The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 12.0050  Wednesday, 10 January 2001

From:           Jane Drake Brody <
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Date:           Tuesday, 9 Jan 2001 12:40:07 EST
Subject:        John Shakespeare and Literacy

Park Honan in his new biography "Shakespeare, A Life," suggests that the
ability to read was separate from the ability to write and that many
people could read who could not write. He states on page nine," Men such
as John Shakespeare could often read, but not write as writing was an
advanced, fairly specialized skill and Tudor people learned to write
only after getting the basic skill of reading; he probably would not
have kept the borough's accounts, as he did for over three years, if he
had been unable to read sums." He also believes that Mary Arden
Shakespeare could read and possibly write as well.

Jane Drake Brody