The man. The myth. The legend. It is, incidentally, difficult to note unusual facts about Shakespeare because there is little to no information we have of William Shakespeare on a personal level. Shakespeare was known for his plays, and he is considered one of the greatest playwrights. In fact, his middle name still invokes curiosity. (Spoiler: he didn’t have one!)
Apart from important facts that culminate literature into history, it is still common to come across lesser-known information about him. He coined the unique phrase “wild goose chase.” Or insults such as “thou art as fat as butter,” and “I’ll tickle your catastrophe!”
Or perhaps that his grave has a curse on it, should it be marked by grave-robbers! That said, here are 15 facts that you don’t know about William Shakespeare!
1. His appearance: No one knows what Shakespeare’s true semblance is
Though there are a lot of things to know about Shakespeare, what did he look like?
A balding, not unhandsome, man of forty. Sporting a trim beard. Gold earring on his left ear. Stylish, bold, and confident. For an answer, there were three paintings that came to light.
- The Chandos portrait:
A painting in the Stowe household. Belonging to Richard Plantagenet Temple Nugent Brydes Chandos Grenville. Retrieved by the London firm of Christie & Manson’s auctioneers in 1848. This was when Grenville, the second Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, fled to France to evade bankruptcy.
There appears to be no information on the origin of the painting.The painting had been retouched. Blackened with time. Lots of details were (and still remain) lost.
Later received by the new National Portrait Gallery in London. On account of Lord Ellesmere before his passing, in 1856. It was immediately criticised for its authenticity. Critics pored over the look of the subject – “too dark-skinned,” “too foreign,” “too Italian,” “too Jewish.”
He wore a single gold earring, prompting the old sailor’s tradition.
- A copperplate engraving:
Appeared in the First Folio in 1623. The Droeshout engraving (honoring its maker, Martin Droeshout) is an arrestingly mediocre piece of work.”
Said to be curiously flawed. It paints an image nothing similar to the one whose works we’ve read.
Peter W.M. Blayney, the leading authority of the First Folio, offers more insight into this. He suggests that the Flemish engraver had won a commission. Not based on experience, but because he had the right tools. The truth is that the Droeshout portrait was not done from life. Shakespeare had been dead for seven years by then.
- The life-size statue at Holy Trinity Church:
Also in 1623, executed by Gheerart Janssen, a mason who worked near the Globe Theatre. Another indifferent piece of work that marks his burial.
Its merit lies in that it had been satisfactorily viewed by those who knew Shakespeare. Some people still doubt that Shakespeare must have looked this way. The original colours of this effigy, too, remain lost.
Edmond Malone, a Shakespeare scholar, upon being horrified at first glance, asked to have it whitewashed. Though we have three considerable possibilities, two were created post-death. That leaves the portrait, but it does not make a compelling argument. There’s a possibility of having mistaken someone else for Shakespeare. What we have left of what we know is this: that we don’t really know what he looked like.
2. We have only 14 words in Shakespeare’s handwriting
We have nearly a million words invented by Shakespeare, but only fourteen of them in his own writing. This, in his six signatures and a “by me” in his will. No other note, manuscript, or letter survives. His private existence leaves us with more questions than answers.
A section of Sir Thomas More, the play that ended up never being performed, is believed to have endured the time. As a collaborative piece, it is believed that three surviving pages of it were written by Shakespeare. Backed by the fact that the passages have “recognizably the voice of Shakespeare.” No claims have been made or purported since.
3. We are probably spelling William Shakespeare’s name wrong
If we are not sure how to spell Shakespeare’s name, then neither was he. It is evident in the signatures that survive. The “real name” is never spelled in the same way more than once.
Here are a few alternatives that they go by:
- Willm Shaksp
- William Shakespe
- Wm Shakspe
- William Shakspere
- Willm Shakspere
- William Shakspeare
The way it is spelled universally today? Not even once was there an allusion to it among the records.
4. What we think we know about Shakespeare is very little information
This one challenges the permanence of important facts. Of how much knowledge we have of Shakespeare.
