12 things you didn’t know about William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is the most popular English playwright and poet, even those who haven’t had an education must have heard his name. There has been a lot of speculations about his life and works. Here are some facts about the life of William Shakespeare, including speculations:

• William Shakespeare was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. Although the exact date of his birth is unknown, he was baptised on the 26^th of April, 1564.
• He received elementary education at King’s New School in Stratford, not too far from his home in Stratford-upon-Avon.
• Shakespeare was a butcher’s apprentice.
• He got married at age 18 to a 26-year-old Anne Hathaway (Yeah, the popular American actress bears the same name).
• The marriage appeared to have been in a haste as Anne was already pregnant for their first Child, Susanna who was baptised on the 26^th of May, 1583.
• They later had twins; Hamnet, a boy and Judith, a girl. They were born almost 2 years after Susanna and baptised on the 2^nd of February, 1585. Hamnet died before he could get married, Susanna and Judith got married and had kids but their kids died before having kids of their own, thereby ending Shakespeare’s direct line.

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• After their birth, Shakespeare appeared to have disappeared as little is known about him for the next 7 years or so. Those years were called The Lost Years.
• There is speculation that Shakespeare wasn’t the author of his plays. Some people say his plays were written by Edward de Vere, the 17^th earl of oxford; Francis Beacon, a writer, essayist and scientist and Christopher Marlowe, a writer. This speculation is partly due to the fact that Shakespeare didn’t have extensive education.
• Some scholars say that Shakespeare was bi-sexual as he was married to a woman and in some of his sonnets, he professed love to a young man, although some scholars say that it was more of an expression of deep friendship.
• William Shakespeare’s family were said to be catholic when it was illegal to be catholic in England.
• Shakespeare’s works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets and 2 long narrative poems.
• He died on the 23^rd of April, 1616 and had the weirdest epitaph carved into the stone slab on his grave. It goes thus:

“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.”

He implored people to not attempt to dig up his grave in that epitaph.