Adult Life
At the age of 18, Shakespeare married the
26-year-old Anne Hathaway. The consistory
court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage licence on
27 November 1582. The next day two of Hathaway's neighbours posted bonds guaranteeing that no lawful claims impeded the
marriage. The ceremony may have been arranged in some haste, since the Worcester chancellor allowed the marriage banns to be read once instead of the usual three times, and
six months after the marriage Anne gave birth to a
daughter, Susanna, baptised 26 May 1583.
Twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed almost two years later and were baptised 2 February 1585.Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596. Scholars call this period the "lost years," and there is wide speculation on
what he was doing during this period. One theory is that he might have gone into
hiding for poaching game from the local landlord, Sir Thomas Lucy. Another
possibility is that he might have been working as an assistant schoolmaster in
Lancashire. It is generally believed he arrived in London in the mid- to late
1580s and may have found work as a horse attendant at some of London's finer
theaters,a scenario updated centuries later by the countless aspiring actors and
playwrights in Hollywood and Broadway.
26-year-old Anne Hathaway. The consistory
court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage licence on
27 November 1582. The next day two of Hathaway's neighbours posted bonds guaranteeing that no lawful claims impeded the
marriage. The ceremony may have been arranged in some haste, since the Worcester chancellor allowed the marriage banns to be read once instead of the usual three times, and
six months after the marriage Anne gave birth to a
daughter, Susanna, baptised 26 May 1583.
Twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed almost two years later and were baptised 2 February 1585.Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596. Scholars call this period the "lost years," and there is wide speculation on
what he was doing during this period. One theory is that he might have gone into
hiding for poaching game from the local landlord, Sir Thomas Lucy. Another
possibility is that he might have been working as an assistant schoolmaster in
Lancashire. It is generally believed he arrived in London in the mid- to late
1580s and may have found work as a horse attendant at some of London's finer
theaters,a scenario updated centuries later by the countless aspiring actors and
playwrights in Hollywood and Broadway.