Turtledove
Register
Tag: sourceedit
No edit summary
(32 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown)
Line 2: Line 2:
 
| name=William Shakespeare
 
| name=William Shakespeare
 
| image= Shakespeare.jpg
 
| image= Shakespeare.jpg
| nationality= [[England]]
+
| nationality= {{English|[[England]]}}
 
| race=
 
| race=
| religion=
+
| religion = {{Anglicans|Anglicanism}}
| birth= 1564
+
| birth= {{1560s Births OTL|1564}}
| death=1616
+
| death={{1610s Deaths OTL|1616}}
| cause of death= Natural Causes
+
| cause of death= {{InfectiousDeathOTL|Fever}}
| occupation= Poet, Playwrite, Actor
+
| occupation= {{Poet}}, {{Playwright|Playwright}}, {{Actor|Actor}}
  +
| parents = [[John Shakespeare]]
 
| spouse= [[Anne Hathaway]]
 
| spouse= [[Anne Hathaway]]
| children= [[Hamnet Shakespeare]],<br> [[Susanna Shakespeare]],<br> [[Judith Shakespeare]]
+
| children= [[Susanna Shakespeare|Susanna]], [[Hamnet Shakespeare|Hamnet]] ({{ParentswithDeceasedChildrenOTL}}d. 1596), [[Judith Shakespeare|Judith]]
 
| family =
 
| family =
| affiliations = Lord Chamberlain's Men; the King's Men}}{{Clearright}}{{We Haven't Got There Yet Historical Character
+
| professional affiliations = Lord Chamberlain's Men; the King's Men}}{{Clearright}}{{We Haven't Got There Yet Historical Character|type of appearance = Direct {{POV}}}}{{Clearright}}{{Ruled Britannia Historical Character
 
| occupation = Poet, Playwright, Actor, Co-conspirator
|story = "We Haven't Got There Yet"
 
 
| affiliations = [[Lord Westmorland's Men]] (c. 1588-1598); The Queen's Men (1598-)
|POD = Set in OTL (?)
 
 
| spouse =[[Anne Hathaway (Ruled Britannia)|Anne Hathaway]] ([[divorce (Ruled Britannia)|divorced]] 1598){{DivorcedPeopleFic}};<br>[[Kate (Ruled Britannia)|Kate]] (m. 1598)|type of appearance = Direct POV}}{{Stack end}}
|type of appearance = Direct POV}}{{Clearright}}{{Ruled Britannia Historical Character
 
 
'''William Shakespeare''' (23 April 1564 - 23 April 1616) was an [[English]] poet and playwright of the [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabethan]] and [[James I of England|Jacobean]] eras, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the [[English language]] and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.
| occupation = Poet, Playwright, Actor, Revolutionary
 
| affiliations = [[Lord Westmorland's Men]]; The Queen's Men
 
| spouse =[[Anne Hathaway]] (div. 1598);<br>[[Kate (Ruled Britannia)|Kate]]|type of appearance = Direct POV}}{{Stack end}}
 
'''William Shakespeare''' (23 April 1564 - 23 April 1616) was an [[English]] poet and playwright of the [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabethan]] and [[James I of England|Jacobean]] eras, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.
 
   
He married [[Anne Hathaway]] at the age of 18 in 1582 and had three children with her: [[Susanna Shakespeare|Susanna]], [[Hamnet Shakespeare|Hamnet]], and [[Judith Shakespeare|Judith]]. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in [[London]] as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to [[Stratford-Upon-Avon|Stratford]] around 1613 at age 49, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
+
He married [[Anne Hathaway]] at the age of 18 in 1582 and had three children with her: [[Susanna Shakespeare|Susanna]], [[Hamnet Shakespeare|Hamnet]], and [[Judith Shakespeare|Judith]]. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in [[London]] as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to [[Stratford-Upon-Avon]] around 1613 at age 49, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
   
 
==Literary comment==
 
==Literary comment==
Dozens if not hundreds of characters in [[Harry Turtledove]] stories set after 1616 make passing references to Shakespeare or his writings - see [[Shakespearean References in Turtledove's Work]]. This article only discusses stories where Shakespeare appears as a character or is otherwise a driving force of the plot.
+
Dozens if not hundreds of characters in [[Harry Turtledove]] stories with a post-1616 [[POD]] make passing references to Shakespeare or his writings - see [[Shakespearean References in Turtledove's Work]]. This article only discusses stories where Shakespeare appears as a character or is otherwise a driving force of the plot.
   
