Interesting Fact


During Shakespeare’s time it was illegal for women to act. The female characters in his plays were therefore played by men.


The Life of William Shakespeare


Interesting Fact


The exact details of William Shakespeare’s life are unclear. However some facts are known from court and clerical records. Shakespeare’s exact date of birth is unknown but records reveal that he was


The average person has an active vocabulary of 10,000 words. Shakespeare’s plays contain over 30,000 different words.


baptised on 26 April 1564. Due to a scholar’s mistake, his birthday is commemorated on 23 April. This date has appealed to commentators as it is also the same date on which he died (23 April 1616). Shakespeare was born at Stratford-upon-Avon to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. He was the


third child of eight, although three of his siblings died before reaching adulthood. None of his school records survive, but Shakespeare probably attended the local grammar school: the


King’s New School. It is thought that he left school at the age of 15. In 1582, he married Anne Hathaway. He was 18; she was 26. Six months later, Anne gave birth to a


daughter, whom they named Susanna. She was followed two years later by the twins: Hamnet and Judith. Sadly, Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died at the age of 11; the cause is unknown. Biographers refer to the years 1585-1592 as ‘The Lost Years’ as there are no records of Shakespeare’s


life for this period. Shakespeare is mentioned in the London theatre records in 1592. Various legends suggest Shakespeare’s reasons for leaving Stratford-upon-Avon. The most persistent is that Shakespeare fled to avoid prosecution for deer poaching at the Charlecote estate. This is unlikely as Charlecote did not have a deer park for another 100 years. Other biographers believe that he worked as a schoolteacher pointing to the record of a William Shakeshaft in Lancashire. However, Shakeshaft was a relatively popular name at the time. What is known for certain is that Shakespeare worked as an actor, and wrote plays and poetry. He


joined a theatre group called The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. In 1603, King James I became the company’s royal patron and it changed its name to The King’s Men. Shakespeare also owned a share in the Globe Theatre in London which made him a wealthy man. Shakespeare wrote about 37 plays, including the tragedies: Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Coriolanus. His celebrated comedies include The Tempest, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Much Ado About Nothing and The Merchant of Venice. His dramas are performed regularly throughout the world today. Shakespeare died in 1616. He left the bulk of his wealth to his daughter Susanna. Famously,


Shakespeare left his wife his ‘second best bed’. Some commentators see this as an insult to his wife, others argue that this is a reference to the matrimonial bed and therefore a symbolic gesture. Shakespeare was buried at the Holy Trinity Church. His epitaph warns against his body being moved:


‘Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear, To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones.’ [modern spelling]


170 Interesting Fact


There are 6 surviving copies of Shakespeare’s signature. His name is spelt differently in each, using abbreviated forms. Interestingly his surname is never spelt as ‘Shakespeare’. The signatures appear as:


l Willm Shakp


l William Shakspēr l Wm Shakspē


l l


William Shakspere Willm Shakspere


l William Shakspeare


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