Shakespeare's Grave
by Terri Waters
Title
Shakespeare's Grave
Artist
Terri Waters
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
William Shakespeare is buried in the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The church stands on the banks of the River Avon in a charming location.
He died on his birthday - the 23 April 1616 (St George's Day) at the age of 52.
No records of births and deaths were made in those days but the church has records of his baptism on (April 26th 1564: Gulielimus, filius Johannes Shakspeare) and of his burial on (25th April 1616: Will Shakspeare, Gent). Both these events took place in Holy Trinity Church and copies of the original documents are on display in a case on the wall.
William Shakespeare's tomb lies in the chancel. The privilege of being buried within the church was bestowed upon him not for his fame as a playwright but from the fact that he owned a share of the the tithe income privileges, bought for £440, when Henry VIII abolished the College of Cardinals in Britain. With the priviledge came the duty of employing a priest and looking after the Chancel as well as the right of burial there. Alongside his grave are those of his widow, Anne Hathaway, his daughter Suzannah and her husband Dr John Hall who was a noted physician and Thomas Nash, the first husband of William's grandmother Elizabeth.
Shakespeare had an unusual obsession with burial and a fear of exhumation. The private nightmare is depicted in work such as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Richard III. Anxiety about the mistreatment or exhumation of corpses is found in at least 16 of the 37 plays, with this concern often being more pronounced than the fear of death itself.
Digging up the bones of the dead was common in Shakespeare's time, either for religious or research purposes. Often remains were removed to make way for more graves, and dumped in landfill sites or even used as fertiliser.
The playwright was so fearful of this happening to his own remains that he had the curse engraved on his tomb as a warning to gravediggers after his death in 1616.
Good friend, for Jesus' sake forebeare
To digg the dust enclosed heare;
Bleste be the man that spares thes stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones
The stern inscription on the slab has been at least partially responsible for the fact that there have been no successful projects to open the grave.
Each year, on the Saturday closest to St. George's Day, Holy Trinity plays host to a marvellous pageant as thousands process through the town to lay flowers on Shakespeare's grave. The procession is led by the boys of the King Edward VI Grammar School (where he was educated). It includes children from the other local schools, representatives from just about every other organisation in the town, members of the company of the RSC and ambassadors from many countries. All file through the church with their floral tributes, to the ringing of the bells and music from the organ. The following day, many of them re-assemble to remember William Shakespeare and to give thanks to God for his life and work at the annual Shakespeare Service.
Uploaded
February 27th, 2013
Statistics
Viewed 509 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 03/29/2024 at 9:26 AM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet