Life of William Shakespeare less than a quarter of a mile from Shakespeare’s home and within a few yards from where his father sat on the town council. It was free to all male children and the evidence indicates that John Shakespeare sent his sons there for a grammar school education, though no attendance records survive. Shakespeare would have been enrolled when he was 7, in 1571. Classes met every day except Sunday, with a half day off on Thursdays, year-round. The school day typically ran from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a two-hour break for lunch, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Plays of William Shakespeare The Plays of William Shakespeare The Plays of William Shakespeare was an 18th-century edition of the dramatic works of William Shakespeare, edited by Samuel Johnson and George Steevens. Johnson announced his intention to edit Shakespeare's plays in his "Miscellaneous Observations on Macbeth" (1745), and a full "Proposal" for the edition was published in 1756. The edition was finally published in 1765. In the "Preface" to his edition, Johnson justifies trying to determine the original language of the Shakespearean plays. To benefit the reading audience, he added explanatory notes to various passages. Later editors followed Johnson's lead and sought to determine