 
==William Shakespeare in "[[We Haven't Got There Yet]]"==
 
==William Shakespeare in "[[We Haven't Got There Yet]]"==
In 1606, '''William Shakespeare''' was appalled to learn that a group of actors were performing a play entitled ''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead]]'' at [[The Rose (theatre)#The Rose in "We Haven't Got There Yet"|The Rose]]. The two characters mentioned in the title were characters in Shakespeare's own ''[[Hamlet (Play)#Hamlet in "We Haven't Got There Yet"|Hamlet]]''. Shakespeare attended the first performance, and, while very puzzled by the style of the play, he nonetheless warmed to it. Afterwords, he went before the company, who informed him, in a round-about manner, that they were in fact from several centuries in the future, and had been transported back to 1606 by unknown means. Overwhelmed by this knowledge, Shakespeare fled from their presence, but came back two weeks later to take in another [[Waiting for Godot#Waiting for Godot in "We Haven't Got There Yet"|production]].
+
In 1606, '''William Shakespeare''' was appalled to learn that a group of actors were performing a play entitled ''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (We Haven't Got There Yet)|Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead]]'' at [[The Rose (We Haven't Got There Yet)|the Rose]]. The two characters mentioned in the title were characters in Shakespeare's own ''[[Hamlet (We Haven't Got There Yet)|Hamlet]]''. Shakespeare attended the first performance, and, while very puzzled by the style of the play, he nonetheless warmed to it. Afterwards, he went before the company, who informed him, in a round-about manner, that they were in fact from several centuries in the future, and had been [[Time travel (We Haven't Got There Yet)|transported back to 1606]] by unknown means. Overwhelmed by this knowledge, Shakespeare fled from their presence, but came back two weeks later to take in another [[Waiting for Godot (We Haven't Got There Yet)|production]].
   
 
== William Shakespeare in ''[[Ruled Britannia]]'' ==
 
== William Shakespeare in ''[[Ruled Britannia]]'' ==
'''William Shakespeare''' was a great playwright who burst upon the [[London#London in Ruled Britannia|London]] theater scene several months before the [[Spanish Armada#Spanish Armada in Ruled Britannia|Spanish Armada]] defeated [[Elizabeth I (Ruled Britannia)|Queen Elizabeth's]] forces in 1588, and soon rivaled even the great [[Christopher Marlowe#Christopher Marlowe in Ruled Britannia|Christopher Marlowe]], who was, like Shakespeare, a member of [[Lord Westmorland's Men]]. His most popular play was ''[[Prince of Denmark]]''.
+
'''William Shakespeare''' was a great playwright who burst upon the [[London (Ruled Britannia)|London]] theater scene several months before the [[Spanish Armada (Ruled Britannia)|Spanish Armada]] defeated [[Elizabeth I (Ruled Britannia)|Queen Elizabeth's]] forces in 1588. He soon rivaled even [[Christopher Marlowe (Ruled Britannia)|Christopher Marlowe]] who had, until then, been considered the greatest of the day. Shakespeare's most popular play was ''[[Prince of Denmark]]'', where he played [[Hamlet (King)|The Ghost]].
   
