By Frederick Warde.
“By indirection, find direction out.”
—_Hamlet._
The mistaken impression that prevails in the minds of many as to the
social position and general conditions of the parents of Shakespeare is
in a great measure responsible for the doubts that are so frequently
expressed as to the authenticity of the works ascribed to that great
master. It is erroneously supposed that they were in very humble
circumstances, in fact, little more than peasants, and the question is
frequently asked: “Is it possible that a man of such humble origin and
with such limited opportunities of mental development, could have
written a series of plays that indicate such universal knowledge of men
and manners and display such transcendent genius?”
Hazlett, in one of his essays, truly says: “No really great man ever
thought himself to be one,” and I doubt if Shakespeare in his wildest
dreams ever imagined that the world would credit him with the sublime
genius that it now justly acknowledges. We find no memoirs or
autobiographic notes to enlighten us as to his hopes, his fears, his
ambitions, the thoughts that occupy his mind, or the details of his
daily life.
It is greatly to be deplored that we have so little authentic
information as to the life of Shakespeare. The facts, however, that have
been gleaned from the meagre records of the period, conflicting though
they be, enable us to arrive, with some degree of accuracy, at the
probabilities, if not the actual facts of his history. Supplementing
these facts with some imagination, intelligently directed, I think we
are justified in the conclusion that there is nothing inconsistent with
the conditions of his birth, parentage, education, the environment of
his youth, and the universality of the genius subsequently displayed.
The father of Shakespeare was legally a gentleman, by a license from
King Henry VII, granting him a crest and a coat of arms, and the
privilege of bearing arms for substantial services rendered his
sovereign; and it is recorded that this honor was not only bestowed for
his own individual services, but was renewed by inheritance from his
father and grandfather; so that, engaged in peaceful pursuits himself,
he was honorably descended from warriors and fighting men, almost the
sole means of obtaining distinction in those days.
We have no means of discovering if John Shakespeare was a man of any
education. The fact that he made his mark instead of signing his name to
public documents being no evidence to the contrary, for at the period in
which he lived, the art of pencraft was almost entirely limited to
clerks and scholars; even gentlemen and men of quality holding it “a
baseness to write fair.” Yet Sidney Lee assures us there is evidence in
the Stratford archives that he (John Shakespeare) could write with
facility. The offices held by him in the Borough of Stratford indicate
that he was a man of more than average intelligence among his fellows,
and of considerable executive ability. After holding several minor
offices he was elected successively one of the Chamberlains (1561),
Alderman (1565), Borough Bailiff (1569), and Chief Alderman (1571), and
by the county records was possessed at various times of considerable
property, principally real estate. In the deeds relating to the transfer
of this property he is sometimes described as “yeoman,” at others as a
“glover,” and it is known that he dealt in cattle, corn and country
produce generally.
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.
It requires but a slight stretch of imagination to see young Shakespeare
as a sturdy country lad strolling with his youthful companions by the
side of the gentle Avon. Noting the flight of the swallow over its
glassy surface, the nodding reeds and grasses on its sedgy banks, and
dart of the startled pickerel from its weedy lair, unconsciously
absorbing by his yet undeveloped genius of observation the minute
knowledge of nature that is so perfectly displayed in “As You Like It”
and other silvan plays.
We see him wandering through the meadows listening to the lark rising
with its morning song on high; by the little gardens where the primrose,
the cowslip and the yellow daffodil grow round the cottage door, and the
ivy and the honeysuckle climb the rustic porch; in the green lanes
between the quickset hedges where the modest violets lift their purple
heads upon the mossy banks. May not the youthful Shakespeare himself
have seen in the woods of Charlecote or Shottery “the poor sequestered
stag that from the hunter’s aim had ta’en a hurt” augment with his tears
the already swollen stream, and himself startled the timid hare and the
antlered deer from their leafy coverts, and in those majestic solitudes
found “tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones,
and good in everything?”
Picture young Shakespeare hand in hand with gentle Anne Hathaway, in
their walks in the unfrequented paths of Shottery and Stratford,
charming her mind with the poetry of his nature, the glow of admiration
deepening into love for her youthful suitor; the bridegroom standing at
the altar assuming the responsibilities of marriage before nineteen
years had passed over his head, and the pride of paternity when his
first child was born; and realize the sense of importance of the
departure of the youthful husband and father for London. Whether to
better his fortunes or to escape from the anger of Sir Thomas Lucy after
his unlucky escapade on that worthy gentleman’s estate at Charlecote,
matters not.
These I conceive to be some of the factors in the formation of the mind
and character of William Shakespeare: a mother’s gentle influence, a
fair mental development at school, an early appreciation of the
vicissitudes of fortune and the necessities of labor, a love of nature
developed by the surroundings of his youth, a remarkable capacity of
observation, and an experience of the sacred mystery of love, marriage
and paternity ere he had arrived at years of mature manhood; and they do
not appear to be at all incompatible with the life, the knowledge, the
friendships, the accomplishments and the genius which the world has
conceded to this great and glorious man.