Cool Facts About Shakespeare by D. Betterton

William Shakespeare had 7 siblings, including two sisters that were both named Joan.

18bettertond — 2015-11-30 13:38:08 UTC

This is interesting because he had two sisters with the same name.

There are more than 80 variations of his name. The spelling that we know, "William Shakespeare", has no record of him ever using it.

18bettertond — 2015-11-30 13:39:22 UTC

This is interesting because he never actually used his real name. He spelled it in multiple different ways.

He was married to a woman named Anne Hathaway.

18bettertond — 2015-11-30 13:41:24 UTC

This is interesting because there is a famous actress named Anne Hathaway.

His parents and children were probably illiterate.

18bettertond — 2015-11-30 13:50:59 UTC

This is interesting because he was a very good writer, and his immediate family didn't know how to read or write at all.

There is no record of him doing anything between 1585 and 1592.

18bettertond — 2015-11-30 13:51:40 UTC

This is interesting because he is one of the most famous people of all time, and nobody knows what happened to him in that 7 year period.

His plays are records of familiar words and phrases that are used today, like "fashionable", "in a pickle", and "wild goose chase".

18bettertond — 2015-11-30 13:55:14 UTC

This is interesting because these phrases are thought to be fairly modern, but they were being used in the 1500s.

Shakespeare's grave has a curse that 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." His remains still haven't been touched

18bettertond — 2015-11-30 13:56:34 UTC

This is interesting for two reasons. The first is that people normally have hopeful things written on their gravestones, and he decided to write a curse. The second is that the threat of a curse still keeps people away from his grave