Shakespeare comes to work in London

And so in the absence of historical fact let us turn to gossip and tradition, which often have semblances of truth at their foundation.

In 1753 in his book The Lives of the Poets, Robert Shields had this to say about Shakespeare's entrance onto the London stage:

When he came to London, he was without money and friends and being a stranger knew not to whom to apply nor by what means to support himself. At that time, coaches not being in use and as the gentlemen were accustomed to ride to the playhouse, Shakespeare, driven to the last necessity , went to the playhouse door and picked up a little money taking care of the gentlemen's horses who came to the play. He became eminent even in that profession for his diligence and skill at it. Some of the actors, accidentally conversing with him, found him so acute and recommended him to the house in which he was first admitted at a very low station - but he did not long remain so, for he soon distinguished himself, if not as a extraordinary actor, at least as a fine writer.

And so as Marlowe's star was rising Shakespeare was taking up a quill and scraping his first blank verses onto parchment verses that he presented no doubt nervously to the theatre company and evidently they were impressed with what they read.

Was Shakespeare therefore taken in to work as a trainee actor by Burbage’s company? Is this how he began his working life in London, and took his first steps onto the road to fame and immortality?

Of course there is no way for us to know now whether or not this was the case, but it is an intriguing thought none the less to picture the young Shakespeare getting his break among the rough and ready actors of Elizabethan London. But for now let’s return to the known facts.