From Stratford to London

Welcome back to celebrate creativity - Episode 425 - From Stratford to London. Today, we're going on a very special Elizabethan journey, not into one of Shakespeare's plays, but into the writer’s very own life - a life that was surprisingly simple. Who was the man who created all these amazing characters and stories? Where did he come from? And then we will look at his writings from using a fascinating form of communication.

But first I want to tell you - very briefly - how I became interested in Shakespeare in a big way!

One day - more years ago than I care to think - I got a telephone call to interpret for the recently built American Shakespeare Center - at that time the world's only exact replica of Shakespeare's original indoor theater, the Blackfriars.  This theater was built in my hometown of Staunton, Virginia, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Now   I had spent hundreds of hours doing rather tedious interpreting for the Deaf in the area, but this was the first time I had a chance to do something that was truly creative - and the pay was very good too. Well to make a long story short, I have interpreted all of Shakespeare's plays over the years in various cities and can now say that I have interpreted more Shakespearean plays into American Sign Language than any other person on the planet. And I am now working on an online course to teach other individuals the basics of interpreting a Shakespearean play.

Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.

Transcript

Welcome back to celebrate creativity - Episode 425 - From Stratford to London. Today, we're going on a very special Elizabethan journey, not into one of Shakespeare's plays, but into the writer’s very own life - a life that was surprisingly simple. Who was the man who created all these amazing characters and stories? Where did he come from? And then we will look at his writings from using a fascinating form of communication.

But first I want to tell you - very briefly - how I became interested in Shakespeare in a big way!

One day - more years ago than I care to think - I got a telephone call to interpret for the recently built American Shakespeare Center - at that time the world's only exact replica of Shakespeare's original indoor theater, the Blackfriars.  This theater was built in my hometown of Staunton, Virginia, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Now   I had spent hundreds of hours doing rather tedious interpreting for the Deaf in the area, but this was the first time I had a chance to do something that was truly creative - and the pay was very good too. Well to make a long story short, I have interpreted all of Shakespeare's plays over the years in various cities and can now say that I have interpreted more Shakespearean plays into American Sign Language than any other person on the planet. And I am now working on an online course to teach other individuals the basics of interpreting a Shakespearean play.

Well, to truly understand William Shakespeare, we need to go back to the beginning, to the place where he was born, grew up, got married, and eventually returned to live out his final years. We're talking about the charming market town of Stratford-upon-Avon, in the heart of England.

Imagine a small, bustling town in the 1500s. It’s not a huge city like London, but it’s an important place for farming and trade. Picture cobbled streets, timber-framed houses, and the gentle River Avon flowing nearby. This is where our story begins, long before Shakespeare became the famous playwright we know today.

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April of 1564. We don't know the exact date of his birth, but we know he was baptized on April 26th, which was a very important day for families back then. Most people celebrate his birthday on April 23rd, which is also the day he died many years later. What a coincidence, right?

His family lived in a beautiful house on Henley Street, right in the center of town. If you visit Stratford today, you can still see it! It's a lovely timber-framed house, and it gives us a real peek into what life was like for a middle-class family in Shakespeare's time.

William was the third of eight children born to John and Mary Shakespeare. His two older sisters, Joan and Margaret, sadly died very young, which was common back then because medicine wasn't as good as it is today. So, William became the oldest surviving child, and that was a very important role in a family. After William, his parents had five more children: Gilbert, Joan (named after her deceased sister), Anne, Richard, and Edmund. Imagine a house full of all those kids! It must have been a busy place.
Now, I'm going to go off and talk a little bit about lifespan in Shakespeare's England. 

The average lifespan in Shakespeare's England, also known as the Elizabethan era, was significantly lower than it is today. However, a simple number can be misleading due to high rates of infant and child mortality.
Some sources suggest that nearly half of all children born never lived past the age of 15. If a person made it past the first few years of life, their chances of living a long life increased dramatically. Those who survived childhood had a good chance of living into their 60s or even 70s. For instance, Shakespeare himself lived to be 52, which was considered a very good age.

Now a number of factors contributed to the low overall life expectancy:
High infant and child mortality: Diseases, poor sanitation, and lack of medical knowledge meant that many children died young.
Childbirth: Childbirth was a very dangerous event for women, and many died in the process.
Disease: Outbreaks of plague and other infectious diseases were common and could wipe out large portions of the population.
Poor sanitation and hygiene: These conditions led to the spread of disease.
Famine: Years of bad harvests could lead to widespread hardship and starvation, particularly in the 1590s.
Social Class: A person's social class had a major impact on their lifespan. 
 
The wealthy - somewhat like today - had better access to nutrition, cleaner living conditions, and some medical care, giving them a much better chance of living longer. The urban poor and the rural working class faced much harsher conditions and had a lower life expectancy.

In summary, while the average life expectancy at birth was low, it's important to remember that this figure is an average that includes a high number of very short lives. A person who survived the dangers of infancy and childhood had a decent chance of living a life that, while shorter than today, was not necessarily cut short in their 30s.

Now let's get back to Shakespeare's parents, because they were very important people in Stratford.

