Scholars have been able to piece together William Shakespeare’s likely biography from sources like official records, his will, his marriage certificate and his tombstone. Shakespeare was likely born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. He probably attended a free school, where he studied Latin plays. At 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, and they went on to have three children, one of whom died of black plague. For several years after the birth of his children, Shakespeare disappeared from all records. Scholars call these his “Lost Years.” Records then show that by 1594, Shakespeare was an established actor and writer in London with his popular company, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. He’d hold these positions for 20 years. Shakespeare is thought to have died on April 23, 1616—his likely birthday—at age 52. What is the main purpose of this passage?

A
to recount key events in William Shakespeare’s life

B
to provide a theory about what happened during William Shakespeare’s “Lost Years”

C
to explain where William Shakespeare got the ideas for his plays

D
to describe William Shakespeare’s work with The Lord Chamberlain’s Men

source text: from the sketch here given it will be seen, that our good grandmothers differed considerably in their ideas of a fine figure, from their scantily dressed descendants of the present day. a fine lady, in those times, waddled under more clothes even on a fair summer's day, than would have clad the whole bevy of a modern ball room. nor were they the less admired by the gentlemen in consequence thereof. on the contrary, the greatness of a lover's passion seemed to increase in proportion to the magnitude of its object—and a voluminous damsel, arrayed in a dozen of petticoats, was declared by a low-dutch sonnetteer of the province, to be radiant as a sunflower, and luxuriant as a full blown cabbage. certain it is, that in those days, the heart of a lover could not contain more than one lady at a time; whereas the heart of a modern gallant has often room enough to accommodate half a dozen - - the reason of which i conclude to be, either that the hearts of the gentlemen have grown larger, or the persons of the ladies smaller — this however is a question for physiologists to determine. add punctuation to the following excerpt. writing under the name of diedrich knickerbocker washington irving aimed his potent satire at as diverse topics as political rivals such as thomas jefferson to the very ideal of looking back on the past affectionately: a fine lady, in those times, waddled under more clothes even on a fair summer's day, than would have clad the whole bevy of a modern ball room. a voluminous damsel, arrayed in a dozen of petticoats, was declared by a low-dutch sonnetteer of the province, to be radiant as a sunflower, and luxuriant as a full blown cabbage. in those days, the heart of a lover could not contain more than one lady at a time; whereas the heart of a modern gallant has often room enough to accommodate half a dozen