William Shakespeare [author]

Calvin

Welcome to Headstones and Microphones where we use AI to step into the past through a researched, first-person simulation of history's most interesting people. I am your host, Calvin. While we’ve added some creative storytelling, our goal is to inspire your own study of these fascinating lives. Now, let’s meet our guest.

Calvin

I am absolutely buzzing today! We have a guest who practically invented the way we tell stories. For those who may somehow not know who you are... who are you?

White Male Guest

I am William Shakespeare. Some call me the Bard of Avon, others just a simple man of the theater who loved a good rhyme and a dramatic exit. I spent my days in London treading the boards and scribbling lines that I hoped might make a few people laugh or cry!

Calvin

The legend himself! Let’s go back to the very beginning. When and where were you born?

White Male Guest

I was born in the lovely market town of Stratford-upon-Avon. While my exact birthday remains a bit of a mystery to history, I was baptized on April 26, 1564. Tradition says I arrived three days earlier on the 23rd, right on St. George’s Day!

Calvin

A classic English entrance! And what was your given name at birth?

White Male Guest

Just William! Though back then, spelling was a bit more of a creative endeavor than it is today. You might find it as Shakspere, Shaxberd, or even Shappere in the old records. I wasn't too picky about the letters as long as people knew who I was.

Calvin

That’s hilarious. I can barely handle a typo! Was there a story behind your birth name?

White Male Guest

Not a grand one, I’m afraid! William was a stout, traditional name. But my surname, Shakespeare... now that implies a bit of action, doesn't it? Like a warrior shaking a spear in battle! Though my father dealt more in shaking out hides for gloves than spears for war.

Calvin

Tell me about Stratford. What was your hometown like growing up?

White Male Guest

It was a bustling place! It sits right on the River Avon—"Stratford" actually means the street that crosses the river. You’d hear the sounds of the market, the bleating of sheep, and see the travelers passing through. It was rural, green, and full of the kind of characters you eventually saw in my plays.

Calvin

And what was your family life like?

White Male Guest

It was a full house! I was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. My father was a glove-maker and quite the important man in town for a while—he was even the bailiff, which is like being the mayor! My mother came from a respected family of farmers. We had our ups and downs, but there was always plenty of life around the Henley Street home.

Calvin

What kind of kid were you?

White Male Guest

I was a curious lad with my head often buried in a book or my ears open to the stories of the townspeople. I spent most of my time at the King’s New School. I wasn't much for manual labor; I preferred the magic of words.

Calvin

Speaking of school, what were some of your favorite activities there?

White Male Guest

Latin, Latin, and more Latin! We lived and breathed the classics. We would memorize long passages, write our own compositions, and even act out plays by Virgil or Plautus. That’s where I first caught the acting bug—standing in a drafty classroom pretending to be a Roman hero!

Calvin

I think we can see where that led! What was your first job?

White Male Guest

Before the bright lights of London, I likely helped my father in his shop, learning the trade of the glover. There’s also a rumor that I spent some time as a schoolmaster myself during those "lost years" before I found my way to the stage.

Calvin

Was there a moment where you realized you were different from everyone else?

White Male Guest

I don't know if I felt "different," but I certainly felt a pull toward London that others didn't. While my peers were content in the fields of Warwickshire, I felt the world was a stage and I was missing my cue!

Calvin

That’s a great way to put it. What’s a decision that changed everything for you, but felt small at the time?

White Male Guest

Probably the decision to join a traveling troupe of actors. At the time, it felt like a bit of a lark, a way to see more of the world. But it led me straight to the heart of the London theater scene, and once I started writing for the "Lord Chamberlain’s Men," there was no turning back!

Calvin

What was your biggest break?

White Male Guest

It had to be the building of the Globe Theatre in 1599. We actually had to dismantle our old theater and carry the timber across the river to build it! Having our own circular home where the "groundlings" could stand and cheer—that was when everything really clicked.

Calvin

What were your biggest struggles before success?

