[2], This article is about the wife of William Shakespeare. It would have possibly been the bed where their children were conceived, and maybe he and she were sentimental about it. [19], The romantic comedy film Shakespeare in Love provides an example of the negative view, depicting the marriage as a cold and loveless bond that Shakespeare must escape to find love in London. The following day, Fulk Sandells and John Richardson, friends of the Hathaway family from Stratford, signed a surety of £40 as a financial guarantee for the wedding of "William Shagspere and Anne Hathwey". At 18 Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway (1556-1616), a woman eight years his senior, in a ceremony thought to have been hastily arranged due to her pregnancy. However, according to John Aubrey, he returned to Stratford for a period every year. Shakespeare was eight years younger than her. When Anne’s father Richard Hathaway died in 1581 she continued to live with her siblings and step-mother in the farmhouse, which is now known as Anne Hathaway’s cottage – one of the most visited tourist buildings in England. ANNE PAGE Gentle Master Fenton, Shakespeare’s protagonist Prospero, though no medical doctor, can claim to be the first fictional character to name those round objects with which we see. The Connie Willis short story "Winter's Tale," which combines factual information about Anne Hathaway with a fictitious Shakespeare identity theory, also characterises the nature of the relationship as loving and the bequeath of the second-best bed as romantically significant. Come quickly, Christ, that my mother, though shut within this tomb may rise again and reach the stars. Poor harvests, such as those that occurred in the 1590s, led to widespread starvation. [7] It has been speculated that Hathaway was to be supported by her children. Accessed 27 January 2021. [5], However, according to Stanley Wells, writing in the Oxford Companion to Shakespeare, most modern scholars take the view that the name Whateley was "almost certainly the result of clerical error". Anne had three children, fewer than most of her neighbors would have had, but even then, raising them was a huge job. [4] Frank Harris, in The Man Shakespeare (1909), argued that these documents are evidence that Shakespeare was involved with two women. ; Blue Flag: The penultimate chapter reveals that the main couple of the manga, Kuze and Taichi, broke up two years after they got together and finished high school, in a mutual agreement. Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway, was born in 1556. But my prayers are unavailing. Married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, who was pregnant at the time with their first daughter. It is nearly certain that the respective families of the bride and groom had known one another.[7]. Anne is portrayed by actress Cassidy Janson in the musical & Juliet. Married Life To rate her charms, I'd call them heaven; The novel was dramatised for BBC radio in 1998 with Maggie Steed playing Hathaway. Playwright. And taught it thus anew to greet: There were ten hearths, which means it had between 20 and 30 rooms. He had chosen to marry one, Anne Whateley, but when this became known he was immediately forced by Hathaway's family to marry their pregnant relative. Towards the back of the courtyard stood a large, late-medieval hall, where the Shakespeares and Hathaways gathered to socialise. One view is that Whittington may have lent Anne the money, presumably because she was short of cash while her husband was away. Here we take a look at what Anne Hathaway’s life as an Elizabethan housewife would have been like. Albeit I will confess thy father's wealth Was the first motive that I woo'd thee, Anne: Yet, wooing thee, I found thee of more value Than stamps in gold or sums in sealed bags; And 'tis the very riches of thyself That now I aim at. If so, then the bed that Shakespeare bequeathed to Anne could have been their marital bed, and thus not intended to insult her. When Anne comes to London, the couple use the bed for wild sexual adventures, in which they engage in role-playing fantasies based on his plays. When they married in 1582 he was eighteen years old and she was twenty-six years old. I got a funny theory that the actress Anne Hathaway is the reincarnation of Shakespeare’s wife Anne Hathaway. Anne lived the life of what would be the equivalent, in our times, of a millionaire’s wife and enjoyed the prestige that came with having a successful and very wealthy husband. Although it is now demolished, New Place was an impressive house. "[13], A tradition recorded in 1693 is that Hathaway "greatly desired" to be buried with her husband. Doth follow night, who like a fiend On Shakespeare’s death in 1616, William famously left his wife his ‘second-best bed’ in his will, though this was not the insult it seems as the best bed in the house was reserved for guests, while the second best bed was their marital bed. LADY ANNE He is in heaven, where thou shalt never come. To me that languish'd for her sake; 10. Some of his finest works include Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear. One of Shakespeare's sonnets, number 145, has been claimed to make reference to Anne Hathaway: the words 'hate away' may be a pun (in Elizabethan pronunciation) on 'Hathaway'. Women such as the orphaned Hathaway often stayed at home to care for younger siblings and married in their late twenties. Both of these men were cheating on their wives. Hamnet died at 11 years old during one of the frequent outbreaks of the bubonic plague and was buried in Stratford upon Avon on 11 August 1596. A Latin inscription followed which translates as "Breasts, O mother, milk and life thou didst give. He got married at the age of 18 to Anne Hathaway. Three children were born to Hathaway and her husband: Susanna in 1583 and the twins Hamnet and Judith in 1585. 