William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in a(a) village of Stratford-on-Avon in b(b) country of Warwickshire. His father John Shakespeare was c(c) farmer's son who came d(d) Stratford about 1531, and began to prosper as e(e) trader in corn, wheat, leather and agricultural products. His mother Mary Arden was f(f) daughter of g(g) prosperous farmer, descended from h(h) old family of mixed Anglo-Saxon and Norman blood. It is generally believed that neither i(i) poet's mother nor his father could read or write. In 1582, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of j(j) peasant family. She was eight years older than Shakespeare.