White Male Guest

Money and the plague! My father went through some tough financial times when I was young, and later, when the theaters in London would close because of sickness, we had to scramble to survive. I turned to writing poetry and sonnets just to keep the lights on when we couldn't perform.

Calvin

Did you ever consider quitting?

White Male Guest

Never! Even when rival playwrights called me an "upstart crow" who didn't belong because I hadn't gone to university, it just put more fire in my belly. I knew I had stories to tell, and if the critics didn't like it, the audience usually did!

Calvin

I love that "upstart crow" story. It’s the ultimate 16th-century diss track! What was your life like before fame?

White Male Guest

It was a bit of a rush. I married my Anne when I was only eighteen—she was a bit older than me, twenty-six! We had our daughter Susanna and then the twins, Hamnet and Judith. It was a lot of responsibility for a young man, which is why I had to work so hard to make something of myself.

Calvin

Did fame bring happiness?

White Male Guest

It brought comfort and the ability to buy "New Place," one of the biggest houses in Stratford! But it also meant being away from my family for long stretches. Happiness for me was seeing a crowd lean in, breathless, waiting to hear what happened next in a story.

Calvin

What was the downside of becoming famous?

White Male Guest

The jealousy of others. When you find success, people love to try and pluck your feathers. And of course, there was the constant pressure to keep producing "hits." The King and Queen always wanted something new!

Calvin

What’s something people misunderstood about your life?

White Male Guest

Some people thought I was a fraud because I wasn't a "learned" man of Oxford or Cambridge. They couldn't believe a glover’s son from a small town could know so much about kings and foreign lands. But I learned from life, from books, and from listening to every person I met!

Calvin

Tell me about a time when everything went wrong—how did you handle it?

White Male Guest

In 1613, during a performance of my play Henry VIII, we used a real cannon for a special effect. It set the thatch roof of the Globe on fire! The whole theater burned to the ground. It was devastating, but we didn't sit in the ashes. We rebuilt it with a tile roof this time—much safer!

Calvin

That is a wild story. A literal "showstopper." What was life like in your final years?

White Male Guest

I spent them back in Stratford at New Place. I was a bit of a businessman by then, investing in land and grain. I took it a bit slower, enjoyed my garden, and spent time with my daughters and my granddaughter, Elizabeth.

Calvin

When and where did you pass away?

White Male Guest

I passed away in Stratford-upon-Avon in April of 1616. It was quite poetic, really—many say it was on my fifty-second birthday.

Calvin

What’s a random fact about you most people have never heard?

White Male Guest

I was quite the grain merchant! During a time of shortage, I held onto a good store of malt and corn. I had a sharp eye for business, not just for blank verse!

Calvin

What was your favorite food?

White Male Guest

Oh, a good meat pie or some gingerbread! In my day, we loved things that were highly seasoned. If I was feeling fancy, maybe some roasted poultry. But honestly, nothing beats a simple loaf of bread and some ale after a long rehearsal.

Calvin

Did you have any known rivalries?

White Male Guest

Christopher Marlowe and I were always compared, though I had a great respect for him. And Ben Jonson—he was a dear friend, but we certainly had our "wit-combats" at the tavern. He once said I had "small Latin and less Greek," the old rogue!

Calvin

What advice would you give people chasing success?

White Male Guest

This above all: to thine own self be true! Don't be afraid of greatness, and don't let your doubts be traitors that make you lose the good you might win. Just start—what is past is prologue, and the rest is up to you!

Calvin

Amazing advice. William, do you have any closing remarks about the interview or the stories you shared that you would like to share with the listeners before signing off?

White Male Guest

Only that life is a short play, so make sure you play your part with spirit! It has been an absolute delight to speak with you, Calvin. Thank you for letting an old poet have his turn at the microphone!

Calvin

The honor is all mine! What a legend. We just spent time with the man who gave us Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and hundreds of words we still use every day. We talked about his childhood in Stratford, the fire that burned down the Globe, and his secret life as a grain merchant! And that wraps up another conversation from beyond the grave. Thanks for joining us on The Headstones and Microphones Podcast. Remember—legends may die, but their stories never do. Please help spread the word by sharing and following the pod.