William Shakespeare1564-1616

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind… - “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

Where was Shakespeare born?

• Stratford upon Avon, England

Was Shakespeare married?

William and Anne Shakespeare had three children. Their first child was Susanna, born a mere six months after the wedding of her parents. She was christened on May 26, 1583, and twins arrived in January, 1585. They were named Hamnet and Judith, after two very close friends of William. Tragically, Hamnet Shakespeare died of unknown causes in August 1596, at the age of eleven. The events of his short life are unrecorded.

How Did Shakespeare Die?

• Unfortunately, Shakespeare's death at the age of 52 will almost surely remain a mystery. There is speculation that perhaps Typhus, which was widespread during 1616. We do know, however, that in a world where plague, syphilis, typhus, scurvy, tuberculosis, smallpox, malaria, dysentery and toothaches shortened a Londoner’s life expectancy to 35 years, Shakespeare fared quite well, leading a relatively long and healthy life.

Where is Shakespeare buried?• Shakespeare is buried in the chancel of Holy

Trinity Church in his hometown of Stratford, Warwickshire. His gravestone bears an epitaph which Shakespeare himself supposedly wrote. It warns:

• Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare,To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones,And cursed be he that moves my bones.

The inscription on the church monument to Shakespeare, erected in 1621, reads:

Judicio Pylium, genio Socratem, arte MaronemTerra tegit, populus moeret, Olympus habet.Stay, passenger, why goest thou by so fast?Read, if thou canst, whom envious death hath placedWithin this monument: Shakespeare, with whomQuick nature doed; whose name doth deck his tombFar more than cost; sith all that he had writLeaves living art but page to serve his wit.Obiit ano doi [anno domini] 1616. Aetatis 53. Die 23 Ap.

Did Shakespeare write in Old English?

• Beowulf – Old English• Hwät! we Gâr-Dena in geâr-dagum

þeód-cyninga þrym gefrunon,hû þâ äðelingas ellen fremedon.Oft Scyld Scêfing sceaðena þreátum.

(Translation)Lo! the Spear-Danes' glory through splendid achievementsThe folk-kings' former fame we have heard of,How princes displayed then their prowess-in-battle.Oft Scyld the Scefing from scathers in numbers...

• Chaucer – Middle English• Ye seken lond and see for your wynnynges,

As wise folk ye knowen all th'estaat Of regnes; ye been fadres of tydynges And tales, bothe of pees and of debaat. (The Man of Law's Tale)

(Translation)You seek land and sea for your winnings,As wise folk you know all the estateOf kingdoms; you be fathers of tidings,And tales, both of peace and of debate.

• By about 1450, Middle English was replaced with Early Modern English, the language of Shakespeare, which is almost identical to contemporary English.

• From fairest creatures we desire increase, That thereby beauty's rose might never die, But as the riper should by time decease, His tender heir might bear his memory:But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes,Feed'st thy light's flame with self-substantial fuel,Making a famine where abundance lies, Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.

Globe Theater

Globe Theater

Was Shakespeare gay?

• Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, apparently not intended for publication. The majority of these sonnets address the poet's love for a young man. There is no historical evidence to indicate Shakespeare was bisexual or homosexual; he was a married man with three children. However, the poet's intense romantic feelings for the young man in the sonnets have led some to believe Shakespeare was having a homosexual affair.

• But is the speaker of the sonnets expressing Shakespeare's personal feelings? Does the young man belong solely to the realm of fantasy, as do Falstaff and the Three Witches? Since we do not know the answers, critics often choose to refer to the speaker of the sonnets as simply "the poet", to illustrate that he is a character, and not necessarily William Shakespeare.

Sonnet 20A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted A woman's face, colored by Nature's own

handHast thou, the master-mistress of my passion; Have you, the master/mistress of my desire;A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted You have a woman's gentle heart, but you

are not proneWith shifting change, as is false women's fashion; To fickle change, as is the way with women;An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling, You have eyes brighter than their eyes, and

more sincere,Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth; Lighting up the very object that they look

upon;A man in hue, all 'hues' in his controlling, You are a man in shape and form, and all

men are in your control,Much steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth. You catch the attention of men and amaze

women's souls [hearts].And for a woman wert thou first created; You were originally intended to be a

woman;Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting, Until Nature, made a mistake in making

you,And by addition me of thee defeated, And by adding one extra thing [Nature]

defeated meBy adding one thing to my purpose nothing. By adding one thing she has prevented me

from fully having you,But since she prick'd thee out for women's pleasure, But since Nature equipped you for women's

pleasureMine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure. Let your body be their treasure, and let me

have your love.