Reading Comprehension Form William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is probably the most famous playwright in history. He was born on 23 April 1564 in
· Stratford-upon-Avon in England. He was one of eight brothers and sisters. His father, John Shakespeare, was a
successful businessman. William went to school in Stratford and learnt Latin and Greek, but he didn't go to
university. At the age of fifteen he went straight to work in his father's business.
When he was eighteen, he met and fell in love with Anne Hathaway. She was eight years older than him.
They got married in November 1582, and six months later their daughter Susanna was born. In 1585 they had
twins, Hamlet and Judith. Little is known about the following seven years of his life. We only know that he
moved to London, leaving Anne and his children in Stratford and that he was writing plays and working as an
actor.
His plays were very popular and he made a lot of money. In 1597 he bought a big house in Stratford for his
family, but he stayed in London for a further thirteen years. He continued to write and cat and also bought a
theatre. In 1611 he finally retired and moved back to Stratford to live in the house he had bought. In total,
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets (fourteen-line poems). Some of his love poems are addressed to a
married woman, and some of them are addressed to a young man. Nobody knows the identity of these two
people. Shakespeare died in Stratford on his birthday, on 23 April 1616, and was buried in the church where he
had been christened 52 years earlier.
task 2. complete the sentences about Shakespeare using one word.
1. Shakespeare was in stratford-upon-avon in the 16th century
2. he had___brothers and sisters.
3. he studied at __ but not at university.
4. Susanna was Shakespeare's first __.
5.Hamlet and Judith are the names of Shakespeare's.
6. Shakespeare wrote love poems for a man and woman but their ___ is still a secret.
7. in London Shakespeare made a lot of ___.
8. Shakespeare returned to Stratford 5 years before he ___
