How did Shakespeare die?

Answer 1

The cause of Shakespeare's death is a mystery, but an entry in the diary of John Ward, the vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford (where Shakespeare is buried), tells us that "Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and it seems drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted." Ward, a self-proclaimed Shakespeare fan, wrote his diary fifty years after Shakespeare died and most historians agree it appears to be a baseless anecdote. It should be noted though that a serious outbreak of typhus, known as the "new fever", in 1616 (the year Shakespeare died), lends credibility to Ward's story.

C. Martin Mitchell, in his insightful biography of Shakespeare's physician and son-in-law, Dr. John Hall, presents the following hypothesis: "I have formed the opinion that it was more likely than not in the nature of a cerebral hemorrhage or apoplexy that quickly deepened and soon became fatal. There are three reasons for this. Firstly, the hurried reconstruction and inter-lineated clauses of the Will not allowing time for it to be copied afresh before signature; Secondly, the earliest and clearest impressions of the Droeshout frontispiece of the First Folio show outstanding shadings, suggesting marked thickening of the left temporal artery – a sign of atheroma and arterio-sclerosis; and thirdly, such a termination is quite common in men who have undergone such continuous mental and physical strain over a prolonged period as our actor-manager-dramatist must have been subjected to throughout his, undoubtedly, strenuous career. Richard Burbage who daily shared the same theatrical life, himself died of such a seizure after twenty-four hours illness, and within a year or two of Shakespeare’s death" (Mitchell, 79).

Unfortunately, Shakespeare's death at the age of 52 will almost surely remain a mystery. We do know, however, that in a world where plague, syphilis, typhus, scurvy, tuberculosis, smallpox, malaria, dysentery and toothaches shortened a Londoner’s life expectancy to 35 years, Shakespeare fared quite well, leading a relatively long and healthy life.-

Answer 2

I'm writing this on Shakespeare's birthday. His birthday also happened to be the day of his death! This may sound confusing. But the fact is that the two events didn't follow each other.

But who was Shakespeare? How did he die? And more importantly did he throw lavish birthday parties? Well the answer to these questions lie in his plays and especially in the three lesser known ones - 'Titus Andronicus', 'Cymberline' and 'Mr Natwarlal'.

Shakespeare was the son of a local DJ in Hampstead, who grew to great prominence and a height of 5 feet 7 inches, in his maroon velvet slippers, due to his great talent. This talent, as all know, was the act of signing his name at the end of his plays. Depending on what day of the week it was, he would sign his name as Will, Willie, Willis, William and as Dr Siddhi Vayoom Drivedi on Fridays. And it is on the last name that he gets most of his fan mail even today.

Years after his death, the question as to how he died still rankles. Some blamed it on the pork-roast he had the night before, which had been greedily washed down with a not-so-Yorkshire pudding. Some uncharitably said that he had a heart attack when he got the ink- bill. After all, 36 plays and a few thousand sonnets and plenty of graffiti in all the royal toilets of England and parts of Indo-Burma would have amounted to no laughing matter.

However new evidence points out that Shakespeare actually died of sweating. Keep in mind he was writing ferociously and occasionally on paper. Also this was a good 15 years before the first air-conditioner was invented. However it must be mentioned that the prototype air-conditioner didn't have much of an effect, as it preceded the discovery of electricity by 250 years.

I mention this because the weather now has become too hot. Furthermore Shah Rukh Khan's new commercial says that he's got a powder that has more cooling power than an air-conditioner. This is akin to Marie Antoinette offering cake in lieu of bread to the starving millions of France. Luckily Shah Rukh doesn't live in France.

Answer 3

The cause of Shakespeare's death is a mystery, but an entry in the diary of John Ward, the vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford (where Shakespeare is buried), tells us that "Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and it seems drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted." Ward, a self-proclaimed Shakespeare fan, wrote his diary fifty years after Shakespeare died and most historians agree it appears to be a baseless anecdote. It should be noted though that a serious outbreak of typhus, known as the "new fever", in 1616 (the year Shakespeare died), lends credibility to Ward's story.

Answer 4

Theory 1:
He "Stopped Breathing"

Theory 2:
An entry in the diary of John Ward, the vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford (where Shakespeare is buried), tells us that "Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and it seems drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted." Ward, a self-proclaimed Shakespeare fan, wrote his diary fifty years after Shakespeare died and most historians agree it appears to be a baseless anecdote. It should be noted though that a serious outbreak of typhus, known as the "new fever", in 1616 (the year Shakespeare died), lends credibility to Ward's story.

Theory 3:
Martin Mitchell, in his insightful biography of Shakespeare's physician and son-in-law, Dr. John Hall represents the following hypothesis: "I have formed the opinion that it was more likely than not in the nature of a cerebral hemorrhage or apoplexy that quickly deepened and soon became fatal. There are three reasons for this. Firstly, the hurried reconstruction and inter-lineated clauses of the Will not allowing time for it to be copied afresh before signature; Secondly, the earliest and clearest impressions of the Droeshout frontispiece of the First Folio show outstanding shadings, suggesting marked thickening of the left temporal artery – a sign of atheroma and arterio-sclerosis; and thirdly, such a termination is quite common in men who have undergone such continuous mental and physical strain over a prolonged period as our actor-manager-dramatist must have been subjected to throughout his, undoubtedly, strenuous career. Richard Burbage who daily shared the same theatrical life, himself died of such a seizure after twenty-four hours illness, and within a year or two of Shakespeare’s death" (Mitchell, 79).

Unfortunately, Shakespeare's death at the age of 52 will almost surely remain a mystery. We do know, however, that in a world where plague, syphilis, typhus, scurvy, tuberculosis, smallpox, malaria, dysentery and toothaches shortened a Londoner’s life expectancy to 35 years, Shakespeare fared quite well, leading a relatively long and healthy life.

Answer 5

January 1, 1616 – James I of England, theater-going and literary absolutist king, attends the masque The Golden Age Restored, a satire by Ben Jonson on fallen court favorite Somerset. The king asks for a repeat performance on January 6. July 29, 1616 -- Tang Xianzu, Chinese playwright and poet dies October 11, 1616 – Andreas Gryphius, German writer is born Unknown Date, 1616 -- Johann Klaj, German poet is born These events might not be super-major, but they are all theater-related or writing-related.

Answer 6

Strangly only 5 real facts are known about Shakespeare, and how he died I don't believe was one of them.

Tons of people actually don't even believe he existed, they think he was a combination of the works of many men.

Answer 7

The cause of Shakespeare's death is unknown - he died April 23rd 1616 at the age of 52.

Answer 8

No body knows

Answer 9

one myth says he got drunk celebrating his birthday and slept in an alley... he died of a cold

Answer 10

He killed himself when he saw Juliet was dead.