His father, John Shakespeare, was a very busy and important man in the town. He had many different jobs. First, he was a glover, which means he made and sold gloves. This was a very important job back then, as people needed gloves for all sorts of things, from working to dressing up. He also dealt in wool and other agricultural products. He was a successful businessman, and that meant the family was quite comfortable.

But John Shakespeare wasn't just a businessman. He was also involved in the local government. He became a very important person in Stratford. He was elected to various town offices, such as alderman, which was like a town council member. And eventually, he became the Bailiff of Stratford-upon-Avon. This was the most important job in the town, like being the mayor! It meant he was in charge of the town's laws and its daily life. So, young William grew up in a household that was well-known and respected in Stratford.

His mother, Mary Arden, came from a different kind of important family. She was the daughter of a wealthy farmer. Her family owned a lot of land and had been in the area for a very long time. When she married John Shakespeare, she brought with her some land and a good family name. This marriage brought together two respected families in Stratford, which was a big deal.
So, even though Shakespeare would later become famous in London, he came from a solid, well-established family right there in Stratford. This background gave him a good start in life, including a chance to get a good education.

We don't have exact records of William Shakespeare attending school, but because his father was a high-ranking official like the Bailiff, it's almost certain that William went to the King's New School in Stratford. This was a free grammar school for boys, and it was a very good one.

Imagine a school day back in the 1570s. It would have been very different from school today! Boys usually started school around age seven, and they went six days a week, from early morning until late afternoon. There were no holidays like we have today, and the teachers were very strict.

The main thing they learned was Latin. And I mean a lot of Latin! They didn't just learn a few phrases; they learned to read, write, and even speak Latin. They studied the great Roman writers like Ovid, Virgil, and Seneca. They read ancient history and learned about rhetoric, which is the art of speaking and writing well to convince people.

Why was all this Latin so important? Well, in Shakespeare's time, Latin was the language of educated people, of law, medicine, and science. It was also the language of great stories and plays from ancient Rome. Learning these stories and how to use language powerfully would have been incredibly important for a future playwright.

Think about it: when Shakespeare later wrote plays like Julius Caesar or Antony and Cleopatra, he was drawing on all that history and literature he learned in school. When his characters give long, beautiful speeches, he's using all those skills of rhetoric he practiced as a boy. His education in Stratford was the foundation for his amazing talent with words.

So, even though he didn't go to college or a university, Shakespeare's grammar school education was probably better than what many people get today. It gave him a deep understanding of history, human nature, and the power of language.

Now life in Stratford wasn't just about school and family business. Like most young people, William eventually fell in love and got married. And his marriage was a bit unusual for the time.

In November 1582, when William Shakespeare was just 18 years old, he married Anne Hathaway. Anne was about eight years older than him, which was not super common back then, but it wasn't unheard of. She was from a small village called Shottery, just a mile or so from Stratford. You can still visit Anne Hathaway's Cottage today, a beautiful farmhouse with a lovely garden.

Their first child, a daughter named Susanna, was born just six months after they were married, in May 1583. Then, in February 1585, Anne gave birth to twins: a son named Hamnet and a daughter named Judith.

Having a son was very important for families back then, as sons would carry on the family name and inherit property. So, having Hamnet would have been a big deal for the Shakespeare family.

But then, something mysterious happened. After the birth of the twins, William Shakespeare disappears from the historical records for about seven years. These years, from about 1585 to 1592, are known as Shakespeare's "lost years." We don't have any documents that tell us what he was doing during this time.

There are many theories about what happened. Some people think he might have been a schoolteacher. Some think he might have worked for a noble family. The most popular theory, and the one that makes the most sense, is that he left Stratford and went to London to become an actor and playwright.

It's likely that he left Stratford because he needed to find work, and London was the place where all the theaters were - somewhat like New York City today. He probably left his family in Stratford, which was common for men who went to work in the big city. He would have sent money home to support them.

Even though Shakespeare spent many years in London, becoming the most famous playwright in England, he never forgot his roots in Stratford. He always maintained strong connections to his hometown.

While he was writing his amazing plays like Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth in London, he was also making smart investments back in Stratford. He was a very good businessman, not just a brilliant writer.

In 1597, when he was becoming very successful, he bought a huge house in Stratford called New Place. It was the second-largest house in the entire town, a grand brick house with a large garden. This was a very important purchase. It showed that he was a wealthy and respected man, and it was a place for his family to live in comfort. It was a clear sign that he intended to return to Stratford eventually.

He also invested in other properties and land in Stratford. He bought land in the area, and he even bought "tithes," which were like taxes on farm produce. This meant he was making money from the local farmers, which was a very smart investment for someone living in an agricultural area.

His family's status in Stratford was also on the rise. In 1596, his father, John Shakespeare, was granted a coat of arms. This was a symbol of nobility, like a family crest. It meant that the Shakespeare family was now officially considered a "gentle" family, a step up in society. This was something William probably worked hard to achieve for his father, as it would have helped his own status as a playwright.
So, even while he was busy creating masterpieces for the London stage, Shakespeare was always thinking about Stratford. He was building his wealth and his family's reputation right there in his hometown.

