Shakespeare's Tomb | How Did Shakespeare Die? | PBS (2024)

FAQs

Shakespeare's Tomb | How Did Shakespeare Die? | PBS? ›

Shakespeare's death is a mystery. It's been speculated that he died of syphilis or was even murdered. Helen explores the theory that comes from a diary written by a Stratford Vicar 50 years after Shakespeare's death.

Shakespeare's burial is recorded in Stratford's parish register on 25 April 1616. We do not know the cause of Shakespeare's death. He made a will on 25 March, almost a month before he died, in which he describes himself as 'in perfect health & memorie, god be praysed'.

Two years on, the couple had twins: Judith and Hamnet. In 1596, Hamnet, just 11 years old, died. (The cause of death is unknown; O'Farrell imagines, plausibly, that it was plague.)

The curse upon Shakespeare's grave reads: “Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare, To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones.” It's thought that he wrote it himself.

Just like with his birthday, Shakespeare's exact date of death is a mystery. It is commonly said that he died on April 23, 1616, but no record of his death exists, only a record of his funeral on April 25, 1616. While no one knows what Shakespeare died of exactly, he was sick before his death.

Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon is open to the public, so feel free to walk in and visit Shakespeare's grave.

ITS ONLY INSCRIPTION IS A CURSE. MAN: "GOOD FRIEND, FOR JESUS' SAKE FORBEAR, TO DIG THE DUST ENCLOSED HERE. BLESSED BE THE MAN THAT SPARES THESE STONES, AND CURSED BE HE THAT MOVES MY BONES."

William and Anne Shakespeare had three children. Susanna was born six months after their marriage, followed by twins Judith and Hamnet in 1585. Hamnet died at age 11. Shakespeare's four grandchildren all died without heirs, so there are no direct descendants of his line today.

Answer and Explanation: Some of William Shakespeare's siblings died of the Black Death, of which there were several outbreaks during Shakespeare's lifetime. His sister Joan died of it when she was a baby. His brother, Gilbert, contracted it but survived, which was uncommon.

Seven years after Shakespeare's death, John Heminge and Henry Condell, his friends and colleagues in the King's Men acting company, collected almost all of his plays in a folio edition, now called the First Folio. The First Folio groups the plays for the first time into comedies, histories, and tragedies.

Who was Shakespeare's wife? ›

Who was Shakespeare's Wife? William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in November 1582 and they remained married until Shakespeare's death. At the time of their marriage William was 18, while Anne was 26—and pregnant with their first child.

When William Shakespeare died he famously left his wife Anne only one thing: their 'second best bed'.

Visit Shakespeare's Grave and the graves of Anne Hathaway, Dr John Hall and his wife Susanna Shakespeare and Thomas Nash in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church. Also in the chancel are 26 fine 15th century carved misericords. On the bank of the River Avon, this is one of England's most beautiful parish churches.

King Lear is about a king who divides his kingdom between three daughters, two of whom turn on him and the third, who truly loves him, is unrecognized. This is considered to be Shakespeare's darkest tragedy and was not performed for many years.

He died on April 23rd, 1616 because of drinking too much wine and eating too much pickled herrings and Typhoid. It's ironic because he died on the same day as his birthday. What item does Shakespeare leave to his wife in his will? His daughters?

There's a possibility that Shakespeare developed immunity to the plague because of his exposure when he was an infant, but that speculation began only centuries later and only because the plague was a constant nuisance to Shakespeare.

Shakespeare's death is a mystery. It's been speculated that he died of syphilis or was even murdered.

He was both baptised and buried inside the Holy Trinity Church and is a popular with visitors to Stratford. The right of burial at Trinity Church was inherited by Shakespeare's family.

Shakespeare retired to Stratford in 1613 and died in 1616. According to local tradition, he succumbed to a febrile illness, perhaps typhoid, after a drinking bout with fellow writers Ben Jonson and Michael Drayton [1–4].

Another claims that he was buried 17ft deep to avoid being disturbed, while one says he was buried in a family tomb. None of those stories are true, the team has concluded. Instead he is buried about 3ft deep and had been wrapped simply in a shroud rather than placed in a coffin.