William Shakespeare is a renowned English novelist, poet, playwright, and actor. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. To know some facts about Shakespeare, his works explored the whole of England in the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages of the British theatre. The famous works of Shakespeare include approx 38 plays, two long narrative poems, and 154 sonnets. His enduring stage presence and sense of comic timing impressed a huge mass of people. The plays of Shakespeare have been compiled in a textbook named The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.
Shakespeare Introduced 3,000 Words to the English
Shakespeare introduced almost 3,000 words to the Oxford English dictionary. His hold on vocabulary was such that he could remember more than 30,000 words by heart. This fact about Shakespeare proves him to be an ardent reader and a marvelous conversationalist.
Shakespeare Penned a Curse for His Grave
He penned a curse for his grave so that nobody can touch his body and conjure away a possible eviction. After his death, his epitaph inscribed certain lines that signify the curse he made:
“ Good friend for Jesus’ sake forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here:
And curst be he that moves my bones.”
Despite being loved and adored by all his readers, the motive of these curse statements remains a mystery.
Shakespeare’s Play has Thirteen Times Suicide Scenes
Shakespeare’s Play ranges from mystery to Comedy of Errors. As per the statistics, suicide is the most stable theme that occurs nearly thirteen times in his plays. For instance, in Romeo and Juliet, both committed suicide, and in another of his Play Julius Caesar, Cassius and Brutus died by self-stabbing.
Shakespeare has the Shortest Play In his Name
Another in the line of facts about Shakespeare is that he has the shortest Play. The Comedy of Errors is the shortest Play of Shakespeare at just 1770 lines long.
Shakespeare Contributed the Longest Word
The longest word that Shakespeare used is honorificabilitudinitatibus, which means invincible glorious honorableness. In his work, Henry 5, Shakespeare made use of Latin language to engaged a huge number of audiences in his Play. The longest word in the dictionary marks its meaning as “invincible glorious honorableness.”
Shakespeare was a Great Actor
Only a few people know that aside from writing, Shakespeare was also a great actor who performed many of his plays. To state a significant fact about Shakespeare, alongside writing 37 plays and composing almost 154 sonnets, he performed on stage. His passion for story-telling and theatre made him work as an actor in the work of famous playwrights, including Ben Johnson.
Shakespeare Married an Older Women
Shakespeare married an eight years older woman who was three months pregnant at the time. In November 1582, when he was 18 years old, he got married to Anne Hathaway, daughter to a middle-class farmer. After spending six months with her, Shakespeare and Anne welcomed their daughter Sussana to the world.
Shakespeare Never Attended University
This fact about Shakespeare will leave you in an utter dilemma. He attended King Edward 6th Grammar School from the age of 7 and then left school. Despite being such a respectable novelist and playwright, he has never attended university. He also worked as a schoolmaster and a lawyer alongside his father and his real brother. That means, to master his literary craft, Shakespeare read for years and honed his acting skills as well.
