William Shakespeare was born in Stratford on April 23rd, 1564. His father, John Shakespeare, was an important man in the town – William didn’t come from a poor family.
When he was eighteen, William married Anne Hathaway in Stratford but he didn’t want to stay there. He wanted to be an actor and the best theatres were in London. So, in 1587, William went to London, where he worked as an actor in a theatre called The Rose.
When James I became king in 1603, Shakespeare worked for him, and performed his plays for the King and his friends. He also worked at the famous Globe Theatre. This play presented his last play, Henry VIII. There was a gun in this play, and the fire from the gun burned the theatre down. In 1610, Shakespeare went back to Stratford. He wanted to live there with his family, but he died on April 23rd, 1610. He was only forty-six years old.
Fill in the gaps with appropriate words from the box.