He had cared little for politics and actually had a religious preference for [[Catholicism#Catholicism in Ruled Britannia|Catholicism]], which was the faith of his father, [[John Shakespeare]]. He recognized that neither [[Queen Isabella]] nor Queen Elizabeth was an entirely benevolent ruler, that both suppressed political and especially religious dissent. However, he became distrustful the draconian rule of the [[Spain (Ruled Britannia)|Spanish]] occupiers and the heavy handed tactics of the [[English Inquisition]] after witnessing an [[auto da fe]]. One of the condemned, alchemist [[Edward Kelley#Edward Kelley in Ruled Britannia|Edward Kelley]], who knew Shakespeare through their mutual acquaintance, Christopher Marlowe, called out to Shakespeare, thus drawing the Inquisition's suspicions in Shakespeare's direction. He would later be investigated by [[Robert Parsons#Robert Parsons in Ruled Britannia|Robert Cardinal Parsons]], the Archbishop of Canterbury.)
+
He had cared little for politics and actually had a religious preference for [[Catholicism (Ruled Britannia)|Catholicism]], which was the faith of his father, [[John Shakespeare (Ruled Britannia)|John Shakespeare]]. He recognised that neither [[Queen Isabella]] nor Queen Elizabeth was an entirely benevolent ruler, that both suppressed political and especially religious dissent. However, he became distrustful of the draconian rule of the [[Spain (Ruled Britannia)|Spanish]] occupiers and the heavy handed tactics of the [[English Inquisition]] after witnessing an [[Auto da fe (Ruled Britannia)|auto da fe]]. One of the condemned, alchemist [[Edward Kelley (Ruled Britannia)|Edward Kelley]], who knew Shakespeare through their mutual acquaintance Marlowe, called out to Shakespeare, thus drawing the Inquisition's suspicions in Shakespeare's direction. He would later be investigated by [[Robert Parsons (Ruled Britannia)|Robert Cardinal Parsons]], the Archbishop of Canterbury.
   
In 1597, Shakespeare's fame was such that [[Don Diego Flores de Valdes#Don Diego Flores de Valdes in Ruled Britannia|Don Diego Flores de Valdes]], the commander of the Spanish occupation, invited him to compose an English-language play celebrating the life of the dying [[Philip II of Spain#Philip II in Ruled Britannia|King Philip II]]. At the same time, he was invited by [[William Cecil#William Cecil in Ruled Britannia|William Cecil]] to write a play celebrating the ancient [[Iceni]] queen [[Boudicca (Historical Figure)#Boudicca in Ruled Britannia|Boudicca]], who had led a revolt against [[Roman Empire#Roman Empire in Ruled Britania|Roman]] rule in ancient times.
+
In 1597, Shakespeare's fame was such that [[Don Diego Flores de Valdes (Ruled Britannia)|Don Diego Flores de Valdes]], the commander of the Spanish occupation, invited him to compose an English-language play celebrating the life of the dying [[Philip II (Ruled Britannia)|King Philip II]]. At the same time, he was invited by [[William Cecil (Ruled Britannia)|Sir William Cecil]] to write a play celebrating the ancient [[Iceni (Ruled Britannia)|Iceni]] queen [[Boudicca (Ruled Britannia)|Boudicca]], who had led a [[Iceni Revolt (Ruled Britannia)|revolt]] against [[Roman Empire (Ruled Britannia)|Roman]] rule in ancient times.
   
