Will's Parents-

 

 John Shakespeare moved from his hometown of Snitterfield to Stratford in 1532 and became an apprentice glove maker.  He also did some work with leathers.  Around 1557 John Shakespeare married Mary Arden.  As previously mentioned in Part I, Mary came from a background of wealth and esteem while John came from a hardworking lower class family.  With the marriage the Shakespeares recieved three seperate estates.  John held some civic roles in the town of Stratford over his lifetime which helped him to finally gain a Coat of Arms for his family.  (this was a symbol of status at the time)  In October of 1596, John Shakespeare was granted a coat of arms with the motto, "non sanz droict" which means "not without right".  John  Shakespeare died in 1601 and Mary passed away in 1608.  The Globe Theatre had already opened and Shakespeare was a huge success by the time that his parents had died.  Hamlet was first published in 1603 which meant he probably wrote the play around the time of his father's death.  This may have been the reason why Shakespeare always played the role of the Fatherly Ghost in performances of the play.