Exploring the Early Life of William Shakespeare

Historians Alice Loxton and Dan Snow head to Stratford-upon-Avon to uncover the secrets of William Shakespeare’s early life and upbringing. Who were Shakespeare’s parents? What was rural Warwickshire like in the 16th century, and how was it changing? What sort of childhood did William have?
To get to the bottom of these questions, Alice and Dan visit the gems of historic Warwickshire - a monumental medieval tithe barn, the village which Shakespeare’s father spent his childhood, and even the room where William the playwright was born.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free exclusive podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsely, Mary Beard and more. Watch, listen and read history wherever you are, whenever you want it. Available on all devices: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Roku, Xbox, Chromecast, and iOs & Android.
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#historyhit #williamshakespeare #aliceloxton #dansnow

[@cindchan]

I hope these two have more episodes together! it's just so much fun watching the both of them!

[@stephaniebyard3958]

Yes, please may we have more of the Dan & Alice History Duo? Love them both! ❤🎉

[@AndersRingman]

Oh, my favorite KZbin historian (Alice) talking about one of my favorite authors. Perfect!

[@Maleni143]

Isn’t Alice just wonderful! She’s great 😊

[@valeriem8480]

This is so great! I like having Alice and Dan working together on one subject but delving into different aspects.

[@kariannecrysler640]

I can’t wait for the next episode!!! I’m giddy seeing the two of you together on a project ✌️💗🤘

[@anthonystevens8683]

I find this fascinating as you guide us though the early life of Shakespeare. Educational and presented in a fun way that keeps our interest on the topic. Top job Alice and Dan and thanks for sharing.

[@stevemyers8330]

What an excellent tag-team effort! Well done!

[@Poisso3]

Alice and Dan, thank you for this history. My connection to William Shakespeare is that I am a direct descendant of Sir William Smith...godfather of William Shakespeare.

[@masqerader]

I just love history hit, whenever they post videos, I am always intrigued and always learn something fascinating. Thanks to everyone who makes this channel happen you have a great crew

[@TheKoolbraider]

Okay, I am officially a big fan now! This is fascinating.

[@craiggiles8156]

Highly recommend the audio trail on Clopton hill, very informative.

[@Chevy-jordan]

Bloody good! Love Alice’s enthusiasm.

[@TNTHistory]

☑Thanks for the amazing upload! Keep up the good work!🙂🎬

[@stenbak88]

Alice and history are my peanut butter and jelly, perfect everytime

[@apollocobain8363]

Shakespeare helped with his uncle's translation of Ovid's Metamorphosis and earned a Master of Arts degree at age 14! Dr John Dee taught the young Shakespeare some magic tricks and is believed to be the model for Prospero! Pretty amazing.

[@heytigers3104]

That guide in Shakespeare’s home is excellent.

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

Shakespeare literature works was magnificent and super wonderful literature pieced. While this wonderful introduction of that video about his early life's directed wonderful lighting bunches on his useful life for English literature.....

[@Patrickmc_92]

Alice and Dan, best duo ever!

[@Somemaysaybutt]

Where does Dan get those long sleeve shirts? Good show by the way. Thanks.

[@iMertin]

Primark

[@ellie698]

@@iMertin Hahahaha 😂

[@gerardhogan3]

I really like your presentation skills and how you enjoy your topics Alice so....with Dan ...well you just can't go wrong with two of the most interesting Historians I like to follow

[@williamrobinson7435]

Fab! This is meat & drink to me. I was once (for a shortish time thankfully) addicted to reading Shakespeare history plays in bed whilst popping in square after square of creamy milk chocolate, not letting up until the entire largish block had become another sweet smelling foil paper bookmark.. Nice one Alice and Dan, looking forward to the next chapter! ⭐⭐👍

[@margo3367]

Sounds delicious.

[@GabsR-N]

Does anybody know the reason for all of the holes in the tithe barn? Old beam holes for shelving? Ventilation?

