2. Fill in all the gaps, with the right form of the verb in brackets.
William Shakespeare  WAS  (be) born in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23, 1564. He WENT (go) to the local Stratford Grammar School, where he  WAS (be)  TEACHING (teach) by Master Walter Roche. Lessons began at six o'clock in the morning in the summer in order to make the most of daylight.
His father  WAS (be)  CALLED (call) John Shakespeare a Stratford upon Avon glove-maker. He  (send) William to the local grammar school in 1571, but when William WAS (be) only 14 years old his fortunes fell so low that William HAD  (have) to leave school. Some historians say he  WORKED (work) in his father's shop.
At the age of 19 William  MARIED (to marry) Anne Hathaway the daughter of a rich farmer near Stratford. Three years later Shakespeare WENT (go) to London. How he  LIVED (live) there we do not know.
In about 1587 he BECAME (become) a member of one of the few theatrical companies which  WERE EXSITED (exist) in those days. Around 1590 he  BEGAN (begin) to try his hand at writing plays. There  WAS (be) no female actors in those days, all the female parts WAS (be) PLAYED (play) by boys. It is thought that he  WROTE (write) his first major play, Henry VI., Part One, in 1592.
His most famous play, Hamlet,  WAS (be) probably first seen in 1601 at the Globe Theatre. Shakespeare  CONTINUED (continue) to write about 2 plays a year.
He  RETURNED (return) to Stratford in 1612, where he  LIVED (live) the life of a country gentleman. He  DIED  (die) of a fever on his birthday in 1616.