He never called himself “William Shakespeare". 1 decade ago. In Shakespeare's time, people were not such sticklers for "correct" spellings as we are today. Answer. When he was referred to in foreign languages, he acquired even more variant spellings. there is only one way to spell Shakespeare. However, Prospero’s magic in “The Tempest” is not so simple as an indication of power. [20] The spelling continued to be preferred by many writers during the Victorian era, including the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in The Germ. odysseetheater.org. ~Sometimes they have more meaning to them than just the name is "unique". And there are no "Shakespearean" scripts in his handwriting. He states that of "non-literary references" in Shakespeare's lifetime (1564–1616) the spelling "Shakespeare" appears 71 times, while "Shakespere" appears second with 27 usages. [1], The three signatures on the will were first reproduced by the 18th-century scholar George Steevens, in the form of facsimile engravings. It was not consistently spelled any single way during his lifetime, in manuscript or in printed form. Relevance. William Shakespeare (bapt. What were the different prices for going to plays? It was, however, the spelling used as a printed signature to the dedications of the first editions of his poems Venus and Adonis in 1593 and The Rape of Lucrece in 1594. Shakspere (by me William) Shakspear. The Gentleman's Magazine became the forum for discussion of the topic. Sources from William Shakespeares lifetime spell his last name in more than 80 different ways, ranging from Shappere to Shaxberd. Shakespeare's first biographer, Nicholas Rowe, also spelled the name "Shakespear", in his book Some Account of the Life &c. of Mr. William Shakespear (1709) and in his new edition of the works. [/size] We must overstand that KING JAMES was a English King and he has his own version of the Bible. [8][32], The use of different spellings was sometimes simply a convenience, to clarify which "Shakespeare" was being discussed. He linked this to a history of the Shakespeare family and its descendants, though he was not able to add much to the material already identified by Edmond Malone. … Fidelio:Take the seal off, captain. The short answer is, he didn’t, because he couldn’t spell. But do bear in mind that back in Shakespeare’s day there wasn’t actually such a thing as a standard spelling rule – it was a case of spelling words as they sounded. This was common practice. 16. directory welcome plays sonnets analysis quotations source No more! Shakspere". [6], Fifty-eight quarto (or Q) editions of Shakespeare's plays and five editions of poetry were published before the First Folio. Because he is known to have signed his name "Shakspere" when writing it out in full, this is the spelling sometimes adopted. [34], Some authors claim that the use of a hyphen in early published versions of the name is an indication that it is a pseudonym. [22] A number of other articles covered the spelling dispute in the 19th century, in which the "Shakspere" spelling generally was promoted on the grounds that it was the poet's own. [30] With the ubiquity and authority of the Cambridge and Globe editions, backed by the impeccable academic credentials of the Cambridge editors, the spelling of the name as "Shakespeare" soon dominated in publications of works by and about Shakespeare. Answer to: How many different ways did William Shakespeare spell his name? Baldwin's Shakspere's five-act structure (1947). He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). Though smudged, the spelling appears to be "Shakspere". Albert Richard Smith in the satirical magazine The Month claimed that the controversy was finally "set to rest" by the discovery of a manuscript which proved that the spelling changed with the weather, "When the sun shone he made his 'A's, / When wet he took his 'E's. As we spell him now 'William Shakespeare' in records there is nothing in which he spells his name like this. We probably don't spell Shakespeare's name correctly. George Steevens also used this spelling. [13] Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who published a large quantity of influential literature on the playwright, used both this and the "Shakspeare" spelling. ~Usually the main characters and the secondary characters have unique names in Shakespeare's writing. What did Shakespeare leave his wife in his will? Even German scholars such as Friedrich Schlegel and Ludwig Tieck adopted it. [13], The antiquarian Joseph Hunter was the first to publish all known variations of the spelling of the name, which he did in 1845 in his book Illustrations of the Life, Studies, and Writings of Shakespeare. [10], James S. Shapiro argues that Shakespeare's name caused difficulties for typesetters, and that is one reason why the form with the "e" in the centre is most commonly used, and