In the very heart of England lies the country town of Stratford-on-Avon. Here William Shakespeare was born four hundred years ago, and here he spent his childhood. Little was known about his childhood though many stories and legends are told, some of which may be true.
He probably went to the Grammar School at Stratford. At thirteen he had to leave school as his father suffered some losses and became poorer for a time. So William had to earn his own living. At the age of eighteen he married a farmer's daughter. Not long after he left Stratford for London.
Londonwas rapidly growing. All types of people were to be found in it. Here Shakespeare met travellers, students and scholars, and his imagination was stirred by the strange stories they told. He also met writers and actors. He soon found some work in a theatre. Before long he became an actor and writer of plays himself. There were a few theatres in London. One of the most famous of these was called the Globe. Shakespeare himself became one of the owners of this theatre.
Shakespeare's reputation as a writer of plays began to grow. He made use of the writing of others and found ideas in the old poets like Chaucer. But by his genius he turned all these old stories into masterpieces of his own, and created many new works besides, as well as many beautiful poems. Shakespeare wrote no fewer than thirty- seven plays. They describe all kinds of men and women, and give us pictures of great events in history. The characters in the plays live on forever because they are human .
In the year 1594 Shakespeare acted before Queen Elizabeth, and received ten pounds for his services. Soon he got greater rewards, and became rich enough to buy a house in Stratford. Other honours came to him as he grew older. He was able to retire to his native town and spent the last few years of his life in comfort there.
在英國的中心地區有一座農村市鎮，叫埃馮河畔的斯特拉特福。威廉.莎士比亞四百年前就出生在這裡，並度過了他的童年。對他童年的情況，人們知道的很少，不過有許多關於他的故事和傳說，其中有些可能是真的。
他可能在斯特拉特福上過語法學校。十三歲時他被迫輟學，因為他父親遭受了一些損失，一時窮了下來。因此威廉得自謀生路。十八歲時他和一個農民的女兒結了婚。不久以後他就離開斯特拉特福到倫敦去了。
倫敦發展的很快。在那裡各種各樣的人都有。莎士比亞在這裡見到遊客、學生和學者。他們講述的奇奇怪怪的故事，啟發了他的想像力。他還碰到作家和演員。他不久就在一家劇場找到工作。沒多少時間他自己就成了演員和劇作家。倫敦有幾家劇場。這些劇場中最出名的一家叫做環球劇場。莎士比亞自己就成了這家劇場的老闆之一。
莎士比亞作為劇作家名氣越來越大。他利用了別人的作品，並在喬叟這樣的老詩人那裡獲得素材。但他發揮了自己的天才，把所有這些老故事都變成了他自己的傑作，此外還創作了許多新的作品。除了許多美麗的詩篇外，莎士比亞還寫下不下三十七個劇本。它們描寫了各式各樣的男女人物，並描繪了歷史上的許多大事。他劇本中的人物由於栩栩如生，將永遠活在人們心中。
1594年莎士比亞為伊麗莎白女王進行演出，為他的工作獲得十英鎊的酬金。不久他得到更多的酬金，使他富裕到能在斯特拉特福買一棟房子。隨著年事的增長，別的榮譽也跟著到來。他得以退休回到他的家鄉，在那裡他在優裕的環境中度過了一生的最後幾年
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