Top 10 Interesting Facts About William Shakespeare

The outstanding English playwright William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 and died at the age of 52 on April 23, 1616. The cultural and historical heritage of the figure of Shakespeare, probably to one degree or another, is familiar to most people living on Earth. Even those of us who are not fond of classical literature or theatrical art know about such immortal characters in Shakespeare’s works as Othello, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, etc.

For more than three centuries, eminent directors continue to stage his plays on the best dramatic stages of the world, in addition, they are still an excellent material for creating film masterpieces and musical works. However, today we will consider other, not so widely known aspects of the life and work of the famous playwright.

We present you a list of the 10 most interesting facts about William Shakespeare: a biography and amazing stories from the life of the writer that influenced his work. Common myths and legends about this mysterious man.

10 The richest vocabulary

According to researchers and biographers of Shakespeare, his vocabulary averaged between 20 and 25 words, although at present even educated Englishmen use no more than 4 words in everyday speech.

Interestinglythat the writer’s parents were not literate, while there is no reliable data proving the education of the playwright himself.

9. Hasty Marriage

At 18, Shakespeare married a woman eight years his senior named Anne Hathaway.. Very little is known about her and the relationship between them, but the fact that Ann was pregnant when they married, and the age difference between the couple, has led scholars to suspect that this marriage was orchestrated by her family to avoid the embarrassment of an unplanned pregnancy.

8. Drug addict

Anthropologist Francis Thackeray and his team of scientists said they found traces of cannabis in eight pipes used by Shakespeare, as well as cocaine in two others. This is not unusual for the time, as marijuana was used to treat certain diseases, and hemp was one of the components in the creation of certain types of paper and clothing.

In his sonnet 76, Shakespeare refers to “wonderful herb” (“noted weed” in the original). This was also a reason for the writer’s suspicion of drug addiction. Although the interpretation of this phrase has been discussed more than once, not all scientists believe that we are talking about narcotic substances here.

7. Lost years

After the birth of their last two children, the twins Hamnet and Judith, little is known about Shakespeare’s personal life. That is why, scientists call this period of the writer’s life his “lost years” (1585 – 1592).

Legend has it that he fled to London to avoid being charged with illegal deer hunting by a local craftsman named Thomas Lucy. Shakespeare is said to have taken revenge on Thomas Lucy by dedicating an insulting ballad to him.

Another story says that Shakespeare began his career as a playwright while he was taking care of the horses of theater owners.

6. His work influenced the theater and literature of the following generations.

Obviously, the Shakespeare’s plays have had an unimaginable impact on world art and culture. His work was a turning point for theater and literature.. Traces of his influence can be found since the XNUMXth century in many authors, novelists, musicians, poets and artists, and even Sigmund Freud relied on Shakespeare’s works for his psychological theories about human nature.

But, in addition, Shakespeare helped shape the modern literary English language. Once upon a time, the English language, grammar, pronunciation and spelling were not as standardized as they are now.

Samuel Johnson, author of the first important and complete dictionary of the English language, quotes more Shakespeare in his pages than any other author. Popular English expressions such as “with bated breath” (“hold your breath”) or “foregone conclusion” (“was sung”) are taken from Shakespeare’s pages.

5. Authorship controversy

One of the most famous myths surrounding the figure of Shakespeare is the one that claims that there was no real William Shakespeare, and that the works attributed to him are in fact the work of another author (or authors) who, for some reason, chose to remain anonymous..

The fascination that these conspiracy theories produce on the mass public has led to their rapid spread and popularization of this myth. However, experts believe that this theory has no real justification. Arguments in its defense include the fact that Shakespeare had neither the education, nor the aristocratic background, nor the knowledge of the habits of high society necessary in the creation of his works.

Francis Bacon and Christopher Marlowe are mentioned as possible true authors.

4. Shakespeare’s sexual orientation

Another aspect, the appearance of which was due to the lack of information and historical data about the playwright’s life, are various legends regarding his sexual orientation. With the exception of his marriage to Anne Hathaway, little is known about Shakespeare’s personal life.

Many researchers claim that he had affairs with other women. Such theories arise mainly because of his writings and the figure of the “dark lady” present in them, which appears more than once in his sonnets. Many of his biographers are also inclined to believe that Shakespeare was bisexual or homosexual..

Many believe that most of his sonnets were autobiographical and included references to his love for a young man whom he called “the just Lord”. Those who refute this theory believe that these works simply speak of a strong friendship between two men.

3. Lifetime portraits and descriptions of appearance have not been preserved

There is no evidence that Shakespeare ever commissioned a portrait of himself, and no written description of his appearance has survived to this day.. After his death, when his popularity began to rise, many artists took care to depict him, but almost all of these portraits are purely imaginative.

Officially, only two of his portraits are recognized as legal, although they are also posthumous. One of them appears on the cover of his first collection, and the other is a sculpture adorning his memorial in Stratford-upon-Avon, dating from 1623.

2. Catholic or Protestant?

To this day, it is not known for certain which religion Shakespeare adhered to – Catholicism or Protestantism.. Researchers are inclined to believe that he, like his father, was a parishioner of the Catholic Church, but he carefully concealed this.

The thing is that in those days the Catholic denomination in Protestant England was under the strictest ban. Catholics, in order not to end up in prison or on the chopping block, were forced to carefully hide their faith and secretly attend church services.

1. Different versions of Shakespeare’s origin

The date of Shakespeare’s actual birth is unknown.. It is only known that he was baptized on April 26, 1564, and therefore some experts have calculated that his birth took place three days before this date.

There is no direct evidence that this was the case, but Shakespeare’s biographers have agreed that April 23 is the most likely date for Shakespeare’s birth, as it would be an appropriate date given that he also died on April 23.