Over the next year, Shakespeare became swept up in ever-deepening plots of intrigue, during which he indirectly caused the murders of [[Matthew Quinn]] and [[Geoffrey Martin]] by naming them as possible betrayers of the Boudicia Plot to Cecil's unsavory associates, [[Nick Skeres#Nick Skeres in Ruled Britannia|Nick Skeres]] and [[Ingram Frizer#Ingram Frizer in Ruled Britannia|Ingram Frizer]]. Shakespeare befriended Spanish soldier and fellow playwright [[Lope de Vega#Lope de Vega in Ruled Britannia|Lope de Vega]], to whom he promised a role in ''[[King Philip]]''--which meant the Spaniard was often near the theater, making it extremely difficult to keep the existence of ''[[Boudicca (Play)|Boudicca]]'' secret. He did not have time to write ''[[Love's Labours Won]]'', a play he had recently begun when he became swept up in all this intrigue.
+
Over the next year, Shakespeare became swept up in ever-deepening plots of intrigue, during which he indirectly caused the murders of [[Matthew Quinn]] and [[Geoffrey Martin]] by naming them as possible betrayers of the Boudicca Plot to Cecil's unsavory associates, [[Nick Skeres (Ruled Britannia)|Nick Skeres]] and [[Ingram Frizer (Ruled Britannia)|Ingram Frizer]]. Shakespeare befriended Spanish soldier and fellow playwright [[Lope de Vega (Ruled Britannia)|Lope de Vega]], to whom he promised [[Juan de Idiáquez#Juan de Idiáquez in Ruled Britannia|a role]] in ''[[King Philip (play)|King Philip]]''--which meant the Spaniard was often near the theater, making it extremely difficult to keep the existence of ''[[Boudicca (Play)|Boudicca]]'' secret. He did not have time to write ''[[Love's Labours Won (Ruled Britannia)|Love's Labours Won]]'', a play he had recently begun when he became swept up in all this intrigue.
   
When King Philip died, the Spaniards ordered Shakespeare to perform ''King Philip'' on 13 October 1598, a month to the day after Philip's death. Cecil's men (now answering to the late William's son, [[Robert Cecil#Robert Cecil in Ruled Britannia|Robert Cecil]]) ordered him to perform ''Boudicca'' instead. He could not decide which order to obey until almost immediately before the designated time to give the performance. He finally chose ''Boudicca''.
+
When King Philip died, the Spaniards ordered Shakespeare to perform ''King Philip'' on 13 October 1598, a month to the day after Philip's death. Cecil's men (now answering to the late Sir William's son, [[Robert Cecil (Ruled Britannia)|Robert Cecil]]) ordered him to perform ''Boudicca'' instead. He could not decide which order to obey until almost immediately before the designated time to give the performance. He finally chose ''Boudicca''.
   
''Boudicia'' was a powerful, moving play that evoked love of Elizabeth in the hearts of his English audience. They were inspired to join a much larger uprising engineered by Cecil; even Shakespeare himself joined this revolt. By the next night the Spaniards had been expelled from London, and Elizabeth restored to the throne. Shakespeare also saw two Catholic priests hanged and mutilated in front of their church, and he knew that this he had not been faced with morally easy choice.
+
''Boudicca'' was a powerful, moving play that evoked love of Elizabeth in the hearts of his English audience. They were inspired to join a much larger uprising engineered by Cecil; even Shakespeare himself joined this revolt. By the next night the Spaniards had been expelled from London, and Elizabeth restored to the throne. Shakespeare also saw two Catholic priests hanged and mutilated in front of their church, and he knew that this he had not been faced with morally easy choice.
   
The legend of Shakespeare's role in this plot grew, and Elizabeth herself became grateful to him. She knighted him, she allowed his company of actors to refer to themselves as "The Queen's Men," and she offered Shakespeare other favors--one of which he used to obtain the release of de Vega, who had been captured during the revolt. He used another to [[Divorce#Divorce in Ruled Britannia|divorce]] [[Anne Hathaway#Anne Hathaway in Ruled Britannia|Anne Hathaway]] so he could marry [[Kate (Ruled Britannia)|Kate]]. Shakespeare also requested permission to let his play on ''King Philip'' be performed, as he felt it contained some of his best work. After consulting with Robert Cecil, who also had a high regard for the play, Elizabeth granted this request.
+
The legend of Shakespeare's role in this plot grew, and Elizabeth herself became grateful to him. She knighted him, she allowed his company of actors to refer to themselves as "The Queen's Men," and she offered Shakespeare other favors--one of which he used to obtain the release of de Vega, who had been captured during the revolt. He used another to [[Divorce (Ruled Britannia)|divorce]] [[Anne Hathaway (Ruled Britannia)|Anne Hathaway]] so he could marry [[Kate (Ruled Britannia)|Kate]]. Shakespeare also requested permission to let his play on ''King Philip'' be performed, as he felt it contained some of his best work. After consulting with Robert Cecil, who also had a high regard for the play, Elizabeth granted this request.
   
