Fun Facts About Shakespeare

He invented over 1,700 words we still use, like:

· Eyeball
· Gossip (as a verb)
· Lonely
· Uncomfortable
· Alligator (from the Spanish el lagarto, but he wrote it first in English)

He also made up common phrases:

· “Break the ice”
· “Heart of gold”
· “Wild goose chase”
· “In a pickle”

Mysterious Life

· The Lost Years: For 7 whole years (ages 21-28), no one knows where he was or what he did. It’s a huge historical mystery.
· Only 6 Signatures: We only have six of his signatures, and he spelled his name differently each time (like “Shakspere” or “Shakspeare”).

Theatre Superstitions

· “The Scottish Play”: Actors believe it’s bad luck to say “Macbeth” inside a theatre. They call it “The Scottish Play” instead. If someone says it, they have to do a silly ritual (like spinning and spitting) to remove the bad luck.

Cool Modern Connections

· Moons Named After His Characters: Some of Uranus’s moons are named after his characters: Titania, Oberon, and Miranda.
· No Original Copies: We don’t have any of the original handwritten copies of his plays. They were first collected and printed by his friends after he died.

Family Fact

He married Anne Hathaway when he was 18 and she was 26. They had three children, but his only son, Hamnet, died at age 11.

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