The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-01-10
Shakespeare at School.

Shakespeare at School.
From various sources, contemporary
and quasi-contemporary, we may form
q trustworthy general estimate of
Shakespeare's course of instruction
during his school days. At that time,
as we have seen, boys usually went to
the grammar school about Six, or at
the latest seven, years of age, and en-
tered at once upon the Accidence. In
his first year, therefore, Shakespeare
would be occupied with the Accidence.
In his second year, with the elements
OF grammar, he would read some man.
uai OF short phrases and familiar dia-
logues, 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 Esop's GA
bles." In his fourth, while continuing
the Fables" he would read the GEO
logues OF Mantuanus," parts of Ovid,
some of Cicero's "Epistles, and prob
ably one of his shorter treatises; in his
fifth year he would continue the read
ing of Ovid's Metamorphoses," with
parts of Vergil and Terrence; and in
the sixth, Horace, Plautus and proba-
bly, part of Juvenal and Persus, with
some of Cicero's I" Orations'' and Sene-
cas- Tragedies. In going through
such course, unless the teaching at
Stratford was exceptionally inefficient,
the boy must have made some progress
in several of these authors, and &C
CURED sufficient knowledge of the Ian
fssge to read fairly well at sight the
14note popular poets and prose writer's,
such as Ovid and Cicero. The masters
OF the school during the time Shakes
peare attended itwould seem, however,
to have been at least of average attain
ments and ability, as they rapidly
gained promotion. No fewer than
three held the post during the decade
from 1870 to 1880. In the first two
years Walter Roche, for the next five,
the most important in Shakespeare S
school history, Thomas Hunt, and dur
ing the last three years Thomas Jen-
klns, were head masters in the school.
About the time that Shakespeare s
parents would be thinking of sending
their eldest boy to school there seems,
moreover, to have been a good deal of
local activity in relation to the build
ing, the old school house having been
put into thorough repair, and changes
made in the internal arrangement for
the purpose of rendering it more airy
and healthful. In the Chamberlain S
accounts for the year 1868, mention is
made of sums expended for 6 repairing
the old scole," " dressing and sweep
ing the scole house." i" ground sellynge
the old scole, and taking down the SOL
lar over the scole," expressions which
warrant the conclusion that there was
not only school house existing in the
early years of our poet, but that it had
even then considerable pretensions to
antiquity. We may reasonably infer
that, as it had been put into repair in
the year 1868, it continued in state
available for use until it was repaired
again about the year 1894 or 1895, when
the chapel of the guild was temporarily
used, as it probably had been more
than once before, instead of the school
house. The "sollar'' referred to in
this extract was small story, in many
cases loft or garnet, and taking the
SOLAR over the school house would, l
suppose, indicate that it was height
ened and, possibly, newly rooted, as
well as partially refoored. Shakes
peare's father had been chosen town
bailiff during the year in which these
improvements 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 a
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 "King's New School," and
would naturally regard with special in
terest the renovated buildings where
his son was soon to feel the magical
touch of that lettered awakening which,
in a thousand diversified forms, was
everywhere quickening the latent seeds
of genius into fruitful life.-Fraser' S
Magazine.