence would reply, “My mother.” In this respect Shakespeare was most fortunate. His mother was Mary Arden, the youngest of seven daughters of Robert Arden of Wilmecote, whose tenant Richard Shakespeare, the father of John, had been; and who, on her marriage to John Shakespeare, brought him a good estate in money and property. The Ardens were an old family of good standing and consequence in the midland counties of England, tracing a long line of honorable ancestry, and worthily representing that substantial and independent class, “the yeoman squires of England.” Rowe asserts that this worthy couple (John and Mary Shakespeare) had ten children, but the parish register of Stratford makes the number only eight. However, William was the eldest son, though not the first child.
There is no evidence that Mary Arden was a woman of any great accomplishments, but it is reasonable to suppose from the position and wealth of her family she was not without education. It is also reasonable to suppose that in spite of the onerous duties of such a large family Shakespeare’s mother should have found time to guide and form the youthful mind of her eldest son, and impart to him the first rudiments of knowledge. His father at that period was well-to-do and abundantly able to provide his family with comfortable surroundings and adequate service.
Thus the first seven years of Shakespeare’s life were passed in comfort and comparative affluence, under the care of a father who was honored and respected for his ability and integrity by his fellow-townsmen, and a mother whose family and connections would indicate a woman of worth and refinement.
In the town of Stratford was a Free School, founded in the reign of Edward IV and subsequently chartered by Edward VI—one of those foundation schools of which a number exist in England to-day, notably, Christ’s (the blue-coat school), made familiar to us by Thackeray, in The Newcombs; the City of London School, St. Paul’s, and The Charterhouse. To the Free School was Shakespeare sent, and it is said attended it until he was fourteen years old.
There are no records of Shakespeare’s life at school to indicate if he were an apt scholar. We have no account of the course of study pursued by him, but from Ben Jonson’s statement that Shakespeare “knew a little Latin and less Greek,” the inference is that it was (in part, at least) a classical one, and the quotations in his plays, imperfect as they are, indicate that he must have studied with some diligence.
At the age of fourteen Shakespeare left school to assist his father, who at this time had met with some business reverses, and we have little or no record of his life until his nineteenth year when, in the autumn of 1582 he married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a substantial yeoman of Shottery, the village adjoining Stratford. The baptism of his daughter Susanna is next recorded on May 26, 1583; and that of a son Hamnet and a daughter, Judith (twins), on Feb. 2, 1585. His departure for London followed, probably in 1586.
Of Shakespeare’s migration to London and his life in that city I do not propose to speak here, but from the foregoing facts, it will be seen that Shakespeare came of a good family, enjoyed in his infancy tender parental care, and received the rudiments of a sound and substantial education at a period of his life when the youthful mind is most receptive.
To an intelligent observer the influences and experiences of his youth are clearly reflected in the work of his later years.
A mere cursory reading of the plays will show his intimate knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, probably begun at his mother’s knee and continued in his leisure hours—the Bible being one of the few books within his reach at that time.
In the pastoral scenes we cannot but marvel at the knowledge he displays of forestry, botany, the flora of the fields and woods, and the nature and habits of the animals, birds and insects.