With regard to Shakespeare’s work, greatly appreciable are the efforts of Henry Condell and John Heminges, who put together the revered First Folio, one of the world’s most expensive books. A more or less complete compilation of work after Shakespeare’s death. This leaves us with a staggering yet glorious 15% of his famous works.
This leaves us with little knowledge of him as a person. Of how pieces of Shakespeare’s work might influence us into thinking he would be a certain type of person. That even if we were to use these parts to build his personality, we would hardly be able to deduce who he was.
Yet attempts were made. In the 1930s, Caroline F.E.Spurgeon from the University of London made a claim. With regard to Shakespeare, she was confident that one could tell his appearance based on careful reading of the text. This she announced in Shakespeare’s Imagery and What It Tells Us.
What we have deduced is that Shakespeare’s characters refer to hate 183 times, and love 2,259 times. That he used “damned” 105 times, “bloody” 226 times, and “bloody-minded” twice!
This wealth of text and a poverty of context left people desperate to fill in the gaps. Thus, the obsession among scholars began.
5. Shakespeare is more of an academic obsession than a historical figure
If you sift through the indexes of scholarly journals, you should not be surprised. Especially not the ones devoted to Shakespeare and his work. Their devotion operated on a different level altogether.
A few notable titles, investigations more like, include:
- Was Hamlet a man or a woman?
- Linguistic and informational entropy in Othello
- Ear disease and murder in Hamlet
The British Library catalogue boasts a ludicrous 13,858 options upon entering ‘Shakespeare’ as an author. And 16,092 with him as the subject.
The Library of Congress, Washington, contains about 7,000 works on Shakespeare. If you were to read one a day, you would finish in twenty years’ time. This number is subject to growth, with almost daily additions. Shakespeare Quarterly logs about 4,000 works yearly – books, monographs, and other studies. Taken seriously, it prompts an exhaustive list of bibliographers.
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6. William Shakespeare’s greatest achievement might be his survival
When the world was short of people and was struggling to keep its population, he was born. Despite the exotic-sounding diseases that carried people off, plague was the deadliest. This was stark in the early life of William Shakespeare.
We are lucky that he was born when he was. When records were only just being maintained with fidelity. On recording three months after his date of birth, there was a ‘burials’ section titled Hic incepit pestis, ‘Here begins plague.’ Evident in the parish register of Stratford’s Holy Trinity Church.
In that sense, surviving his first year was Shakespeare’s greatest life achievement. Plain, but definitely one of the unusual facts about Shakespeare.
Then there is a lack of proper information regarding the time of his birth. By tradition, it is accepted to be April 26, 1564. This could also have been the only record of his being baptized. Coincidentally, this day, fifty-two years later, marks his death, while the cause remains unknown.
7. Shakespeare’s father’s influence might have been greater than was assumed
John Shakespeare, William’s father, was a figure often criticised. He was believed to have raised his family in poverty. To not have provided William with the environment for success. Shakespeare’s father’s presence was not encouraging in the childhood of William Shakespeare.
A background of John Shakespeare:
- He was a skilled craftsman (glover and whittawer) who rose up in ranks
- He was elected ‘borough ale taster’ in 1556
- He became a ‘constable’ two years later
- He became an ‘affeeror’ in a year (responsible for assessing fines)
- He was appointed as a burgess
- He was a Chamberlain
- He was promoted to an Alderman
- William’s father was also made a Master, a Goodman
- He was finally appointed a High Bailiff and a Mayor
Among Shakespeare’s father’s duties as a High Bailiff, he was to approve the town’s funding for visiting actor troupes. This was popular in the 1570s. This could have probably when William was introduced to theatre.
Ultimately, William Shakespeare’s father was the one who had brought William into the world of theatre.
8. William Shakespeare was somewhat of a golden child
Shakespeare seemed to be different from the rest of his 7 siblings. This might not be conventional among the list of unusual facts about Shakespeare. Details from history give a different answer.
- Among the 3 brothers, he was the only one who married.
- William’s siblings were all named after close family and friends, but not him. The inspiration for his name remains a mystery.
- Shakespeare’s education at King’s New School was instructed by Oxford men. A rather cushioned experience compared to other schools in his time.
