William Shakespeare is probably the most famous writer the world has ever known. While you are probably aware that he wrote Romeo and Juliet and spoke in a weird way there is a lot you may not know. Read on to find out four incredible facts that will leave you in awe in one fell swoop.
A strange marriage
William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway (no not the modern-day actress) in 1582. It is now known that Hathaway was three months pregnant at the time of the marriage, a cause of a lot of controversy at the time. Shakespeare was only 18 years old while Anne was 26, also very unusual for the time. It is unknown how successful the marriage was as although they had three children together, Shakespeare only left Anne his second-best bed in his dying will.
It doesn’t run in the family
While Shakespeare was an incredible man with a pencil (while many think he used a quill, he likely used a standard graphite pencil) his family was not. It is likely that both of Shakespeare’s parents were illiterate and that his children were too.
Shakespeare contributed so much to the English language
If you have ever found yourself “in a pickle” or on a “wild goose chase” then you have Shakespeare to thank. His plays have coined both these phrases and hundreds more. In one fell swoop, he changed the course of the English language forever (In one fell swoop was his as well). He is also credited with inventing many names that have become very popular such as Jessica and Olivia. He did also came up with Titania which has not.
Was Shakespeare really Shakespeare?
Many people now believe that Shakespeare was a fraud. The sheer volume of incredible plays that he produced and the knowledge that was included in each play make some people doubt it is true. Even in his early plays, Shakespeare appears to have an incredible knowledge of international business and many countries’ leading cities. Some people now believe he never truly existed and was merely a front for one or a collection of writers. Or that he at least had many collaborators that were never mentioned.