10 unknown facts about William Shakespeare

1. Shakespeare was bisexual

Shakespeare’s sexuality has been the subject of much academic discussion. The Bard addressed 126 of his sonnets to a mysterious young man, often referred to as the ‘Fair Youth’, despite being married to Anne Hathaway, the mother of his 3 children. Included in this selection was the iconic Sonnet 18 ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ Commentators have noted the romantic language used in the poems and suggested that there was a sexual relationship between Shakespeare and the boy. Others have argued them to be demonstrations of platonic love and admiration.

 2. Shakespeare took drugs

Recently the scientific analysis of William Shakespeare’s possessions has discovered traces of cocaine and cannabis in his smoking pipes. At the time, the chemicals in question were commonly used in the production of rope, clothing, paper, and medicines. However, the emergence of pipes laced with the narcotics points to people using drugs for pleasure. Historians have speculated that Shakespeare may have used the substances to help him cope with the stress of being an in-demand playwright, or possibly even as a hallucinogenic source of inspiration.

3. Shakespeare's cousin tried to kill the Queen

Edward Arden - cousin to Shakespeare through his mother Mary - was involved in a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth the first. Arden’s son-in-law John Somerville had a plan to kill the monarch but was arrested before he could attempt it. Under interrogation, Somerville confessed that he had been put up to the crime by Arden, who it also emerged as a secret Catholic, as some scholars suspect Shakespeare may have been. Arden was found guilty of treason and gruesomely hanged, drawn and quartered in December 1583. Shakespeare's head was placed on a spike on London Bridge.

4. Shakespeare's tomb is cursed

Engraved on Shakespeare’s tomb is a poem, stating ‘curst be he that moves my bones’. Although - at the time - it was standard practice to dig up bodies from old graves to make room for new ones, Bard’s final resting place remained undisturbed for hundreds of years. That was, however, until archaeologists in 2016 performed a non-invasive exploration and made a startling discovery… Shakespeare’s head appears to be missing. It is most probable that the playwright’s skull was stolen from his shallow grave by trophy hunters in the 18th century.

5. Shakespeare' may have had an illegitimate son

Many have speculated that playwright and Poet Laureate Sir William Davenant was - in actual fact - a secret love child of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare was a frequent customer of an Oxford tavern and contemporary accounts describe him as being close to the tavern owner’s wife, Jane Davenant. When Jane gave birth to a child in 1606, Shakespeare was named the boy’s Godfather. As William Davenant grew up showing literary talent comparable to the Bard himself, suspicions grew, which the young poet didn’t deny.

6. Shakespeare invented swag

Shakespeare has been credited with adding almost 3,000 words and phrases to the English language, including ‘what the dickens’, ‘wild-goose chase’, ‘puking’ and ‘swagger’. Whether Shakespeare actually invented the terms or his works were simply the first known record of them, is a mystery. Linguists have estimated that Shakespeare’s vocabulary consisted of between 17,000 and 9,000 words, which is comparable to the average English speaker today. Behind the collaborative authors of the Bible, Shakespeare is currently the most quoted writer in the English language.

7. Shakespeare's caused a plane crash

In 1890, literary enthusiast Eugene Schieffelin [Shee-fell-in] attempted to introduce to America all species of songbird mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays, including the starling. Thanks to Schieffelin, within just 50 years, there were a whopping 200 million starlings in America and they can now be found from Alaska to Florida. Unfortunately, Schieffelin’s project was to have tragic consequences. In October 1960, a plane taking off from Boston Airport startled a flock of 10,000 starlings, which choked the engines and caused the plane to crash. 62 people were killed in the disaster.

8. Shakespeare's globe also held bear-baiting shows

Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, built by his playing company in 1599, was not just used to stage his plays. It was also used for bear-baiting sessions, which saw vicious dogs being forced to attack captive bears for the delight of paying audiences. When he visited the iconic theatre, writer Thomas Platter was shocked to find 120 ferocious dogs and 12 large bears, one of which was blind, being kept backstage. Shakespeare even referenced the cruel spectator sport in his plays, for example in both Julius Caesar and Macbeth.

9. He never spelt his name ‘William  Shakespeare’

Shakespeare very rarely spelt his name the same way twice. Records show more than 80 different spellings, including ‘Willm Shaksp’, ‘Wm Shakspe’ and ‘Willm Shakspeare’ Oddly, there are no records of him ever actually spelling his name ‘William Shakespeare, as we know him today. That spelling came from the First Folio, which was published seven years after his death, in 1623. Despite the variety of spellings, an authentic Shakespeare signature is currently worth up to $5 million.

10. Shakespeare may have been a fraud

In 1785, Oxford scholar James Wilmot suggested that Shakespeare’s apparent knowledge of law and history was inconsistent with the upbringing of a glove-maker son from a small English town. Since then, around 5,000 books have discussed whether Shakespeare was actually a fraud. Numerous figures have been suggested as the true writer of the iconic works. For example Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, who had experience in politics and law and had even lived in Italy - where many Shakespearean plays are set. However, there is no definitive evidence to support this theory, particularly as de Vere died in 1604, before plays such as King Lear, Macbeth, and The Tempest were supposedly written.