 
For all the benefits which came of his year-long intrigue in the end, throughout the ordeal all Shakespeare wanted was to be left alone to write his plays in [[Jane Kendall]]'s boardinghouse and Kate's eatery.
 
For all the benefits which came of his year-long intrigue in the end, throughout the ordeal all Shakespeare wanted was to be left alone to write his plays in [[Jane Kendall]]'s boardinghouse and Kate's eatery.
Line 48: Line 46:
 
==See Also==
 
==See Also==
 
*William Shakespeare at the [http://ericflint.wikia.com/wiki/William_Shakespeare Eric Flint Wiki]
 
*William Shakespeare at the [http://ericflint.wikia.com/wiki/William_Shakespeare Eric Flint Wiki]
  +
*[[Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount Saint Alban]], who is named by a popular (but wholly unsubstantiated) conspiracy theory as the "true" author of some or all of Shakespeare's works. In ''[[The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump]]'', it is implied that Bacon really wrote ''[[Prosciutto (Toxic Spell Dump)|Hamlet]]'' in that [[timeline]].
   
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shakespeare, William}}
 
 
{{Ruled Britannia}}
 
{{Ruled Britannia}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shakespeare, William}}
 
{{We Haven't Got There Yet}}
 
{{We Haven't Got There Yet}}
[[Category:Historical Figures]]
 
[[Category:Englishmen]]
 
[[Category:1560s Births (OTL)]]
 
[[Category:1610s Deaths (OTL)]]
 
[[Category:Actors]]
 
 
[[Category:Adulterers]]
 
[[Category:Adulterers]]
[[Category:Died of Natural Causes (OTL)]]
 
[[Category:Divorced People]]
 
[[Category:Grieving Parents]]
 
 
[[Category:Knights (Fictional Work)]]
 
[[Category:Knights (Fictional Work)]]
[[Category:Persons of Unclear Religious Affiliation]]
 
[[Category:Playwrights]]
 
[[Category:Poets]]
 
[[Category:POVs]]
 
 
[[Category:Religious Converts (Fictional Work)]]
 
[[Category:Religious Converts (Fictional Work)]]
[[Category:Ruled Britannia Characters]]
 
 
[[Category:Shakespeare|*]]
 
[[Category:Shakespeare|*]]
 
[[Category:Shakespeares]]
 
[[Category:Shakespeares]]
[[Category:We Haven't Got There Yet Characters]]
 

Revision as of 18:56, 25 July 2021

William Shakespeare
Shakespeare
Historical Figure
Nationality: England
Year of Birth: 1564
Year of Death: 1616
Cause of Death: Fever
Religion: Anglicanism
Occupation: Poet, Playwright, Actor
Parents: John Shakespeare
Spouse: Anne Hathaway
Children: Susanna, Hamnet (d. 1596), Judith
Professional Affiliations: Lord Chamberlain's Men; the King's Men
Fictional Appearances:
"We Haven't Got There Yet"
Set in OTL (?)
Type of Appearance: Direct POV
Ruled Britannia
POD: July-August, 1588
Type of Appearance: Direct POV
Occupation: Poet, Playwright, Actor, Co-conspirator
Spouse: Anne Hathaway (divorced 1598);
Kate (m. 1598)

William Shakespeare (23 April 1564 - 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

He married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18 in 1582 and had three children with her: Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford-Upon-Avon around 1613 at age 49, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Literary comment

Dozens if not hundreds of characters in Harry Turtledove stories with a post-1616 POD make passing references to Shakespeare or his writings - see Shakespearean References in Turtledove's Work. This article only discusses stories where Shakespeare appears as a character or is otherwise a driving force of the plot.