'I hate' she alter'd with an end, Entertainment at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: The First Folio, Shakespeare’s Development Of Early Modern English, https://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/resources/life/shakespeare-wife-anne-hathaway/. [15] The sonnet differs from all the others in the length of the lines. She had to do everything to keep them alive and well at a time when child mortality was common. Anne Hathaway (1556 – 6 August 1623) was married to William Shakespeare, the English poet, playwright and actor. The age difference, added to Hathaway's antenuptial pregnancy, has been employed by some historians as evidence that it was a "shotgun wedding", forced on a somewhat reluctant Shakespeare by the Hathaway family. Soon after the marriage, William Shakespeare went to work as an actor in London while Anne remained in the Henley Street house with her in-laws. She would also have to turn milk into butter and cheese – commodities that didn’t go off as quickly as milk. That follow'd it as gentle day And when he thought of the afterlife, the last thing he wanted was to be mingled with the woman he married. Drawing of Anne Hathaway in Curzon Family Third Folio, Anne Hathaway Painting by Roger Brian Dunn (2010) based on a drawing by Nathaniel Curzon (1708). A bond certificate dated November the 28th, 1582, reveals that an eighteen year old William married the twenty-six and pregnant Anne Hathaway. William Shakespeare had three children with his wife, Anne (Hathaway). However, the will as initially drafted did not mention Anne at all. Grandam, this would have been a biting jest. When Anne Hathaway married and became Anne Shakespeare in 1582 she went to live with her husband in his parents’ house in Henley Street, Stratford upon Avon. Sometime between 1585-1592, he moved to London and began working in theatre. The stories that were handed down were, therefore, more channeled and, above all, there are some artifacts in the house that could actually have been owned by Anne’s Elizabethan family. Straight in her heart did mercy come, But Anne Hathaway was illiterate, as were her two daughters. WIlliam Shakespeare Images: What Did Shakespeare Look Like? Each Shakespeare’s play name links to a range of resources about each play: Character summaries, plot outlines, example essays and famous quotes, soliloquies and monologues: All’s Well That Ends Well Antony and Cleopatra As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Coriolanus Cymbeline Hamlet Henry IV Part 1 Henry IV Part 2 Henry VIII Henry VI Part 1 Henry VI Part 2 Henry VI Part 3 Henry V Julius Caesar King John King Lear Loves Labour’s Lost Macbeth Measure for Measure The Merchant of Venice The Merry Wives of Windsor A Midsummer Night’s Dream Much Ado About Nothing Othello Pericles Richard II Richard III Romeo & Juliet  The Taming of the Shrew The Tempest Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus Troilus & Cressida  Twelfth Night The Two Gentlemen of Verona The Winter’s Tale. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. And sweetest heaven on earth display, Sir Thomas Moore, Henry VIII’s chancellor, was notorious for teaching his daughters to read and encouraging them to read philosophy and theology books. There are four lines carved in [Shakespeare's] gravestone in the chancel of Stratford Church: Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare, To digg the dust encloased heare: Bleste be ye man y't spares thes stones, And curst be he y't moves my bones. It won the Women's Prize for Fiction in the same year. New Place was very large house–it’s documented that it had 10 fireplaces–so specifying that bed for Anne could have been a personal gesture of affection or simply gratitude. 'I hate' from hate away she threw, The "women" he cheated with were both nominated for Best Actress Academy Awards: Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth (1998) and Gwyneth Paltrow (who won) for Shakespeare in Love … Very little is known about her beyond a few references in legal documents. SEBASTIAN SHAKESPEARE: I hear the Prime Minister took the unprecedented step of ringing the Queen on December 24 immediately after he … Woe is me—for how great a boon shall I give stones? Girls in Elizabethan England were not given a formal education and weren’t even taught to read at home. Author Stephen Greenblatt in Will in the World, suggests that as Shakespeare lay dying, "he tried to forget his wife and then remembered her with the second-best bed. It’s doubtful that Anne had any time for herself in the way that we try and make time for ourselves these days. [1], In 1607, Hathaway's daughter Susanna married the local doctor, John Hall, giving birth to Hathaway's and Shakespeare's granddaughter, Elizabeth. ‘, Your email address will not be published. It is a one-woman piece that focuses on Anne Hathaway on the day of her husband's funeral. While her husband, William, was working hard in London to support the family, Anne was working hard, too, in the home in Stratford. Shakespeare was bound to marry Hathaway, who had become pregnant by him, but there is no reason to assume that this had not always been his intention. Regardless of all her other functions, there were some precise expectations for her presence in the kitchen. Young women often–as Anne did–cared for family members as Anne did after her mother’s death–and married younger men as they were in greater number as possible husbands. There’s no confirmation of why Hamnet died. One of the most instantly recognizable and influential guitarists in rock history, The Edge was born David Howell Evans, in Barking, Essex, in 1961. An adulterous Anne is imagined by James Joyce's character Stephen Dedalus, who makes a number of references to Hathaway. As in