To be or not to be? Interesting facts about Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is one of the most renowned playwrights to have ever existed. As well as his plays and poetry, Shakespeare is also known for the many mysteries surrounding his life. 

Shakespeare is widely considered to be one of the greatest writers in the history of English literature, although very little information is known about his life, and even his biographers are not sure of all the facts. Moreover, no information whatsoever is known about Shakespeare’s life between 1585 and 1592. Biographers refer to this period as the “lost years”. If you want to read more about Shakespeare’s life, we recommend that you start with our online library Perlego. 

It is possible that we do not spell Shakespeare’s surname correctly nowadays, but then again, it seems that Shakespeare did not spell it consistently himself. Contemporary sources spell Shakespeare’s surname in approximately eighty different ways, including Shappere, Shaxbers, Shakp and Shakspere. Indeed, one of the oddest facts about Shakespeare’s life is that his parents were probably illiterate, as were his wife and children.

Shakespeare had three children with his wife – two daughters and a son. Shakespeare’s son Hamnet died at the age of eleven, but he would later have four grandchildren through his daughters. Unfortunately, they died without issue, meaning that Shakespeare has no direct descendants. 

Shakespeare is responsible for many words that exist in the modern English language and are commonly used today, including “eyeball”, “fashionable” and “lackluster”. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Shakespeare invented almost 3,000 new words. 

Shakespeare wrote a curse for his grave: 

“Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare, 

To dig the dust encloséd here.

Blessed be the man that spares these stones,

And cursed be he that moves my bones.” 

The curse is still taken seriously: when repairs are carried out to the grave, his bones are not moved, because nobody wants to upset Shakespeare’s ghost! 

English literature is a subject with a centuries-old tradition. The study of literature helps us to learn how to think critically and exercise our skills of interpretation. If you are interested in reading more, start with our online library Perlego, where you can choose from hundreds of books, and if English literature is one of your passions, check out our academic program English Language and Literature.

As Margaret Fuller said: “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader”