W- William Shakespeare

by Shelly Brown

Many of you don't know about my slight obsession with William Shakespeare

A couple of years ago I went to Washington D.C. and the FIRST place I went to was the Folder's Shakespeare Library. (After which I beelined it to the Library of Congress-- even history nerds need their fixes)

Then when I went to London I HAD to go to the Globe Theatre. (Followed by several history museums).

I worked with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival for several years, taught/teach children's Shakespeare classes, and don't miss a chance to take a Shakespeare class myself, or see a Shakespeare play. I've performed such parts as Juliet, Helena, and Beatrice. I named my children after Shakespearian side characters. (Just kidding, my kids are named after one of my other goofy obsessions) BUT...

If you want to be as dorky as me, this is the post for you!!!

Here are FOUR Shakespeare facts that will have you sounding like a Shakespearian in no time.

1. Nobody knows Shakespeare's actual birthday. Scholars think he was born on April 23, 1564, three days before his baptism was recorded at a church in Stratford, England. Strangely enough, his death in 1616 also occurred on April 23.


2. Shakespeare married his wife, Anne Hathaway (the actress from Princess Diaries j/k), when he was 18 and she was 26. They had three children: Susanna and twins Judith and Hamnet. The twins were named after neighbors who named their son William. Although Hamnet died at age 11, his name lives on: It was sometimes written as Hamlet, the title of one of his father's greatest characters and plays. Shakespeare's last descendant, a granddaughter, died in 1670.

3. Shakespeare was not only a playwright he was paid for his poems, a paid actor, and a paid theater manager/partner. But don't over exert yourself to keep up, he died at 52 ;)

4. While most people regularly use about 2,000 words, Shakespeare used more than 25,000 in his writing.


What do you know about Shakespeare? Can you name a Shakespeare play? Maybe even one that nobody's mentioned yet?