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Shakespeare was a devout [[Christian]], as proven by what he wrote in his will: "I commend my soul into the hands of God, my Creator, hoping and assuredly believing, through the only merits of [[Jesus Christ]], my Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlasting."<ref>[http://www.bardweb.net/will.html Shakespeare's Last and Testament]</ref>  Yet his work is also loved by people who are not religious, who consider it "the secular [[canon]], or even the secular [[scripture]]."<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981571-2,00.html#ixzz13lnUzy40 Hurrah for Dead White Males! - TIME]</ref>

Shakespeare was a devout [[Christian]], as proven by what he wrote in his will: "I commend my soul into the hands of God, my Creator, hoping and assuredly believing, through the only merits of [[Jesus Christ]], my Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlasting."<ref>[http://www.bardweb.net/will.html Shakespeare's Last and Testament]</ref>  Yet his work is also loved by people who are not religious, who consider it "the secular [[canon]], or even the secular [[scripture]]."<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981571-2,00.html#ixzz13lnUzy40 Hurrah for Dead White Males! - TIME]</ref>

Shakespeare was a [[conservative]] then, and even more so by today's standards. His play ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' is anti-[[feminist]] and censored from some schools today for that reason.  Major conservative themes in his works include the sacred nature of the familial structure in [[King Lear]], the recognition of God in his plays and personal life, the existence of necessary war in ''[[The Famous Life of King Henry V]]'', and the exposed injustice of taxation in [[Coriolanus]]. Not surprisingly, modern [[liberal]] literary critics often ignore these themes because of their place on the modern political spectrum.  Shakespeare's hilarious jokes were often at the expense of the [[liberal]] base, such as his following quip for utopia by Dick the Butcher in Shakespeare's ''Henry VI'': "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."<ref>Part II, act IV, Scene II, Line 73.</ref>  Shakespeare was [[politically incorrect]].

Shakespeare was a [[conservative]] then, and even more so by today's standards. His play ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' is anti-[[feminist]] and censored from some schools today for that reason.  Major conservative themes in his works include the sacred nature of the family in [[King Lear]], the recognition of God in his plays and personal life, the existence of necessary war in ''[[The Famous Life of King Henry V]]'', and the exposed injustice of taxation in [[Coriolanus]]. Not surprisingly, modern [[liberal]] literary critics often ignore these themes because of their place on the modern political spectrum.  Shakespeare's hilarious jokes were often at the expense of the [[liberal]] base, such as his following quip for utopia by Dick the Butcher in Shakespeare's ''Henry VI'': "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."<ref>Part II, act IV, Scene II, Line 73.</ref>  Shakespeare was [[politically incorrect]].

His sonnets hint that Shakespeare was aware of same-sex attractions. Many refer to a "Fair Lord" or "Fair Youth," who scholars assume is the same person as "Mr W.H.", to whom the sonnets are dedicated. Further evidence includes the fact that there are very few exclusive female pronouns in these sonnets. In particular, sonnet 20 asks whether the narrator, presumably a man, has fallen in love with was originally a woman turned into a man by nature, which implies that [[homosexuality]] is an aberrant form of [[heterosexuality]].   

His sonnets hint that Shakespeare was aware of same-sex attractions. Many refer to a "Fair Lord" or "Fair Youth," who scholars assume is the same person as "Mr W.H.", to whom the sonnets are dedicated. Further evidence includes the fact that there are very few exclusive female pronouns in these sonnets. In particular, sonnet 20 asks whether the narrator, presumably a man, has fallen in love with was originally a woman turned into a man by nature, which implies that [[homosexuality]] is an aberrant form of [[heterosexuality]].   

== Works ==

== Works ==

His 154 [[sonnet]]s are short poems written in a very strict [[rhyme scheme]]. The sonnets fall into series or sequences. Most of them are read as expressions of romantic or platonic love; some appear to be written to a married woman known in the sonnets as the "Dark Lady," some to a young man known as the "Fair Lord."

His 154 [[sonnet]]s are short poems written in a very strict [[rhyme scheme]]. The sonnets fall into series or sequences. Most of them are read as expressions of romantic or platonic love; some appear to be written to a married woman known in the sonnets as the "Dark Lady," some to a young man known as the "Fair Lord."

== Life ==

== Life ==

A long-standing theatrical [[superstition]] holds that it is bad luck to refer to ''Macbeth'' directly by its name while inside a theater, and accordingly, actors traditionally refer to it obliquely as "the Scottish play." It is considered acceptable to voice the play's name only while rehearsing or performing the production itself.