William Shakespeare in "We Haven't Got There Yet"

In 1606, William Shakespeare was appalled to learn that a group of actors were performing a play entitled Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at the Rose. The two characters mentioned in the title were characters in Shakespeare's own Hamlet. Shakespeare attended the first performance, and, while very puzzled by the style of the play, he nonetheless warmed to it. Afterwards, he went before the company, who informed him, in a round-about manner, that they were in fact from several centuries in the future, and had been transported back to 1606 by unknown means. Overwhelmed by this knowledge, Shakespeare fled from their presence, but came back two weeks later to take in another production.

William Shakespeare in Ruled Britannia

William Shakespeare was a great playwright who burst upon the London theater scene several months before the Spanish Armada defeated Queen Elizabeth's forces in 1588. He soon rivaled even Christopher Marlowe who had, until then, been considered the greatest of the day. Shakespeare's most popular play was Prince of Denmark, where he played The Ghost.

He had cared little for politics and actually had a religious preference for Catholicism, which was the faith of his father, John Shakespeare. He recognised that neither Queen Isabella nor Queen Elizabeth was an entirely benevolent ruler, that both suppressed political and especially religious dissent. However, he became distrustful of the draconian rule of the Spanish occupiers and the heavy handed tactics of the English Inquisition after witnessing an auto da fe. One of the condemned, alchemist Edward Kelley, who knew Shakespeare through their mutual acquaintance Marlowe, called out to Shakespeare, thus drawing the Inquisition's suspicions in Shakespeare's direction. He would later be investigated by Robert Cardinal Parsons, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

In 1597, Shakespeare's fame was such that Don Diego Flores de Valdes, the commander of the Spanish occupation, invited him to compose an English-language play celebrating the life of the dying King Philip II. At the same time, he was invited by Sir William Cecil to write a play celebrating the ancient Iceni queen Boudicca, who had led a revolt against Roman rule in ancient times.

Over the next year, Shakespeare became swept up in ever-deepening plots of intrigue, during which he indirectly caused the murders of Matthew Quinn and Geoffrey Martin by naming them as possible betrayers of the Boudicca Plot to Cecil's unsavory associates, Nick Skeres and Ingram Frizer. Shakespeare befriended Spanish soldier and fellow playwright Lope de Vega, to whom he promised a role in King Philip--which meant the Spaniard was often near the theater, making it extremely difficult to keep the existence of Boudicca secret. He did not have time to write Love's Labours Won, a play he had recently begun when he became swept up in all this intrigue.

When King Philip died, the Spaniards ordered Shakespeare to perform King Philip on 13 October 1598, a month to the day after Philip's death. Cecil's men (now answering to the late Sir William's son, Robert Cecil) ordered him to perform Boudicca instead. He could not decide which order to obey until almost immediately before the designated time to give the performance. He finally chose Boudicca.

Boudicca was a powerful, moving play that evoked love of Elizabeth in the hearts of his English audience. They were inspired to join a much larger uprising engineered by Cecil; even Shakespeare himself joined this revolt. By the next night the Spaniards had been expelled from London, and Elizabeth restored to the throne. Shakespeare also saw two Catholic priests hanged and mutilated in front of their church, and he knew that this he had not been faced with morally easy choice.

The legend of Shakespeare's role in this plot grew, and Elizabeth herself became grateful to him. She knighted him, she allowed his company of actors to refer to themselves as "The Queen's Men," and she offered Shakespeare other favors--one of which he used to obtain the release of de Vega, who had been captured during the revolt. He used another to divorce Anne Hathaway so he could marry Kate. Shakespeare also requested permission to let his play on King Philip be performed, as he felt it contained some of his best work. After consulting with Robert Cecil, who also had a high regard for the play, Elizabeth granted this request.

For all the benefits which came of his year-long intrigue in the end, throughout the ordeal all Shakespeare wanted was to be left alone to write his plays in Jane Kendall's boardinghouse and Kate's eatery.

See Also