SECTION 9 - The flight to London

Summary

The Charlecote legend being dismissed, one has to ask—Why did Shakespeare leave Stratford? Of course he made a fool of himself when he married Anne (or Agnes), who, it may be supposed, was incapable of understanding his genius and not unreasonably querulous to a husband who, having introduced her to penury, spent in penning stanzas the time which should be given to the wool business, supposing the Stratford story to be true. ‘The dark house and the detested wife’ and the second-best bed, all surmise being permissible, may pass as a clue to his motive. But I confess to a sentimental feeling that such treachery was not what I should expect of ‘my gentle Shakespeare’—a treachery to children as well as wife, and particularly to unhappy, bankrupt John. Conceive the situation. William and Anne with three babes are living in a small house, the unwelcome guests and pensioners of John and Mary, who have five children of their own: and the shutters are up in the woolshop, and there is no wage or occupation for the apprentice. The notion that he joined a travelling company of actors may be dismissed: of all trades the player's is one of the most precarious, and no touring company was likely to encumber itself with an untrained youth. As Sir Sidney Lee remarks, ‘When a company of city actors took the road, it reduced its personnel to a minimum: and even so, the large London companies barely made their expenses on tour.’