ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -William Shakespeare’s parents were John and Mary Shakespeare – respectable, middle-class parents who lived in the market town of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. Shakespeare’s parents had eight children, five of whom survived to adulthood. William was the third child and their first son.

Detailed explanation-2: -John Shakespeare was a glove-maker, who married Mary Arden, the daughter of a farmer from the nearby village of Wilmcote. When William was born, John and Mary were living on Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, in the house now known as Shakespeare’s Birthplace. They had eight children in total.

Detailed explanation-3: -Shakespeare was born into a middle-class family that had money and aspirations. His father, John, was a glover (maker of gloves) by trade and also active in local government. In his lifetime in Stratford-upon-Avon he served terms as alderman, bailiff, chief magistrate of the town council and mayor (1568).

Detailed explanation-4: -Shakespeare’s family was not large by standards of the time. Shakespeare’s sister, Joan, was his only sibling to survive him. She was five years younger than him and much loved by him. Shakespeare died a rich man and he left her well provided for in his will with both property and money.