10 Shocking Things About William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is one of the ‘greats’ of English Literature. Indeed he is, arguably, the greatest playwright that ever lived. His works have guided, inspired and amused audiences for hundreds of years and not just in his native English. The works of Shakespeare have been translated into almost every language (it works particularly well and is very popular in Russian and Japanese) and even into Klingon.
Most children will study at least one of the works of Shakespeare in school. His works are timeless, as relevant now as they were in their own day
– a fact proved by the number of ‘interpretations’ of the plays that set them in a variety of different locations, from modern India to feudal Japan! He also manages to convey the broad range and depth of human emotion more successfully than almost any other playwright. He did this in a range of stories that covered almost every potential topic with some of the most fascinating characters ever created.But how well do you know ‘the bard’ the enigmatic character behind the plays? Here are 10 things you never knew, or even suspected about William Shakespeare!
10William Shakespeare did not spell his name the way we write it today.
9One of Shakespeare’s relatives was arrested for plotting against the queen.
8Shakespeare’s father was a petty criminal.
7Shakespeare has written some of the most quotable lines in the English Language.
6Shakespeare used more words once and once only than the King James’ Bible.
5The King James’ Bible contains an homage to William Shakespeare.
4Shakespeare did not publish any of his own plays.
3There may still be ‘lost’ plays waiting to be discovered.
2Shakespeare laid a curse on his own grave.
1There were rumors that Shakespeare was bisexual.
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