For years, historians have ruminated on the state of William Shakespeare’s father, John Shakespeare, and the financial troubles that were speculated to have caused the bard to leave Grammar School before graduation around age 14. Without any real substantial evidence to confirm or deny what actually happened to John Shakespeare, we have been left to wonder what, if any impact, these troubles had on the budding young playwright. 

Wondering, that is, until now. Dr. Glyn Parry has uncovered new documents that shed light on William Shakespeare’s early life and help us understand how some of Shakespeare’s political views might have formed. 

Glyn Parry is a professor of humanities at the University of Roehampton, a fellow of Royal Historical Society, a Member of the American Historical Association, and Member of the History of Science Society. His work focuses on Early modern magic, Shakespeare and his environment, and Tudor government in action.

Glyn joins us today to explore the discovery of these new documents and explain how this new discovery offers an exciting glimpse into how young Shakespeare became the fiery political dramatist we know him as today.