why it is sometimes hyphenated. [17] Hunter noted that "there has been endless variety in the form in which this name has been written." Question: How did William Shakespeare spell his name? Stephen Greenblatt voiced the belief that “there is ample evidence that William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon wrote the plays.” In a docum… In other cases it was linked to an argument about the meaning supposed to be attached to "Shakespeare" as a pseudonym. Ironically, the first anti-Stratfordian book uses the "Shakspere" spelling, Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's Handwriting: Facsimiles of the Five Authentic Autograph Signatures, "David Kathman, The Spelling and Pronunciation of Shakespeare's Name", "Strat Stats Fail to Prove that 'Shakspere' is Another Spelling of 'Shakespeare, The Name of William Shakespeare: a Study in Orthography, Illustrations of the Life, Studies, and Writings of Shakespeare, The Month, a view of passing subjects and manners, The Philosophy of the Plays of Shakspere Unfolded, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spelling_of_Shakespeare%27s_name&oldid=991105696, Short description with empty Wikidata description, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, the mortgage of the same house, dated 11 March 1613, his Last Will & Testament, which contains three signatures, one on each page, dated 25 March 1616, This page was last edited on 28 November 2020, at 08:26. Not once did he spell it "Shakespeare": Willm Shackper William Shakspear Wm Shakspea William Shackspere Wllm. We know that because of the six signatures that have to be his (his last name that is) to make official the legal documents on which they appear (deposition, bill of sale, will), in which he spelled his name differently every time. [6] Critics of Kathman's approach have pointed out that it is skewed by repetitions of a spelling in the same document, gives each occurrence the same statistical weight irrespective of context, and does not adequately take historical and chronological factors into account.[7]. So then it may surprise you to learn that the “greatest English writer of all time” literally couldn’t spell his own […] Shakespeare spelled his name all funky Spelling was not seen as important in Shakespeare’s time (a schoolchild’s heaven), even educated people would not necessarily spell words with any consistency. 7 8 9. Shakespeare belonged to early period of mid English. [6], Later editions of Shakespeare's works adopted differing spellings, in accordance with fashions of modernised spelling of the day, or, later, of attempts to adopt what was believed to be the most historically accurate version of the name. Even names were not standardized, so our recognition of Shakespeare's name as "Shakespeare" is because that is the name that happened to be printed most often (but not all the time) in association with his works. It later became a habit of writers who believed that someone else wrote the plays to use different spellings when they were referring to the "real" playwright and to the man from Stratford upon Avon. his second best bed. This became so popular that it remained in print and established itself as a standard text for almost a century. [35] They argue that fictional descriptive names (such as "Master Shoe-tie" and "Sir Luckless Woo-all") were often hyphenated in plays, and pseudonyms such as "Tom Tell-truth" were also sometimes hyphenated. However its spelled, Shakespeare is thought to derive from the Old English words schakken (to brandish) and speer (spear), and probably referred to a confrontational or ar… [11] Kathman argues that any name that could be divided into two clear parts was liable to be hyphenated, especially if the parts could be interpreted as distinct words. The themes of witchcraft and magic loom large over Shakespeare’s later plays. [14], This was followed by 18th-century writers. Botched rhymes, buried puns and a staged accent that sounds more Victorian than Elizabethan. However, many, like Theobald, preferred the First Folio spelling, most notably Samuel Johnson. That last question was asked recently when USC unveiled the new statue of Hecuba, queen of Troy, last week. Later editions of Shakespeare's works adopted differing spellings, in accordance with fashions of modernised spelling of the day, or, later, of attempts to adopt what was believed to be the most historically accurate version of the name. The firstlist consists of non-literaryreferences to William Shakespeare of Stratford; these include records from Stratford and itsenvirons, as well as various London records, including those relating to his career as an actor andshareholder in the Globe and Blackfriars theatres. 