many houses of the period, it has multiple chimneys to spread the heat evenly throughout the house during winter. But infections were basically untreatable and a number of common things may have killed little Hamnet. More bitterly could I expostulate, Save that, for reverence to some alive, Harris believed that "Shakespeare's loathing for his wife was measureless" because of his entrapment by her and that this was the spur to his decision to leave Stratford and pursue a career in the theatre. "Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare's Wife". The 2005 play Shakespeare's Will by Canadian playwright Vern Thiessen is similar in form to Hudson's show. In his will Shakespeare famously made only one bequest to his wife, his "second-best bed with the furniture". Breathed forth the sound that said 'I hate' Those lips that Love's own hand did make Required fields are marked *. She was responsible for managing the household which in those days, was far more demanding than it is today. There is indication that Hathaway may have been financially secure in her own right. Anne Hathaway's childhood was spent in a house near Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. There is no reference to the "best" bed, which would have been included in the main bequest to Susanna. The bequest was thus not as minor as it might seem in modern times. [9] When he retired from the theatre in 1613, he chose to live in Stratford with his wife, rather than in London. ‘Anne Hathaway’s Cottage’ as her birthplace is now known, is surprising in that it brings you closer to William Shakespeare than any of the other Shakespeare sites in Stratford. When he was 18, he married a farmer’s daughter, Anne Hathaway. [citation needed], She is portrayed by Liza Tarbuck in the BBC Two comedy series Upstart Crow, which follows the writing and preparation to stage Romeo and Juliet after William has gained some early career notoriety for his poetry, Henry VI and Richard III. She depicts Anne and Will as maintaining a friendship despite the challenges inherent to their long separations and tragedies. The show opened in the West End on 20 November 2019. Susanna married a local physician, Dr. John Hall and Judith married a vintner, Thomas Quinney. Anne also had to do the household accounting, budgeting, and everything that goes with making ends meet with, perhaps, some treats for the children. He refers to the bed he bequeaths her as "the second best" to remind her of the best bed of their memories. On his retirement in 1610, Shakespeare settled in Stratford and lived the last six years of his life as a family man – husband, father and grandfather. Angels must love Anne Hathaway; She hath a way so to control, GLOUCESTER ... That he could gnaw a crust at two hours old 'Twas full two years ere I could get a tooth. Furthermore, a "handfast" and pregnancy were frequent precursors to legal marriage at the time. It has sometimes been inferred that Shakespeare came to dislike his wife, but there is no existing documentation or correspondence to support this supposition. Chiding that tongue that ever sweet Susanna was christened on 26 May 1583. :). Her personality and relationship to Shakespeare have been the subject of much speculation by many historians and creative writers. How much rather would I pray that the good angel should move the stone so that, like Christ's body, thine image might come forth! The largest chimney was used for cooking. Considering that she could not read and write it all had to be done in her head. [8] This would also explain other examples of Shakespeare's will being apparently ungenerous, as in its treatment of his younger daughter Judith. Its fairly simple language and syntax have led to suggestions that it was written much earlier than the other, more mature, sonnets. Anne continued to live in New Place as a wealthy widow, until her death in 1623, aged sixty-seven. For most of their married life, he lived in London, writing and performing his plays, while she remained in Stratford. Barely seven months later, they had his first daughter, Susanna. She had to teach her daughters household skills and she had to make sure that her son had the best education possible. Its so breath taking! Even so, in spite of all her efforts her son, Hamnet, died aged eleven of unknown causes. Gaiman's interpretation suggests that Anne deliberately became pregnant to force her husband to marry her, but the context implies that neither of them ultimately regret their decision. Through her long-running solo show Mrs Shakespeare, Will's first and last love (1989) American actress-writer Yvonne Hudson has had a long relationship with both the historical and dramatic Anne Hathaway. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Will & Testament, The Earl of Southampton – Shakespeare’s Patron. Four girls, aged 12 to 14, are arrested over fatal stabbing of 15-year-old girl in a Walmart after they 'stole a knife from the store' in a fight that was streamed live on social media As he finds his true calling in writing, Anne's own literary skills flower, leading to a secret collaboration that makes William Shakespeare the foremost playwright in Elizabethan England. She outlived her husband by seven years. Stanley Wells, Gary Taylor, John Jowett, William Montgomery. [citation needed], The Secret Confessions of Anne Shakespeare (2010), a novel by Arliss Ryan, also proposes Anne Hathaway as the true author of many of the Shakespeare plays (a claim originally made in 1938[24]). Mrs Shakespeare explores the realities of keeping house without a husband while applying some dramatic licence. [6], Germaine Greer argues that the age difference between Shakespeare and Hathaway is not evidence that he was forced to marry her, but that he was the one who pursued her. 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