Greetings my weary traveler! My name is William Shakespeare, although, I have also been known as “The Bard of Avon”, or simply, “The Bard” by my friends. I am the third child of John Shakespeare, a successful glover and alderman, and Mary Adren, the daughter of an affluent landowning farmer. Although I am the third child, I am the oldest surviving son of the Shakespeare family. Other then being born in Stratford-upon-Avon where my later wife and children reside while I’m in London, there is not much to note about my early childhood.

At the tender age of eighteen, I wed my beloved Anne Hathaway. Anne (although eight years my senior and slightly pregnant at the time of our marriage) is very much my devoted and beloved wife. We were blessed with three children: Susanna, who was followed two years later by the twins Hamnet and Judith. Unfortunately, our Mighty Lord felt that Hamnet was needed in His great Kingdom in Hamnet’s eleventh year of life.

But enough about my personal life, let’s skip to the interesting stuff: my career. My first notable mention on the London stage was in the good year of Queen Elizabeth’s 34th year of reign (1592 AD). While I had been acting before that, the year 1592 is notable in the blemish on humanity Robert Green calling me an “upstart crow” in his “Groats Worth of Witte”. Green would not know writing if it if it bit him in the …

In 1593 the monstrous plague once again swept through London allowing me to devote more time to my family and my writing, but mostly my writing. A man, does after all, have to make a name for himself in the world. By 1594 my works were performed only by The Lord Chamberlain’s, a company of actors with him I acted, and soon became the lead playing company in London. After the sad and untimely death of our mighty sovereign Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the new King James graced us with the honor of a royal patent and we became the King’s Men.

So, there my fellow travelers, the background of my life so far with many roads open to me with limitless possibilities ahead. As long as my muse inspires me, I shall continue embracing my passion for the stage and all its many triumphs and vices.

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