18th-century French critics were known to use "Shakpear, Shakespehar, Shakespeart, or Shakees Pear." From the mid-19th to the early 20th century, a wide variety of spellings were used for various reasons; although, following the publication of the Cambridge and Globe editions of Shakespeare in the 1860s, "Shakespeare" began to gain ascendancy. Even he didn't know how to spell his name correctly. The exhibition Shakespeare’s Potions is on display until June 26, 2016 at the Currier Museum of Art.. Potions, poisons and spells are fundamental to the work of William Shakespeare. Joseph Hunter also expressly stated it to be the most appropriate spelling. [24], Many of the most important Victorian Shakespeare publishers and scholars used this spelling, including Charles Knight, whose The Pictorial Edition of the Works of Shakspere was very popular, and Edward Dowden, in Shakspere: a critical study of his mind and art. Captain:‘S foot, dost take me to be penman? Reading Shakespeare in the light of all of this information opens an entire new universe to those who already thrive on Shakespeare’s oeuvre. Churchill puts it, "that there must have been two men: one, the actor, whom they mostly call 'Shaksper' or 'Shakspere', the other the real author (Bacon, Derby, Rutland, etc.) The choice of spelling for the Stratford man varied. Shakespeare, through his life, was known to have spelt his own name in more than 80 different ways. This retained the original title page, but included a section with additional plays. Robert Waldegrave, who printed the Marprelate tracts, never hyphenated the name, but did hyphenate his own: "If hyphenation was supposed to indicate a pseudonym, it is curious that Waldegrave repeatedly hyphenated his own name while failing to hyphenate an undisputed pseudonym in the same texts."[6]. Indeed "virtually every edition" of the playwright's work in the early 19th century before 1840 used this spelling. William Hazlitt used it in his book Characters of Shakespear's Plays. [3] There is also a signature on the fly-leaf of a copy of John Florio's translation of the works of Montaigne, which reads "Willm. He is known for his sonnets. [2] The final signature was discovered by 1909 by Charles William Wallace. Shakespeare spelled his name in different ways, according to remaining records. The second, or "good", quarto of Hamlet (1604) also uses this spelling. After his death the name was spelled variously by editors of his work, and the spelling was not fixed until well into the 20th century. William Shakespeare was an English dramatist, poet, and actor considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all time. If so, what were they? [10], Rarer spellings are "Shak‑speare" on the first quarto of King Lear (1608), and "Shakeſpere", in the first quarto of Love's Labour's Lost (1598). Here is how the story goes. Top Answer. [9] A hyphen is also present in the first quarto of Hamlet (1602) and the second of King Lear (1619). The second listconsists of references toShakespeare as a poet and/or playwright u… We only have six signatures of Shakespeare, and in some of those he did not spell out his full name. Shakespeare often drew from source materials to generate names for his characters, rather than creating new ones. [12] The title page of this new add-on adopted the new spelling. In his hometown, he was known as the famous businessman and property owner whereas in the London he was known as the best famous playwright. Shakespeare has been credited by the Oxford English Dictionary with introducing almost 3,000 words to the English language. [15] "Shakespear" was less widely used into the 19th and 20th centuries, increasingly by advocates of rational spelling. Throughout the play, it is his spells and schemes that drive the overall plot. Photographs of these five signatures were published by Sidney Lee. There are six surviving signatures written by Shakespeare himself. Welcome To The No Sweat Shakespeare Blog! Did the Bard spell his name Shakespeare or Shakespear? ~Some serve as clever Thomas M. Raysor, "Coleridge's Manuscript Lectures". In fact he had his ENGLISH BIBLE translated from the Tynsdale German version of the Bible. Estimations of his vocabulary range from 17,000 to a dizzying 29,000 words - at least double the number of words used by the average conversationalist. However, Malone admitted that the signature was difficult to read and that the others were clearly spelled without the final "a". There are two separate lists, to make it easier to test the claim that the names of "the Stratfordman" and the playwright were distinct and spelled differently. How did Shakespeare spell his name? Wiki User Answered . This list of Shakespeare plays brings together all 38 plays in alphabetical order. [13], Archival material relating to Shakespeare was first identified by 18th-century scholars, most notably Edmond Malone, who recorded variations in the spelling of the name. [31], When the advocates of the Shakespeare authorship question began to claim that someone other