After Hamlet, Shakespeare varied his poetic style further, particularly in the more emotional passages of the late tragedies. The literary critic A. C. Bradley described this style as "more concentrated, rapid, varied, and, in construction, less regular, not seldom twisted or elliptical". [210] In the last phase of his career, Shakespeare adopted many techniques to achieve these effects. These included run-on lines, irregular pauses and stops, and extreme variations in sentence structure and length. [211] In Macbeth, for example, the language darts from one unrelated metaphor or simile to another: "was the hope drunk/ Wherein you dressed yourself?" (1.7.35–38); "...pity, like a naked new-born babe/ Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, hors'd/ Upon the sightless couriers of the air..." (1.7.21–25). The listener is challenged to complete the sense. [211] The late romances, with their shifts in time and surprising turns of plot, inspired a last poetic style in which long and short sentences are set against one another, clauses are piled up, subject and object are reversed, and words are omitted, creating an effect of spontaneity. [212] BBC Arena. The Orson Welles Story BBC Two/BBC Four. 01:51:46-01:52:16. Broadcast 18 May 1982. Retrieved 30 January 2023 Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52. [d] He died within a month of signing his will, a document which he begins by describing himself as being in "perfect health". No extant contemporary source explains how or why he died. Half a century later, John Ward, the vicar of Stratford, wrote in his notebook: "Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and, it seems, drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted", [82] [83] not an impossible scenario since Shakespeare knew Jonson and Drayton. Of the tributes from fellow authors, one refers to his relatively sudden death: "We wondered, Shakespeare, that thou went'st so soon / From the world's stage to the grave's tiring room." [84] [e] Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare was baptised and is buried

Main articles: Shakespeare's plays, William Shakespeare's collaborations, and Shakespeare bibliography Procession of Characters from Shakespeare's Plays by an unknown 19th-century artist there is an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tiger's heart wrapped in a Player's hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes factotum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country. [41] Harold was crowned on 6 January 1066 in Edward's new Norman-style Westminster Abbey, although some controversy surrounds who performed the ceremony. English sources claim that Ealdred, the Archbishop of York, performed the ceremony, while Norman sources state that the coronation was performed by Stigand, who was considered a non-canonical archbishop by the papacy. [72] Harold's claim to the throne was not entirely secure, as there were other claimants, perhaps including his exiled brother Tostig. [73] [m] King Harald Hardrada of Norway also had a claim to the throne as the uncle and heir of King Magnus I, who had made a pact with Harthacnut in about 1040 that if either Magnus or Harthacnut died without heirs, the other would succeed. [77] The last claimant was William of Normandy, against whose anticipated invasion King Harold Godwinson made most of his preparations. [73] Lewis, C. P. (2004). "Breteuil, Roger de, earl of Hereford (fl. 1071–1087)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/9661 . Retrieved 25 June 2012. (subscription or UK public library membership required)

Further information: Chronology of Shakespeare's plays The Plays of William Shakespeare, a painting containing scenes and characters from several plays of Shakespeare; by Sir John Gilbert, c. 1849 Williams, Ann (2004). "Godwine, earl of Wessex (d. 1053)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/10887 . Retrieved 27 May 2012. (subscription or UK public library membership required) Dates follow the Julian calendar, used in England throughout Shakespeare's lifespan, but with the start of the year adjusted to 1 January (see Old Style and New Style dates). Under the Gregorian calendar, adopted in Catholic countries in 1582, Shakespeare died on 3 May. [2]

Crystal, David (2001). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-40179-1. OCLC 49960817. Salazar y Acha, Jaime de (1992–1993). "Contribución al estudio del reinado de Alfonso VI de Castilla: algunas aclaraciones sobre su política matrimonial". Anales de la Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía (in Spanish). 2: 299–336. Henry was born in late 1068, and died on 1 December 1135. [48] King of England, married Edith, daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland. His second wife was Adeliza of Louvain. [149] Main article: Life of William Shakespeare Early life John Shakespeare's house, believed to be Shakespeare's birthplace, in Stratford-upon-Avon At the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway. The consistory court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage licence on 27 November 1582. The next day, two of Hathaway's neighbours posted bonds guaranteeing that no lawful claims impeded the marriage. [24] The ceremony may have been arranged in some haste since the Worcester chancellor allowed the marriage banns to be read once instead of the usual three times, [25] [26] and six months after the marriage Anne gave birth to a daughter, Susanna, baptised 26 May 1583. [27] Twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed almost two years later and were baptised 2 February 1585. [28] Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596. [29] Shakespeare's coat of arms, from the 1602 book The book of coates and creasts. Promptuarium armorum. It features spears as a pun on the family name. [c]On the death of Hugh of Maine, Geoffrey Martel occupied Maine in a move contested by William and King Henry; eventually, they succeeded in driving Geoffrey from the county, and in the process, William had been able to secure the Bellême family strongholds at Alençon and Domfront for himself. He was thus able to assert his overlordship over the Bellême family and compel them to act consistently with Norman interests. [34] However, in 1052 the king and Geoffrey Martel made common cause against William at the same time as some Norman nobles began to contest William's increasing power. Henry's about-face was probably motivated by a desire to retain dominance over Normandy, which was now threatened by William's growing mastery of his duchy. [35] William was engaged in military actions against his own nobles throughout 1053, [36] as well as with the new Archbishop of Rouen, Mauger. [37] Pettifer, Adrian (1995). English Castles: A Guide by Counties. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell. ISBN 0-85115-782-3. The immediate consequence of William's death was a war between his sons Robert and William over control of England and Normandy. [2] Even after the younger William's death in 1100 and the succession of his youngest brother Henry as king, Normandy and England remained contested between the brothers until Robert's capture by Henry at the Battle of Tinchebray in 1106. The difficulties over the succession led to a loss of authority in Normandy, with the aristocracy regaining much of the power they had lost to the elder William. His sons also lost much of their control over Maine, which revolted in 1089 and managed to remain mostly free of Norman influence thereafter. [142]