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In 1582, aged just 18, Master William Shakespeare of StraordUponAvon married Anne Hathaway from the
nearbyvillageofShoery.Shewasaslightlyolderwomanthanhimandwhat'smore,itwasveryunusualfora
mantogetmarriedwhensllateenager.
ExaminingtherecordshereinStraordUponAvon,wediscoveronlythreeidenablemenundertheageof21
who got married. Well, one reason Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway got married so soon was that she was
alreadypregnant.Heclearlywasapassionateyoungman.
ThequesonofShakespeare'smarriagewhatitwaslikeandhowitinuencedhisworkisoneofthegreat
mysteriesofhislife.WeknowthatheandAnneremainedmarriedallhislife,butwealsoknowhespentmostof
hisworkinglifeinLondonawayfrom her,whileshewasbackinStraord.Thereisanecdotalevidencethathe
wasnotalwaysfaithfultoher.
Butcertainlyinthoseearlyyears,itwasclearlyaclosefamily.Withinafewmonthsoftheirmarriage,adaughter
wasborn,Susanna,andnotlongaerthat,twinsaboyandagirl,HamnetandJudith.Hamnetnamedaer
a friend and neighbour called Hamnet Sadler was an alternave spelling of Hamle, which is highly
suggesvegiventhetleofShakespeare'smostfamousplay.
ItwouldhavebeenveryimportanttoShakespearetohavehadason.Asonmeantanheirandtheconnuaon
ofthefamilyname.PerhapsthegreatesttragedyofhislifewasthatyoungHamnetdiedattheageof11andhe
hadnofurtherchildren.
The queson of how much Shakespeare really loved Anne Hathaway will never be answered. Famously, in his
will,heleherhissecondbestbed.Wasthattheoldmaritalbed,asignofhisaecon?Orwashejustpalming
herowithasecondhandbed?Whoknows.
Inaway,whatmaersisnotwhatthemarriagewasreallylike,buthowShakespeare'sexperienceofloveand
familyaectedandinuencedhisplays.Loveis,aerall,oneofhisgreatthemes.Histragediesturnonlovethat
goeswrongandendsincatastrophe.Hiscomediesonlovethatgoesrightandendsinmarriage.There'salways
beenafascinaonthough,withthegureofAnneHathawayandtheideaofShakespeareinlove.
InMarch1818,anarstcalledBenjaminRobertHaydonagreatloverofShakespeare'sworkswrotetoavery
closefriendofhis,ayoungwriterwhoalsohadapassionforShakespeare'swork.HisnamewasJohnKeatsand
thisiswhatBenjaminRobertHaydonwrote:
MydearKeats,Ishallgomad!InaeldatStraordUponAvon,thatbelongedtoShakespeare,theyhavefound
agoldringandseal,withtheinialsW.S.andatruelover'sknotbetween.IfthisisnotShakespeare,whoisit?
A true lover's knot! I saw an impression today, and am to have one as soon as possible. As sure as that you
breatheandthathewastherstofbeings,thesealbelongedtohim.
Keatswrotebackhugelyexcitedthough,alsonotquitesureMydearHaydon,insooth,Ihopeyouarenottoo
sanguine about that seal, in sooth, I hope it is not Brummagem; in double sooth, I hope it is his, and in triple
sooth,IhopeIshallhaveanimpressionByBrummagemorBrummagem,KeatsmeantmadeinBirmingham,
whichatthatmewasabywordforacounterfeit,afake.

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Hereisthering.It'snowoneoftheprizedpossessionsoftheShakespeareBirthplaceTrust.It'saheavygoldring
anditdoeshavetheinialsW.S.andaknotdesigninbetween.Theinialsareinmirrorimagebecausethisisa
sealring.Youwouldpressitdownonapieceofwaxtosealaleer.
Well, of course, we can't know for sure that this W.S. was Shakespeare himself and we can't really know
whether the gure was a lover's knot, denong his passion for Anne Hathaway. All we can say for sure is that
this object is a sign of the cult of Shakespeare,the passion that later writers andarsts andtheatregoers and
readershavehadforShakespeare,asignofourdesiretoknowmoreabouthislife,hisworkandhisworld.