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William Shakespeare Essay

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William Shakespeare

Ask anyone who Shakespeare was, and he or she will immediately rattle off at least three different plays that were required readings in English, not to mention a few blockbuster movies bearing his name. Many revere the works of Shakespeare as paramount in the world of literature, dedicating entire books, classes and festivals to the study and celebration of his work. Although the ancient language is a common stumbling block for even the most seasoned readers, his varied tales of love, hate, fear, betrayal, laughter, defeat and victory are just as fitting today as they were four hundred years ago. He is amazingly timeless. Yet, while we might know what Shakespeare is, will we ever really know who Shakespeare was? Ah, …show more content…

Sadly, Hamnet died in August of 1596, and from that point forward we have no more information regarding his family until 1616, the year of his death. There are enough legal documents and theatre records, though, to know that Shakespeare goes on to possess a generous amount of real estate, hold shares in an acting company that built the Globe Theatre, and become a principal player in the acting group The Kings Men (A Midsummer Night’s Dream xxx-xxxi). There are many theories and stories floating around that seem to fill in the gaping holes in his timeline, but since this information doesn’t appear in a register or on a playbill, we don’t know what is fact or fiction.
On January 25th, 1616, Shakespeare signs his will in three places leaving the majority of his estate to his eldest daughter, Susanna, and his “second-best” bed to his wife (All Shakespeare). He died three months later on April 23rd, and was buried in Stratford, yet his name does not appear on the stone over his grave. According the the web site All Shakespeare, his supposed tombstone reads:


Good friend for Iesus Sake forbeare
To dig the dust encloased heare:
Blest be ye man yt spares thes stones
And

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