Shakespeare the Boy : With Sketches of the Home and School Life, Games and Sports, Manners, Customs and Folk-lore of the Time

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rolfe, W. J. (William James), 1827-1910.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Shakespeare the Boy" by W. J. Rolfe is a historical account written in the late 19th century. The book explores the early life of William Shakespeare, delving into the environment of his upbringing in Stratford-on-Avon, including aspects of his home life, education, and the cultural context of his childhood. The author aims to provide insights into how Shakespeare's formative years influenced his works and character. The opening of the volume introduces the region of Warwickshire as the heart of England and provides an overview of the important landmarks and historical figures associated with it. Rolfe paints a vivid picture of Shakespeare's hometown, detailing its significance and the influence of local geography and history on the young playwright. The text discusses various attractions of the area, such as Warwick Castle and Kenilworth, and hints at the historical narratives that Shakespeare may have been exposed to during his youth, suggesting these elements played a key role in shaping his literary genius. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

I. His native town and neighborhood: Warwickshire. Warwick Castle and Saint Mary's Church. Warwick in history. Guy of Warwick. Kenilworth Castle. Coventry. Charlecote Hall. Stratford-on-Avon. The early history of Stratford. The Stratford Guild. The Stratford corporation. The topography of Stratford

II. His home life: The dwelling-houses of the time. The household furniture. Food and drink. The training of children. Indoor amusements. Popular books. Story-telling. Christenings. Superstitions connected with birth and baptism. Charms and amulets

III. At school: The Stratford grammar school. What Shakespeare learnt at school. The neglect of English. School life in Shakespeare's day. School morals. School discipline. When William left school

IV. Games and sports: Boyish games. Swimming and fishing. Bear-baiting. Cock-fighting and cock-throwing. Other cruel sports. Archery. Hunting. Fowling. Hawking. Theatrical entertainments

V. Holidays, festivals, fairs, etc.: Saint George's Day. Easter. The perambulation of the parish. May-Day and the Morris-dance. Whitsuntide. Midsummer Eve. Christmas. Sheep-shearing. Harvest-home. Markets and fairs. Rural outings.

Credits:

E-text prepared by MWS, John Campbell, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org)

Notes:

Reading ease score: 67.8 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.

Release date is 2017-02-11