Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small town in central England. It was a bustling commercial town nestled beside the beautiful and tranquil River Avon—an environment that provided the future playwright and poet with two key influences and choices the romantic sensibilities of a playwright and poet, and a business-minded approach to financial matters. His father, John Shakespeare, was a glove-maker in the town who later expanded into wool trading. In 1557, John Shakespeare married M