William Shakespeare was born in April 1564. His father was a richcitizen whose business was making and selling leather gloves. His mother wasthe daughter of an important farmer. When he was nineteen, William marriedAnne. She was a farmer's daughter and she was some years older than himself.During that years he may have helped his father in the f amilybusiness or he may have been a countryschoolmaster for a time, we don't know exactly. Shakespeare had three children: Susannah, the eldest, then twins - ason, Hamnet, and another girl, Judith. In 1587 Shakespeare went to work inLondon, leaving Anne and the children at home.

Some years later Shakespeare began to write plays. Theparents did not even guess that their son would be such an importantfigure inEnglish poetry and drama and that his plays would still be acted Гошhundred years later in England and all over the world. By 1592Shakespeare was an important member of well-known company. In 1599 thefamousGlobe Theatre was built on the south bank of the river Thames. In thattheatremost of his plays were performed. It was a round building with thestage in thecenter, open to the sky. If it was raining, the actors got wet; if theweatherwas too bad, there was no performance at all. By 1603 Shakespeare wastheleading poet and dramatist of his time. He continued to write for thenext tenyears. In 1613 he finally stopped writing and went to live in Stratfordwherehe died in 1616. He is buried in Stratford-on-Avon.