[@jillybrooke29]

Found out that I was related to Shakespeare through Mary Arden and the Webbs and also Lady Hoby who told William not to build his new theatre where she lived in Blackfriars cos of the noise and ruffians, hence the Globe was built down the river on the South Bank and not in Blackfriars as wanted by William.

[@patricioc6883]

Great Video!

[@aanchaallllllll]

0:00: 🎭 A documentary exploring the origins of William Shakespeare and his parents in Warwickshire. 4:13: 🌳 The video discusses the significance of the Forest of Arden in Shakespeare's works and its influence on his writing. 8:55: 💰 Shakespeare invested in the Stratford tithes, generating income for himself and others. 12:46: 🏡 Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway, moved from a farm to a townhouse, experiencing a change in status and living environment. 17:36: 🏰 The video explores the upheaval and relocation of the Shakespeare family to Stratford-upon-Avon, as well as the historical significance of Evesham Abbey. 22:41: 🏰 Shakespeare's birthplace showcases his father's social climbing and rise in social status. 26:51: 💰 The wool trade was the most significant industry in the area and was extremely lucrative. Recap by Tammy AI

[@Theshropshireratter]

Another great vidio also if some reads this from history hit can you tell dan snow that i have been huge fan since battlefield Britain and his farther who i had the honour of meating while he was filming a bbc documentary in 2007 on a welsh dairy farm.

[@kayleighkimberley7783]

when is part 2 coming to YT???? cant find it :(

[@Jay-ql4gp]

Excellent!

[@davidduma7615]

Michael Wood did a multiplart series on Shakespeare that covers this in a lot more detail.

[@mikeopes9012]

Edward De Vere would like a word-

[@TheCrabman1980]

Dan doesn’t need to wear a microphone. I can hear him yelling his lines while he’s filming and I live in Australia.

[@sherrirabinowitz4618]

Where is the rest of this episode please?

[@qed456]

Alice gets proper posh when speaking with Dan!

[@heytigers3104]

2:36 And giggly 😂😂😂

[@marywong9976]

Happy that you love NA! Austen has always been one of my favourite writers! I know what you mean by finding just the right piece of travel lit... am currently reading In A Sunburned Country by Bryson on Australia and Bryson is obviously a masterful storyteller but am finding the writer putting in too much of his personal experiences into the narrative. Was hoping for more facts!😅

[@Katmando376]

Yes very enjoyable Thank you.

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Thank you.

[@katherinecollins4685]

Very informative

[@robinjohnhill7556]

I saw this one some time back.

[@filmfan4]

I wish there was an episode on the evidence that Shakespeare wrote his plays.

[@lucamolta]

you should check out Historiansplaining on youtube and stitcher etc. His myth episodes explores it, in fact he explores everything based only in fact his whole channel is incredible. If you want to keep going deeper there's the Don't quill the messenger podcast which is pretty great and has alot of great book recommendations too. For all the Oxfordian's out there i'd personally have enjoyed knowing about the potential predator info much earlier down my rabbit hole but i guess that gets in the way of belief.

[@purefoldnz3070]

doesnt add up at all.

[@TomSuntotheMax]

Shakespeare wrote his plays. There is much more evidence of that than of some aristo writing them. Certainly the Greene review of Henry the 6th mentioning Shakespeare by name should convince you. Everyone who has actually read all the plays knows better. If you have a problem with SO much creativity I would grant that - like today - sometimes actors came up with lines that were better and that made it into the folios. But no aristo would have been able to write the poorer folk like Shakespeare did either - I never have understood why you think a very smart guy couldn't manage a self education that would allow him to write the plays. You all make all kinds of assumptions that are wrong.

[@purefoldnz3070]

@@TomSuntotheMax hmmm not really. Even the leading Shakespearean actors like derek jacobi doubt he wrote the plays.

[@purefoldnz3070]

@@TomSuntotheMax the biggest clues are his death, no one really showed up to his funeral (compared to other contemporary writers where thousands turned up) and the verse on his grave is really badly written compared to the beautiful verses in his plays. Plus he could hardly even write his own name. Suspicious? Very.

