#128 William Shakespeare (part #2)

Hi, everybody! I am Georgiana, your English teacher and founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you speak English fluently.

Today I'm gonna keep talking about William Shakespeare. Last week you learned some interesting facts about his life, so I will continue sharing some exciting facts about him.

What else do we know about Shakespeare?

Well, one thing is for sure. Shakespeare's life was anything but boring.

Did you know that we're probably spelling Shakespeare's name wrong?

We don't really know exactly how William Shakespeare wrote his name.

There are almost 80 different versions of Shakespeare's name that appear in the records and other historical documents.

You have to keep in mind that a lot of people were illiterate at that time.

Let's learn some more about his life:

His parents:

His father's name was John Shakespeare, and he was a glove maker and leatherworker. His mother, Mary Arden, was an heiress from a rich family.

His parents were probably illiterate, like many other people at the time. And, it's very likely they never learned to read or write, as was often the case with people in their position.

Shakespeare had seven siblings: Joan who only lived two months; Margaret; Gilbert, another Joan, Anne; Richard and also Edmund.

Did you know that William Shakespeare's Father Was Paid to Drink Beer?

You might find this interesting, but John Shakespeare was appointed to one of the city's most important public offices: official beer taster. Another word for beer in English is ale.

It may seem like a strange job today, but at the time, the ale tasting was an important and highly respected occupation.

 

Read the transcript here: speakenglishpodcast.com