9. There was speculation that Shakespeare had another woman in the picture
1582, Worcester was where a young William Shakespeare had applied for a marriage licence. According to the ledger, he was to take up Anne Whateley for the bride.
Some biographers claim that he broke the promise to her out of duty. That Anne Hathaway was expecting. Anthony Burgess goes as far as to claim that William had chanced upon Whateley while he was running errands.
No records have been found to cement these claims. In fact, there was no Anne Whateley. It appears that the clerk at Worcester was not a meticulous record keeper.
Though the marriage licence is lost, the marriage bond survives. Anne Hathaway, older than him by eight years, is identified correctly in it. As for Shakespeare, he has been rendered as “Shagspere.” Costing ￡40, the proceedings wrapped up with a reading of the banns instead of the usual three. Looks like the couple tended to have a sense of urgency.
10. Shakespeare’s coincidental timing opened doors into the theatrical world
Believed to have risen from poverty, it is unfathomable how he rose up to Shakespeare’s status as quickly as he did. How, at a young twenty-one and full of ambitions, did he go places?
The possibility of running into the Queen’s Men in 1587 is plausible. The fight between the company actor William Knell and another actor John Towne led to it. Towne had stabbed Knell through the neck. Operating in place of Knell’s replacement was to be young William’s new path. There is no evidence regarding this. This was rumoured to have happened by the Thames. Where Shakespeare’s presence was completely coincidental.
Additionally, Knell’s widow, Rebecca, remarried to John Heminges. Intriguing is when he collaborated with Henry Condell to put together the First Folio.
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11. No one really knows what William Shakespeare was up to between 1585 and 1592
Maintaining a timeline for Shakespeare is difficult without his work. It seems like he had written himself into the shadows. This was especially evident from 1585 to 1592.
During this period, it is not known when he arrived in London. Or left for Stratford. What he did, and where he went. This gaping void is a temptation to be filled. More likely are base arguments, scholarly debates, and uncalled findings.
Among these were a few notable reports:
- 1681, John Aubrey. After Shakespeare’s death, he claimed that he had been a schoolmaster in the country. No evidence supports this claim.
- That he travelled to Italy,
- Was a soldier in Flanders, and
- Went to the sea (sailing with Drake on the “Golden Hinde”)
A more plausible argument suggests that he took a different route to London. He had journeyed to Northern England, to Lancashire, as a Catholic recluse.
12. Shakespeare’s passion for theatre was as strong as it was for being a playwright
Among the amazing facts about William Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s plays are indisputably brilliant and economical. This is more evident when it comes down to performance.
Theatre performances, intimate as they were, regarded the audience highly. It was their imagination that brought scenes to life. With little scenery and almost no curtains, characters had “to declare themselves invisible to become so.”
English language and dialogue delivery were at stake. So was maintaining the attention of the audience. Stage directions were set with high regard. Props and costumes were designed elaborately and valued.
Realism was gory. Sheep and pig organs were employed, and sheep’s blood was used for color on swords and for wounds.
Solemn as problem plays were, they always ended with a jig to keep up morale. Operated as a kind of bonus entertainment as well!
As for Shakespeare’s powerful and expressive female characters, the cast that performed were known to cross-dress. Though this is evident, there is no proof of the conduct of these roles. Judith Cook claimed that there was not a single role of a female character played by a specific boy actor. This, she affirms in her interesting paper titled, Women in Shakespeare.
13. Shakespeare’s ‘page to stage’ balancing act was more difficult than we give him credit for
The theatrical world is a chaotically busy place. For William Shakespeare, it had to be more. He held onto so many roles beyond playwright. He was:
- An actor
- A playwright
- Part-owner, and
- (likely) De facto Director
Shakespeare remained an actor, as much as he contributed to his other commitments within the Company. He had to memorize lines. Actively participate in discussions relating to how they were to enact scenes. And monitor other actors and staff. To be acquainted not only with the performers, but also the props. The layout of the stage and its scenes.