[@721876101]

Brilliant, love it

[@Jjrmtv]

outstanding!

[@j.dunlop8295]

"Get down to the bottom of it all?" Shakespeare one of the greatest unknown characters and writer's in history? Was he a "cutout" a front man!?

[@purefoldnz3070]

but did Shakespeare even write his plays?

[@garrywilliams8479]

Excellent 🙏✨🕯️💖☮️💐🕊️

[@spankflaps1365]

Shakespeare, the only writer where you need to be professionally taught how to like his work.

[@user-xi7gz6sz4w]

People in his day did not need such teaching.

[@stephenallington]

Start at 10.05

[@BB-nr3sm]

This was fascinating and beautifully organized. However I will say that while Alice's diction is easy to understand, Dan slurs his words to the point that this American missed half of his content.

[@yoniobase8715]

Please when was he born

[@Neddoest]

Oh nice. Random video hosted by Alice Loxton. Win

[@cleverusername9369]

Once again struck by Dan's towering stature.

[@tavuzzipust7887]

But who wrote the plays ?

[@giovangciccareli1829]

The bloke who they are talking about.

[@seanoxborough5830]

Rats must have loved them barns

[@jupite1888]

What we know? Shakspere is not ShakeSpeare thats where the problem is.

[@buttlesschap]

Bred there you say? 😏

[@mancroft]

What hard historical evidence is there that Shakespeare of Stratford attended that school? What hard historical evidence is there that Shakespeare of Stratford ever wrote any plays or poems?

[@iMertin]

Selfies

[@Blokewood3]

1. William Shakespeare's father John was a town official of Stratford, holding the office of high bailiff (the equivalent of mayor). As a town official, John's children were entitled to a free education at the grammar school. The student roster has not been kept, so there is no evidence that *anyone* attended the school, but obviously someone did, since a schoolmaster was employed. 2. William Shakespeare was a member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men/ King's Men, the company that produced the plays. His younger brother Edmund Shakespeare was also an actor in the company. When the plays were published, they were printed with Shakespeare's name. Contemporary theatre critics mention him as the author, a good example being Francis Meres, who in 1598 wrote about English playwrights, and when he mentioned Shakespeare he also specifically listed 12 of Shakespeare's plays. When all the plays were printed in 1623 in the First Folio, a dedication to Shakespeare was written by fellow playwright Ben Jonson, and the book was compiled by King's Men actors John Hemminges and Henry Condell, both of whom had performed in the original productions of the plays and were both left money in the will of William Shakespeare of Stratford.

[@denisecampbell3416]

Well summarized debunking of the anti-Stratfordian myth.

[@mancroft]

​@@Blokewood3 You really need to distinguish between William Shakspear of Stratford and William Shakespeare, the pen name of the real author of the plays and poems. The real author is, of course, De Vere as is explained by Alexander Waugh. www.youtube.com/@alexanderwaugh7036 The people of Stratford on Avon continue to make a good living from a fraud that was exposed many years ago.

[@giovangciccareli1829]

Fun fact. The school was opened by royal proclamation in 1550 and the earliest surviving student attendance record is from 1800. So are we to assume from these historical documents that the school was open and no one attended for 250 years? A ridiculous notion, just like the "authorship controversy"

[@tempest957]

The Birthplace of Shakespeare is a marketing myth!! This building was built 100 years after William Shatspeare was born. Another myth Shatspeare (his correct surname) his family including hime, were illiterate! Edward De Vere was the true author of all the plays and sonnets' who was a member of Elizabeth 1st court! De Vere could not publish play as this was considered lower then ladies of the night , that's why he used Shatspeare to publish plays etc! "Don't believe everything you learn from history it's usually untrue" A quote from Lucy Worsley a High End academic Historian and the keeper of the Royal Palaces.

[@matthewsmith6197]

It would be nice to see part two without having to pay for the privilege.

