put on pageants, and many popular shows. It also held several large fairs during the year. Stratford also had fields and woods surrounding it giving William the opportunity to hunt and trap small game. The River Avon, which ran through the town, allowed him to fish also. Shakespeare's poems and plays show his love of nature and rural life, which reflects his childhood.
             On November 28, 1582, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway of the neighboring village of Shottery. She was twenty-six, and he was only eighteen at the time. They had three children. Susana was their first child and then they had the twins, Hamnet and Judith.
             It was a marriage of inconvenience. She was eight years older than he was and al
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