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Shakespeare’s School Days
William Shakespeare, the greatest playwright in the English language, probably had only about six or seven years of formal education. Most experts on Shakespeare believe that he attended the grade school in his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon, in England, from age seven to about the age of thirteen.
In the late 1560’s and 1570’s, when Shakespeare was a student, grade school was demanding. It met six days a week year-round, and, except for Thursdays and Saturdays, which were half days, the school day was long. In the summer, school began at 6 A.M. and ended at 5 P.M. In the winter, the school day was shorter-7 A.M. to 4 P.M. School was not held on Sundays so that students would be able to attend church.
By today’s standards, the classroom where Shakespeare studied was uncomfortable and ill-equipped. The room was poorly lit and drafty in the winter, and students sat on wooden benches instead of chairs. The youngest students learned how to read by reciting the alphabet and studying their hornbooks. These books were wooden paddles to which a piece of parchment paper made of goatskin was attached. The paper contained the English alphabet and the Lord’s Prayer.
Most teachers required older students to speak only Latin at school. Discipline was strict in those days, and if students were caught speaking to each other in English, their teacher would hit them with a wooden cane and give them extra work to do.
Shakespeare is believed to have dropped out of school when he was a young teenager. His father was having financial problems and needed his son’s assistance with work.
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