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Who Is To Blame In William Shakespeare's Death

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William Shakespeare was a famous London playwright, writer, poet and actor, whose plays and sonnets are still admired, read, and studied by many to this day. By the end of his life on April 23rd, 1616, Shakespeare was 55 years old. How Shakespeare died is a mystery on top of the many other mysteries Shakespeare left behind for us to figure out. (158) However, we do know that Shakespeare did die in his home town of Stratford-Upon-Avon and was buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church, with his wife, Anne Hathaway, and other family members. (178) A positive estimate of when Shakespeare started to become ill (and possibly started dying) was when he revised his will in March of 1616, one month before his death. …show more content…

After this however, there was no other mention about other things his wife would get, not even 1/3 of his estate, which Anne was entitled to, supposedly, automatically. Overall, his will, as described by Reverend Joseph Greene of Stratford, was lacking affection. It could possibly because he was way too ill to write anything, for he did not have anything to say to his family as well as to his wife. One mystery surrounding the will is whether if it was signed by Shakespeare. If it was not, it would be particularly devastating to the known facts we have about Shakespeare and his six …show more content…

His surviving family members would live for many years after he passed away. This sickly time of Shakespeare’s life came with unfortunate events preceding his death. His daughter Judith had married a shady character Thomas Quiney and Shakespeare’s brother in law, Hart, passed away, leaving his daughter Joan a widow just six days before his death. (152-156) Shakespeare’s main legacy was his plays and sonnets. Shakespeare and his plays were widely adapted when performed. His work did not please the Restoration sensibilities of the time, however. His plays were often admired by many people but sometimes were just plain bad to some. Generally, after Shakespeare passed away, the public began to loose interest in his plays and his legacy. His legacy was continued, however, through reworked plays, by different countries, who changed the plot (sometimes) and the language (most times).

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