Facts About Shakespeare
How Did Shakespeare Die?
In an era where practically everything else about Shakespeare’s life has been questioned, debunked and denied, not even the most vehement anti-Stratfordian would suggest that he isn’t dead! Unlike Elvis, who makes the occasional appearance, Shakespeare lives on only in his work.
William Shakespeare’s Death
Shakespeare’s death occurred at his home, New Place, in Chapel Street in Stratford upon Avon on 23 April 1616. Shakespeare had purchased New Place in 1597, and retired there in 1610 . He spent the remaining six years of his life at New Place, presumably with his wife Anne Hathaway. He died aged 52.
How Did Shakespeare Die?
Given the rudimentary medical knowledge of that time, there can only be speculation about the probable cause of Shakespeare’s death. We do know that he was attended by his much-respected son-in-law, Dr John Hall.
It seems he took ill suddenly, as, according to the Britannica Online, an account written some 45 years later by the vicar of Stratford dates the onset of Will’s illness from a night of heavy drinking with his mates, Ben Jonson and Richard Drayton, whereupon he ‘died of a fever there contracted.’
It is possible that Shakespeare succumbed to typhoid, which was rife, or simply caught a virus that led to pneumonia. There has been the suggestion that he may have been ill for some time, as he revised his will on March 25, a month before he died.
While prolonged illness can’t be totally ruled out, there was already a compelling reason for the revision, as Shakespeare’s recently-married daughter Judith had a major problem: her new husband, Thomas Quiney, had got another girl pregnant. L.K. Alchin records that Shakespeare revised his will to ensure that his daughter would have some security – a legacy of 300 pounds.
Shakespeare’s Burial
Shakespeare is buried under the floor of the chancel (a mark of great respect) of the Church of the Holy Trinity, the same church in which he was baptised 52 years earlier. The original stone slab was replaced in 1830. Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway, is buried beside him. She died in 1623 (aged 67), seven years after Shakespeare.
The Gentle Irony of Shakespeare’s Death
William Shakespeare’s death at 52 seems regrettably young by present standards. Nevertheless, Encarta Encyclopaedia reveals that the average life expectancy in Elizabethan times was only 42. Londoners averaged 35 years or less, and 40% of the population didn’t make it beyond their teenage years.
Shakespeare survived the London plague of 1603, negotiated the rough London world that saw his fellow-writer, Christopher Marlowe knifed, kept on the good side of an unpredictable queen - to die peacefully in his bed at home.
Shakespeare portrait
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Stratford upon Avon
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Church of the Holy Trinity
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