hardly come across any other name in world literature
that could be compared with the name of William Shakespeare.The greatest and best interpreter of human nature, the poet of the widest sympathies, of the most profound knowledge of mankind, came into the world at the pleasant town of Stratford-on-Avon in April, 1564. His birthday is uncertain. He was baptised, as the Parish Register states, on April 26, 1564, but there is nothing to prove on what day he was born. His father, John Shakespeare was a wool-dealer and glover. He stood, at all events, in good estimation. He was a yeoman and held some landed property. In 1557, John married Mary Arden. It was her destiny to become the mother of William Shakespeare. She had eight children: four sons and four daughters. William was the third child.
