RetirementandDeath3

Melody P. 8-3 4/12/10 **What was Shakespeare’s retirement and later life in Stratford-Upon-Avon like? How and when did Shakespeare die? Where is he buried and what is his grave like? What is the memorial to Shakespeare in Westminster Abby? **

Shakespeare spent his retirement and later life in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. He is said to have done what a typical person would do in their free time and be at ease and in good conversation with his friends. William was a pleasant man and mostly everyone knew who he was.

Sadly, William Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616. Then, on April 25, just 2 days after his death, he was buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church. The slab over his grave states “GOOD FRIEND FOR JESUS SAKE FORBEARE, TO DIGG THE DUST ENCLOASED HEARE. BLESTE BE Ye MAN Yt SPARES THES STONES, AND CURST BE HE Yt MOVES MY BONES.(Lee 285)” It is thought that Shakespeare might have put this note there to tell the common gravediggers know not to mess with his grave.

No one is exactly sure how William died but it is speculated that it could have been Bright’s disease, intolerable entrails or writer’s cramp. Shakespeare left a little piece of his fortune for everyone left in his family including his daughter, sister and granddaughter. William’s granddaughter is the last ere in the Shakespeare line and she passed away in 1670.

The first tribute and monument for Shakespeare was built somewhere between 1616- 1623. It is unknown who put the statue in a small parish church, but it was not from the family or towns people. Then, in 1748 the Shakespeare monument was restored. Not only was the statue fixed but it was completely altered. The inscription on the present day monument says (Theobald 68-69): // Judicio pylium genio socratem arte maronem // //Terra tegit populous maret olympus habet // //Stay passenger why quest thou by so fast // //Read if thou canst whom envious death hath plast // //Within this Monument Shakespeare with whome // //Quick nature dide whose name doth deck the tomb // //Far more the cost : sith all that he hath writt // //Leaves living art but page to serve his witt. // No one knows an excessive amount about his later years, as we do not have a lot of the documentation from them. All that we know, in our modern world today, is what explorers have been able to figure out. Shakespeare sounds like he was “normal” and did the same things everyone else did even though he was far different in ability.

Works Cited Alexander, Peter. //Sakespeare's Life and Art//. London: James Nisbet and Co. Ltd., 1939. 13-16.Print. Harrison, G.B. //A Companion to Shakespeare Studies//. London: The Syndics of the Cambridge University Press, 1955. 117-136. Print. Lee, Sidney. //Stratford-On-Avon From the Earliest Times to the Death of Shakespeare//. New ed. Freeport, NY: Libraries Press, 1890. 283-304. Print. Rozakis, Laurie. //The Complete Idiot's Guide to Shakespeare//. New York, NY: Alpha Books, 1999. 9-11. Print. Theobald, Bertram. //Exit Shakespeare//. 1st ed. London, Great Britain: Wickrs & Andrews Ltd., 1931. 64-69. Print.