There is no precise record for the death of William Shakespeare, as is the trouble with so many historical figures. We do know that he was buried on the 25th of April, 1616, and it is commonly said that he had died two days before.
About a month before his death, William Shakespeare had a will prepared, leaving most everything in his possession to his daughter. The urgency with which the will was prepared implies that Shakespeare had taken a turn for the worse and saw the need to get his affairs in order. An account written fifty years after his death by John Ward (vicar of the church where Shakespeare is buried) says that he may have contracted a fever after drinking too hard with colleagues by the names of Drayton and Jonson. Though the vicar was in no way a primary source on Shakespeare's death, it has come to light that an outbreak of typhus was raging in 1616. It would not be unlikely for Shakespeare to have died of such a rampant virus.
No comments:
Post a Comment