The Portland daily press., 1879-12-15
What Shakespeare Might Have
Learned at School.

From various sources, contemporary and qua
si-contemporary, we may form q trustworthy
general estimate of Shakspeare's course OF in
struction during his schooldays. At that time
boys usually went to the grammar school about
six or at latest seven years OF age, and entered
at once upon the Accidence. In his first year,
therefore, Shakespeare would be occupied with
the Accidence and grammar. In his second
wear. with the elements of grammar, he would
read some manual of short phrases and famli-
lar dialogues and these, committed to memo
ry would be colloquially employed in the work
of the school; in his third year, if not before
he would take up "Cato's maxims," and "E,
sop's Fables; in his fourth, while continuing
the Fables, he would read the "Eclogues OF
Mantuanus," parts of ''Ovid," some of "Cice-
ro's Epistles' and probably one of his shorter
treatises; in his fifth year he would continue
the reading of Ovids 'Metamorphoses," with
parts of Virgil and Terence; and in the sixth
Horace Plautus, and probably part of Juvenal
and Persius, with some of Cicero's orations
and Seneca's tragedies. In going through such
a course, unless the teaching at Stratford was
exceptionally inefficient, the boy must have
made some progress in several of these authors,
and acquired sufficient knowledge OF the Ian
guage to read fairly well at sight the more
popular poets and prose writers, such as Ovid
and Cicero. The masters OF the school during
the time Shakespeare attended it would seem,
however, to have been of at least ordinary at
tainments and ability, as they rapidly gained
promotion. No fewer than three held the post
during the decade from 1870 to 1850. In the
first two wears Walter Roche; for the next five,
the most important in Shakspeares school his
tory, Thomas Hunt; and during the last three
wears Thomas jenkins, were head masters IN
the school. About the time that Shakspeares
parents would be thinking OF sending their eld-
est boy to school, there seems, moreover, TO
have been good deal of local activity in rela-
ton to the building, the old schoolhouse hav-
ing been put in thorough repair and changes
made in the internal arrangement, for the pur-
pose of rendering it more airy and healthful.
In the chamberlain's accounts tor the year
1868 mention is made of sums expended Tor
"repairing the old scole, dressing and sweep
ing the scole-house,' "ground-sellynge the old
scole," expressions which warrant the conclu-
sion that there was not only school-houSe ex-
isting in the early years OF our poet but that IL
had even then considerable pretenslons 10 an
tiouity We may reasonably lnfer that, as IL
had been put into repair in the year lo6o, 1t
continued in a state available for use uEtll II
was repaired again about the year l54 or 1922,
when the chapel of the guild was temporarily
used as it probably had been more tnan once
before instead of the schoolhouse The SOL
lar referred to in this extract was a small sto-
nv. in many cases a loft or garrett, and taking
away the SOLAR over the schoolhouse would,
suppose, indicate that it was heightened, and
possibly newly rooted as well as partially re-
foored. Shakspeare's father had been chosen
town bailiff during the ' ear in which these I'M
provements were made, and it would be part
Of his official duty to inspect them during their
progress, and see that the work was well done.
As prosperous burgess and magistrate he
would be proud of the resuscitated foundation
connected with the Ancient Guild of the Holy
Cross and now known as the Kings New
School," and would naturally regard with
special interest the renovated building where
his son was soon to feel the magical touch OF
that lettered awakening which in thousand
diversified forms was everywhere quickening
the latent seeds of genius into fruitful life
Eraeorsc NTouazine