His shows are performed more often than any other playwright. He has written over 35 plays and 154 sonnets. He is the second most quoted writer in the English language – after the various writers of the Bible...We are of course speaking of William Shakespeare.
In preparation for our upcoming show The Merchant of Venice opening October 19th, we have pulled together some random facts about our man Shakespeare that you might not have known...
1. Shakespeare died at the age of 52.
2. Shakespeare was 17 years old when he married Anne Hathaway who was 26. Nice.
3. Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway had three children together – a son,
Hamnet, who died in 1596, and two daughters, Susanna and Judith.
4. Shakespeare's
only granddaughter Elizabeth – daughter of Susanna – died childless in
1670. Shakespeare therefore has no descendants. So sad.
5. Shakespeare was buried in the Holy Trinity Church. He put a curse on anyone daring to move his body from that final resting place. To this day, Shakespeare's remains have been left undisturbed.
6. The American president Abraham Lincoln was a great lover of Shakespeare's work and frequently recited his work to friends. Ironically, his assassin, John Wilkes Booth was a famous Shakespearean actor.
7. All of Uranus’ satellites are named after Shakespearean characters.
8. Shakespeare’s shortest play, The Comedy of Errors is only a third of the length of his longest, Hamlet, which in its entirety, takes four hours to perform.
9. Suicide occurs an unlucky thirteen times in Shakespeare’s plays.
10. Until Romeo and Juliet, romance had not been viewed as a worthy topic of tragedy.
Now that you are a pro on Shakespeare--Be sure to buy your tickets to see one of his most praised and controversial plays, The Merchant of Venice!