Shakespeare remained an actor throughout his professional career. And continued to write when he could. Though we do not know what parts he played, his passion seeps through. It is evident that he enjoyed acting. This can be found in the listing where he was a principal performer. In Ben Johnson’s Every Man in His Humour, 1598, and Sejanus His Fall, 1603.
It would have been difficult to maintain a steady greatness, but what Shakespeare did was “steal like an artist!” He took “pedestrian pieces of work and endow(ed) them with distinction.” Rules of presentation were lax because it was impossible to constantly entertain the masses. The plays belonged to the company, and not the playwright.
Theatrical conventions were slowly emerging. This enabled Shakespeare and his cast to bring in effects like comedic relief. Even in the most serious of tragedies, there was room for laughter.
14. The order of William Shakespeare’s debut plays is still up for debate
It is universally agreed that Shakespeare began his playwright career in 1590. But the matter of which plays came first is arguable, still.
Depending on the authority in favour, there are at least eight debut plays:
- The Comedy of Errors
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Titus Andronicus
- King John, or
- The three parts of Henry VI
There is a documentary with claimed evidence, but no two lists are the same.
Sylvan Barnet lists The Comedy of Errors first, while Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor place The Two Gentlemen of Verona on theirs. This is based on “notable unpolishedness,” or “uncertainty of technique suggestive of inexperience.”
A date beyond which it could have been written, terminus ad quem, is another argument. Of references made within the text of weather, or allusions to external events. Some even make claims on style. Plays like The Comedy of Errors and Titus Andronicus convey an aroma of youth.
The staunch claim, thanks to Francis Meres, put an end to most arguments. In Meres’ Palladis Tamia: Wit’s Treasury, a paragraph on accounted plays proved immeasurably helpful.
15. There were several conspiracies arguing Shakespeare’s true identity
A strange tautological seminar Who Wrote Shakespeare? from the Smithsonian Institution in 2022 proved hopeless. But it seems, to find Shakespeare, it took more than a village. There was a claim that ‘Shakespeare was not Shakespeare.’ He was a poser, a namesake.
The Anti-Shakespeare or Anti-Stratford sentiment was born out of “manipulative scholarship or sweeping misstatements of facts.” They are entertaining, at the least.
- Delia Bacon, in her 1857 magnum opus titled The Philosophy of the Plays of Shakspere Unfolded, claimed Francis Bacon as the rightful author
- J. Thomas Looney, in his Shakespeare Identified, “proved” Edward de Vere (seventeenth Earl of Oxford) as the actual author. Other anti-Stratfordians at the time included Sherwood E. Silliman and George M. Battery
- Sigmund Freud had a theory that the actual Shakespeare was derived from the French name, Jacques Pierre
- Christopher Marlowe was also a prime candidate. It was believed that he had faked his death and spent twenty years hidden away in Kent or Italy
- Calvin Hoffman, the “champion of this argument,” took to opening Walsingham’s tomb. Though he claimed “W.H’s” tomb was empty, he ended up with a bestseller, “The Murder of the Man Who Was ‘Shakespeare.”
- Dr. Arthur Titherley, who claimed William Stanley (sixth Earl of Derby) was the real Shakespeare
Another theory claimed that “Shakespeare was too brilliant to be a single person.” That there was a group of people who operated under the name. This conspiracy lacks evidence as much as further claims.
Conclusion
How many of these unusual facts about shakespeare have you already heard about? It is surprising to gather information about a great playwright. It is thanks to the generous reservoir of people who feel it necessary to keep track of Shakespeare’s life. To provide us with enough material to know about him, even when there is so little. From what is available, it is still difficult to deduce what makes him who he is. The mystery of William Shakespeare’s private life lives in mass speculation.
At the end of Bill Bryson’s supposed biography of Shakespeare, there is a raw line. Encapsulating the imagination and emotion we have, unlike Shakespeare’s, there is affection. The only fitting end one can fully regard:
“Only one man had the circumstances and the gifts to give us such incomparable works, and William Shakespeare of Stratford was unquestionably that man – whoever he was.” Shakespeare has been spelled out nearly a hundred times throughout this article. If you have anything more to add to the numbers, we urge you to spill!
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