After many years of living and working in London, William Shakespeare eventually retired and returned to Stratford-upon-Avon. We think he came back around 1613, when he was about 49 years old. This was a time when many people would have been thinking about their later years and settling down.

He lived at New Place, his grand house in Stratford, with his wife Anne and his daughters. His son, Hamnet, had sadly died when he was just 11 years old, in 1596. This must have been a terrible loss for Shakespeare and his family, and some people believe that the sadness of this loss influenced some of his later plays.   Now let me take a little detour here and comment about the death of Hamnet.

There's a fascinating and sad connection many people believe exists between Shakespeare's only son, Hamnet, and his most famous play, Hamlet. While we can't know for sure, many clues point to a link.

First, let's look at the names themselves. In Shakespeare's time, the names Hamnet and Hamlet were often used interchangeably. When people wrote the names, they didn't always spell them the same way every time. This suggests that to Shakespeare and his contemporaries, the names were essentially the same. Shakespeare's son was named Hamnet. The main character in his play was named Hamlet. It's a very strong coincidence.

Remember that Hamnet, died in 1596 when he was just 11 years old. This was a heartbreaking event for Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway. The death of a child, especially a son who was expected to carry on the family name, would have been an incredibly painful experience. Shakespeare started writing the play Hamlet around four years later, between 1599 and 1601. This timeline has led many people to think that Shakespeare's grief over his son's death may have been a big part of what inspired him to write the play.

The play Hamlet is all about grief, loss, and a son's struggle with his father's death. While the character Hamlet is mourning his father, not his son, the themes of immense sorrow, revenge, and the unfairness of death are central to the story. Many scholars believe that Shakespeare poured his own feelings about losing Hamnet into the play, channeling his grief into one of the most powerful and emotional stories ever written.

Here I want to interject one of the most famous lines in the English language that Shakespeare wrote for Hamlet - “to be or not to be - that is the question” - in American Sign Language, that would be signed “life” on one side - then the sign for “death’ on the other - and then the sign for “which” in the middle as though you are weighing two alternatives - a genuine existential question.  Another practical advantage to signing it that way is you only sign three signs for 10 words - in ASL the concept is everything.   But I digress….

So, while we don't have a note from Shakespeare saying, "I'm writing this play because of my son or his death," the evidence of the names, the timing, and the play's sad themes all strongly suggest that the death of Hamnet may have been a significant influence on the creation of Hamlet.

Shakespeare spent his final years as a respected gentleman in Stratford. He continued to manage his investments and live a comfortable life. He was no longer writing plays for the London stage, but he was living in the town where he was born, surrounded by his family.

In March 1616, Shakespeare made his will. This document tells us a lot about his family and his property. He left most of his property to his oldest daughter, Susanna, and her husband. He famously left his "second best bed" to his wife, Anne, which might sound strange to us today, but it was actually a common practice and not necessarily an insult.

William Shakespeare died on April 23rd, 1616, on what is believed to be his 52nd birthday. He was buried in the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, right by the altar. You can still visit his grave today, and there's a famous inscription on it that warns people not to move his bones.

So, that's the story of William Shakespeare's life in Stratford-upon-Avon. It's a story that shows us that arguably the greatest creative genius in the world - at least from a literary standpoint - came from a specific place, a specific family, and a specific time.

Stratford was more than just his birthplace; it was the foundation of his life. His family gave him a good start, his school gave him the tools to become a master of words, and the town itself was always a place of comfort and connection. Even when he was the most famous writer in London, he always kept a piece of Stratford in his heart, and he always returned home.

His life in Stratford reminds us that even the biggest dreams can have their roots in a small town. And it shows us that the place we come from can shape us in ways we might not even realize, helping us become who we are meant to be.

Now I had originally thought of doing a podcast about Shakespeare as arguably the most creative person - from a literary standpoint - of all time.That would involve going through over 30 plays individually - and, quite frankly, could become quite tedious for a podcast 

I wanted to talk about Shakespeare’s early life before he started writing his plays in this episode.  But I eventually decided to deal with the subject of interpreting his plays into American Sign Language - this podcast is certainly not a sign language class - but to be honest there are enough podcasts out there dealing with Shakespeare as a writer, and I thought it would add a new dimension to the study and understanding of the greatest writer in the English language.  There certainly many podcast out there that already explore Shakespeare's plays individually, but I hope that this brief series would offer a fresh perspective by focusing on the fascinating process of interpreting Shakespeare's work for a Deaf audience - possibly attracting listeners who are interested in sign language, linguistics, Theater production, are simply a new way to appreciate classic literature, not just die hard Shakespeare fans.  And while the topic may be specific, it's core themes of communication, accessibility, and creative problem-solving are universal

Join celebrate creativity for episode 426

Sources include The Shakespeare Book by Stanley Wells, Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare: A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying Asimov by Isaac Asimov,  by Isaac Asimov,  American Sign Language: A Teacher’s Resource Text on Grammar and Culture, and Shakesfear and How to Cure It, by Cohen, Ralph.

Thank you for listening to celebrate creativity.