Голицынский, 7-е издание – Артикль – Упражнение 80

William Shakespeare, the greatest English playwright, was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon in England. Stratford is a small country town in a farming district near the centre of England. The Avon, which is a pretty river with grass and trees all along its banks, runs through Stratford. Not much is known of Shakespeare’s father. He was a farmer who, at different times of his life, sold meat and bought and sold wool. He was poor and was often in money difficulties. Also very little is known about the life of his only son William. The little house in which the great writer was born still stands. It is now a museum. William went to school in Stratford. In 1586 he went to London. Probably the first work he did there was at one of the two theatres that were in London at that time. Then he became an actor and soon began to write plays for the company of actors to which he belonged. Shakespeare bought the largest house in his home town in 1597, but he did not spend much time there till 1610. He spent the last years of his life mostly in Stratford, but he often visited London. He died in 1616.