A long-standing theatrical [[superstition]] holds that it is bad luck to refer to ''Macbeth'' directly by its name while inside a theater, and accordingly, actors traditionally refer to it obliquely as "the Scottish play." It is considered acceptable to voice the play's name only while rehearsing or performing the production itself.

Because Shakespeare's plays are so familiar, there are innumerable references to them in English literature. Sometimes his stories are recast into a different form. The musical ''West Side Story'' is a retelling of ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', and the classic science-fiction movie ''Forbidden Planet'' is a transformed version of ''[[The Tempest]].''

Because Shakespeare's plays are so familiar, there are innumerable references to them in English literature. Sometimes his stories are recast into a different form. The musical ''West Side Story'' is a retelling of ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', and the classic movie ''Forbidden Planet'' is a tscience-fiction version of ''[[The Tempest]].''

The reverence in which Shakespeare is held, and the archaic language of his plays (from the same era as the King James translation of the Bible), should not obscure the fact that his plays were (and still are) fabulously successful.  

The reverence in which Shakespeare is held, and the archaic language of his plays (from the same era as the [[King James Bible|King James translation of the Bible]], should not obscure the fact that his plays were (and still are) highly successful.  

His tomb in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-on-Avon, England, reads as follows: "Good Friend For Jesus Sake Forbeare, To Digg The Dust Enclosed Heare. Blese Be Ye Man Spares Thes Stones, And Curst Be He Moves My Bones".<ref>[http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-04-23&view=View American minute for April 23]</ref>

His tomb in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-on-Avon, England, reads as follows: "Good Friend For Jesus Sake Forbeare, To Digg The Dust Enclosed Heare. Blese Be Ye Man Spares Thes Stones, And Curst Be He Moves My Bones".<ref>[http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-04-23&view=View American minute for April 23]</ref>

==Authorship controversy==

==Authorship controversy==

[[File:Shakespeare f. Reuters.jpg|thumb]]

[[File:Shakespeare f. Reuters.jpg|thumb]]

Several writers who knew Shakespeare, including Ben Jonson, attest to his authorship in the ''First Folio'', a collection of his plays published in 1623. There is no indication that this claim was controversial, either at the time or for another 200 years.<ref>Shapiro, James, ''[https://books.google.ca/books/about/Contested_Will.html?id=4j4UqFnb4AoC Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?]'' (2011)</ref> Shakespeare and the other Elizabethan writers were gradually eclipsed by a new generation of playwrights led by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. After Samuel Johnson reissued Shakespeare's plays in 1765, there was renewed interest in the bard, a phenomenon called "bardology."

Several writers who knew Shakespeare, including Ben Jonson, attest to his authorship in the ''First Folio'', a collection of his plays published in 1623. There is no indication that this claim was controversial, either at the time or for another 200 years.<ref>Shapiro, James, ''[https://books.google.ca/books/about/Contested_Will.html?id=4j4UqFnb4AoC Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?]'' (2011)</ref>  

Although researchers discovered Shakespeare's will and several other personal documents, popular biographies published in the early 19th century stressed the contrast between Shakespeare's fame and how little biographical information was known.<ref>McCarter, Jeremy, "[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9406E6DB113EF931A35756C0A9669D8B63 A Question of Authorship]", ''New York Times, May 2, 2010</ref> Alternative theories of authorship concerning Homer and the Gospels also emerged at around this time. In 1857, American author Delia Bacon wrote a book arguing that Shakespeare was a fraud and that the real author of his work was Sir Francis Bacon (no relation). This book kicked off the "Shakespeare authorship controversy," which continues to this day. Various late 19th century figures took up Bacon's cause, including Ignatius Donnelly, Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, and Helen Keller.

Although researchers discovered Shakespeare's will and several other personal documents, popular biographies published in the early 19th century stressed the contrast between Shakespeare's fame and how little biographical information was known.<ref>McCarter, Jeremy, "[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9406E6DB113EF931A35756C0A9669D8B63 A Question of Authorship]", ''New York Times, May 2, 2010</ref> Alternative theories of authorship concerning Homer and the Gospels also emerged at around this time. In 1857, American author Delia Bacon wrote a book arguing that Shakespeare was a fraud and that the real author of his work was Sir Francis Bacon (no relation). This book kicked off the "Shakespeare authorship controversy," which continues to this day. Various late 19th century figures took up Bacon's cause, including Ignatius Donnelly, Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, and Helen Keller.