MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN
Anne Hathaway
Along with William Shakespeare's world of writing, he had a family to take care of. Shakespeare was married to a woman named Anne Hathaway and together they had three children, two of them being twins.
Anne Hathaway married an 18 year-old Shakespeare on the November of 1582. Anne was 26 at the time. A shotgun marriage was arranged despite the fact that it wasn't the time of year for marriages to be held. Special permission had to be asked from the Church. Friends and family had to financially guarantee the wedding and sign a fee of £40 which was a very large sum in their times. Some historians believe that the marriage was an unhappy one and the couple was forced together by Anne's pregnancy. Although there is no evidence to support this, some historians suggest that William left for London to escape the day-to-day pressures of his unhappy marriage. This is, of course, a wild speculation.
Six months after the marriage, their first daughter, Susanna, was born. Twins, Hamnet and Judith, soon followed in 1585. Hamnet died at the age of 11. Four years later, Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, a play that may have been based on his grief on losing his only son.
Anne Hathaway married an 18 year-old Shakespeare on the November of 1582. Anne was 26 at the time. A shotgun marriage was arranged despite the fact that it wasn't the time of year for marriages to be held. Special permission had to be asked from the Church. Friends and family had to financially guarantee the wedding and sign a fee of £40 which was a very large sum in their times. Some historians believe that the marriage was an unhappy one and the couple was forced together by Anne's pregnancy. Although there is no evidence to support this, some historians suggest that William left for London to escape the day-to-day pressures of his unhappy marriage. This is, of course, a wild speculation.
Six months after the marriage, their first daughter, Susanna, was born. Twins, Hamnet and Judith, soon followed in 1585. Hamnet died at the age of 11. Four years later, Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, a play that may have been based on his grief on losing his only son.
Shakespeare with his wife and children.