A man with a word, known for his words. The way he wrote, created history, his prophecy hard to carry, many men came, but the way he triumphs as a man with his literacy skills is still hard to overcome. Though an old legend, histories still continue as famous plays but so do controversies and half-truths.
So here are the top 15 unusual facts about Shakespeare:
1. He was an inventor of words.
Well, though we know that many words were discovered by him, like ‘mimic,’ ‘ode,’ etc., but as people love to quote some words by Shakespeare, ‘assassination’ is not one of those. It had been in use for decades before the Hamlet writer used it.
2. He did not love his wife.
What Shakespeare left to his wife in the will was the “second-best” bed, as the first was reserved for the guests that came. To each of his daughters, he left 150 euros (at that time). While the possession he left for his wife was not too much to say but if he would not have loved her, then why would he even do the little bit?
3. Shakespeare was poorly educated.
It comes from an interesting perspective that “Shakespeare couldn’t have a good education as a child,” but he attended grammar school, which basically focused on Latin as a language and the greatest authors of that time like Ovid, Virgil, Horace, etc. These are all Latin authors, and even his plays seemed relatable to the writing style he must have studied in school.
4. Shakespeare wrote everything first-hand.
As much as we love to think about Shakespeare and his creative allusions, taking into consideration some plays he had written had been already written many decades back by names that couldn’t fame as much as him.
5. Religion of Shakespeare
There are topics that shouldn’t arise around, like political or religious views, but Shakespeare greatly influenced his readers to believe in the facts that he was a Catholic as he quoted the bible in plays. Some scholars still have trouble elaborating if he was just portraying to be a Catholic. Well, people have also believed him to be an atheist.
6. Shakespeare was a pothead.
Much evidence states that marijuana had been found in his garden, and while it was also used in medical work back then, scholars believe his imagination and creativity were triggered by consuming weed. They found residue of cannabis in his pipes.
7. Shakespeare wrote all plays alone.
This is a controversy that started 200 years back after Shakespeare was dead. James Wilmot was to write his biography, but by studying his life and visiting the places, he did find that the works in Shakespeare’s plays were resembling with other scholars of the same time like Middleton, Francis, or Stanley.
Read also – Top 15 Amazing Health Drinks
8. Sonnets of Shakespeare were not his own creation.
It has been firmly believed by laymen that Shakespeare was a literature God to write all the plays by himself, but evidence found by some scholars lay upon the fact that the sonnet had an earlier version, which was written by Henry Howard and Earl of Surrey. So, basically, wrangles have been created around him all his life.
9. Shakespeare ever even wrote?
While James was studying the life of Shakespeare, he visited the school where he attained his education, which led to the discovery that not even one of his plays was preserved by his school. No trace of plays, sonnets, or poems was found in the playwright’s school. He questioned to give an argument that if he was a great scholar, the school library must have been proud of their alumni’s work.
10. William Stanley, aka W.S.
Controversies persist; scholars are still trying to figure out if his plays were written by him or had co-authors. Commonly signed as Will, William Stanley has the same initials as William Shakespeare. The style also relates to some plays of the former playwrights. Was Will the actual writer of the plays?
11. Sir Francis Bacon, the real writer?
Francis was a philosopher, scientist, and writer at the same time when Shakespeare existed. Some evidence that makes scholars question Shakespeare are some uncommon words used in the plays of Bard, often used in Bacon’s written treasures.
12. The Earl of Rutland contributed to the characters.
It is said that the Earl of Rutland had some life incidences and people around him by whom he would have been inspired to put the character into the play Hamlet. Roger Manners was still young to write as he was 18 years old and studying in Cambridge, but he was a well-traveled scholar.
While the universities take special classes in literature to preach his plays and poems as a bible for English students, Oxford’s new edition says Middleton contributed to half of his plays, Timon Of Athens has 60% dedicated to Middleton as a co-author, making clear he had written the end and the beginning.
14. Shakespeare: A pseudonym?
As words spread, among all famous rumors lies this infamous one, heard by few but enjoyed by the one who hears. It is said that Shakespeare never wrote anything; it was a pseudonym used by some foreign scholars who never wanted to publish their names.
15. Deception in English: Shakespeare
Though it is a very great word to be said or written for a scholar, all the controversies have questioned his existence for what he is known. Some scholars are still reading all the plays by Bacon, Rogers, and Stanley to figure out the author and co-authors of the play.
Conclusion
Leaving these controversies to be resolved someday, let’s read the sonnets and plays to engulf the knowledge to see what mesmerizing archives and sagas he had to offer. He lived a life of a scholar, and still, after 400 years, people question his ways, life, or even existence.
Read also – Top 15 Advanced Ancient Civilizations
