Strange's players, with which company under its various
later titles he continued to be connected during the remainder of his
theatrical career. I shall prove this theory to be erroneous and adduce
evidence to show that of whatever company, or companies, he may later
have been an active member, his theatrical experience had its inception
in a connection as theatrical assistant with the interests of the
Burbages; with whose fortunes he thereafter continued to be connected
till the end of his London career.

In judging of the youthful Shakespeare, of whom we can only conjecture,
we may reasonably draw inferences from the character of the man we find
revealed in his life's work. I am convinced that Shakespeare's departure
from Stratford was deliberate, and that when he went to London he did so
with a definite purpose in view. Had Shakespeare's father been a
prosperous man of business, in all probability the world would never
have heard of his son; though the local traditions of Stratford might
have been enriched by the proverbial wit and wisdom of a certain
anonymous sixteenth-century tradesman.

Unconfirmed legend, originating nearly a hundred years after the alleged
event, is the sole basis for the report that Shakespeare was forced to
leave his native town on account of his participation in a poaching
adventure. It is possible that Shakespeare in his youth may have
indulged in such a natural transgression of the law, but supposing it to
be a fact that he did so, it does not necessarily brand him as a
scapegrace. A ne'er-do-well in the country would probably remain the
same in the city, and would be likely to accentuate his characteristics
there, especially if his life was cast, as was Shakespeare's, in
Bohemian surroundings. Instead of this, what are the facts? Assuming
that Shakespeare left Stratford in 1586 or 1587, and became, as
tradition reports, a servitor in the theatre at that period, let us look
ten years ahead and see how he has fared.

We know that he had already returned to Stratford in 1597 and purchased
one of the most important residences in the town. From the fact that
John Shakespeare's creditors from this time forward ceased to harass
him, we may assume that he had also settled his father's affairs. We
have record that in 1596 he had, through his father, applied for the
confirmation of an old grant of arms, which was confirmed three years
later, and that he thereafter was styled "William Shakespeare,