An analysis of the famous playwright William Shakespeare, reveals the struggles he overcame and the activities he engaged in during his childhood, as a playwright, his involvement in theater from the Globe after moving to England, and at the time of his death, as well as some interesting and worrying facts about him. William Shakespeare had a normal childhood with his parents and siblings. Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon on 23 April 1564, the third of eight Shakespeare children. Shakespeare and his siblings were born to parents John Shakespeare and Mary Arden Shakespeare. The son of a small-town settler, William enrolled at the King's New School in Stratford at the age of four or five and went on to study the alphabet, the Book of Common Prayer and the basics of Latin (Shmoop editorial team). Most schools today do not adhere to the rigorous pace and educational practices that were in effect in Shakespeare's time. It is therefore well demonstrated that Shakespeare was far from being uneducated. Additionally, being a student with significant grammatical training due to his schooling, William began with works by major literary figures such as Caesar, Virgil, Ovid, Seneca, and more (Shmoop Editorial Team). William Shakespeare's family consisted of seven other siblings and his mother and father. William had four sisters (Joan [first born], Joan [second born] Anne and Margaret) as well as three brothers (Edmund, Gilbert and Richard) (Mabillard), but fate guided some of them down a tortuous path. During young William's growth, wave after wave of plagues bombarded the countryside and many people suffered and died because of it, some of the victims including the Shakespeare family's own J... ... middle of paper..... .p.com. Shmoop University, Inc., November 11, 2008. Web. March 3, 2014. “William Shakespeare.” History.com. AE Networks, and Web. March 4, 2014. Presseley, JM. “Shakespeare’s “Lost Years.” » www.bardweb.net. Shakespeare Resource Center, 1 1 2014. Web. March 18, 2014. .Mabillard, Amanda. Shakespeare of Stratford: Shakespeare's Brothers and Sisters. Shakespeare Online. September 12, 2000. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/shakespearesiblings.html Shmoop Editorial Team. “William Shakespeare: Anne Hathaway.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., November 11, 2008. Web. March 18, 2014. “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Shakespeare.” History.com. AE Networks. Internet. March 18 2014. .