[@chris.asi_romeo]

Sir Francis Bacon is the real William Shakespeare. To "Shakes a spear" it's an idiom. A Spear shaker.

[@ellie698]

21:38 Dr Paul Edmonson.... He's trying very hard to be eccentric and entertaining isn't he. I think he's seeing taking part in this programme as an audition and he's hoping that he'll become the next TV historian personality. He's just trying way too hard though. He's just not cutting the mustard. Stick to the day job mate 🤣

[@chchedda]

The way things are going I'm surprised noone has said Shakespeare was black

[@iMertin]

He was

[@ellie698]

Or trans 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@wanderingwu6320]

Nice to see that the lack of analytical thinking, investigation and intelligent thought continues its ineluctable decline.

[@strech5412]

Stratfordian theory has been thoroughly debunked. This guy was a used goods hawker whose children were illiterate. Almost every incident in Oxford’s life is reflected in the texts. It’s time for those who’s income depends on tourism in Stratford to give up.

[@Steamforger]

I didn’t know this! Where has Shakespeare’s authorship been debunked? Interested in learning more.

[@strech5412]

@@Steamforger Look up Oxfordian Theory

[@Blokewood3]

@@Steamforger Oxfordian theory has long been debunked. While the Earl of Oxford was a playwright and poet, he had no connection with the company that produced Shakespeare's plays. While people try to draw connections between his life and Hamlet, they forget that the plays were written to be performed by a specific group of actors, and the plots of many of the plays are based on pre-existing stories, so autobiographical assumptions are nonsensical. Furthermore, it was not a secret that Oxford wrote plays and poetry, so he would have had no motive to keep his identity hidden. A contemporary theatre critic named Francis Meres mentioned both Oxford and Shakespeare in his 1598 book Palladis Tamia, and made it clear that they were two separate playwrights with two separate bodies of work. He praised Oxford's skill at writing comedy, and when talking about Shakespeare took the time to mention 12 of the plays Shakespeare had written by name. William Shakespeare of Stratford was a company member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men/ King's Men which produced the plays. He was mentioned as the author of the plays in the published works and by contemporary writers. Shakespeare's will left money to actors from the company: Richard Burbage (the lead actor of the company), John Hemminges, and Henry Condell. Hemminges and Condell were the people who compiled the First Folio, the first book to have 36 of the plays printed together. These people were in the original productions of these plays, and they knew that they were written by their friend. The First Folio also included a dedication to Shakespeare written by Ben Jonson, a fellow playwright who also did not have a university degree. Only an intimate of the Lord Chamberlains/ King's Men could have written the plays as they are. Theatre is a collaborative art form. The author of Henry IV part 1 knew they had a boy actor who could speak Welsh and sing. The author of As You Like it knew they had a talented boy actor who could carry the show by taking on the lead role of Rosalind. The author knew to change the way he wrote comic roles when comic actor Will Kempe left the company and was replaced by Robert Armin. This is not something that could have been done by someone writing in secret.

[@LottaNoise]

Except that Oxford died in 1604 and 12 of the plays were written after that date. The Oxford theory is the theory of the aptly named J Thomas Looney.

[@John-qz8fq]

@@Blokewood3 Really interesting comment, lots there I didn't know. Thanks for writing it.

[@kevinfitzmaurice-brown1683]

Patronising

[@Hazell555]

How about telling your brother-in-law to pay his taxes?

[@chris.asi_romeo]

The Shakespeare from Stratford upon Avon as a farmer and glove maker is a cover up. He can't even write his own name nor write all those plays and have all the knowledge in court. Nor he can even afford to have education. This is 16th century not 21st century. The true William Shakespeare is probably a noble with all the education and knowledge in court. Probably Edward De Vere or Francis Bacon the two best candidate for the real William Shakespeare.

[@kevinfitzmaurice-brown1683]

BBC Have not changed their programme set since the 1950's treat watchers like idiots. Or is it the ' players ?