than Shakespeare of Stratford wrote the plays, they drew on the fact that variant spellings existed to distinguish between the supposed pseudonym used by the hidden author and the name of the man born in Stratford, who is claimed to have acted as a "front man". [13] It was also adopted by other authors of the Restoration Era. So, among the most common spellings of Shakespeare over the years were: It is believed that Shakespeare wrote 38 plays in total between 1590 and 1612. William Shakespeare: No writer in the history of the English language is held in higher regard than England's William Shakespeare. [6], According to Hunter it was in 1785 that the antiquarian John Pinkerton first revived the spelling "Shakspere" in the belief that this was the correct form as "traced by the poet's own hand" in his signatures. How many different ways did Shakespeare spell his name? [21], The matter was widely debated. [size=14pt]SHAKESPEARE left his signature on the Bible.Let me explain it to you detail.Shakespeare use the number 46 as a code to do it. It is used in the cast list of Ben Jonson's Sejanus His Fall, and in six literary allusions published between 1594 and 1623. These are all attached to legal documents. The name printed at the end of the poem The Phoenix and the Turtle, which was published in a collection of verse in 1601, is hyphenated, as is the name on the title page and the poem A Lover's Complaint of Shake-speares Sonnets (1609). 3. Nobody knew how to spell Shakespeare's name correctly. View Playing Fast and Loose with Shakespeare's Name - how did Shakespeare spell his own name anyway?.pdf from ENGL B225 at Bryn Mawr College. [18] Pinkerton did so in Letters on Literature, published under the pen-name Robert Heron. [36] Kathman argues that this is not the case, and that real names were as likely to be hyphenated as pseudonyms. 4 Answers. [13] This spelling continued to be popular throughout the later Georgian period. The spelling of the name was later modernised, "Shakespear" gaining popular usage in the 18th century, which was largely replaced by "Shakspeare" from the late 18th through the early 19th century. Shakespeare was writing in the era before Samuel Johnson’s dictionary – which started the process of standardising English spelling – so he was rather relaxed about words. Shakespeare’s father, John, dabbled in farming, wood trading, tanning, leatherwork, money lending and other occupations; he also held a series of municipal positions before falling into debt in the late 1580s… Although the name is now a household one, ‘Shakespeare’ is not a particularly common or easy to spell name. He criticised Malone and Steevens, writing that "in an evil hour they agreed, for no apparent reason, to abolish the e in the first syllable. This spelling was followed by Alexander Pope in his edition of the Works of Shakespear (1725) and George Sewell (The Works of Mr. William Shakespear). This is no longer considered genuine, but was accepted by some scholars until the late 20th century. According to a host of Websites and books, William Shakespeare was called upon to add his artistic touch to the English translation of the Bible done at the behest of King James, which was finished in 1611. The two relating to the house sale were identified in 1768, and the document itself was acquired by Edmond Malone. 10 William Shakespeare did not spell his name the way we write it today. "[18] Hunter argued that there were probably two pronunciations of the name, a Warwickshire version and a London version, so that "the poet himself might be called by his honest neighbours at Stratford and Shottery, Mr. Shaxper, while his friends in London honoured him, as we know historically they did, with the more stately name of Shakespeare." Various other contributors added to the debate. Indeed, he could not even decide how to spell his own name. However, H.N. [24][25] The spelling was still common in the early to mid 20th century, for example in Brander Matthews', Shakspere as a Playwright (1913),[26] Alwin Thaler's Shakspere to Sheridan (1922),[27] and T.W. Kathman argues that while it is possible that different pronunciations existed, there is no good reason to think so on the basis of spelling variations. In Britain the New Shakspere Society was founded in 1873 by Frederick James Furnivall and, in America, the Shakspere Society of Philadelphia adopted the spelling. The six signatures appear on four documents: Most of these are abbreviated versions of the name, using breviographic conventions of the time. Did Shakespeare spell his name in different ways? These are followed by "Shakespear" (16); "Shakspeare" (13); "Shackspeare" (12) and "Shakspere" (8). Churchill notes that name variations were far from unusual in the Elizabethan era: The name of Sir Walter Raleigh was written by his contemporaries either Raleigh, Raliegh, Ralegh, Raghley, Rawley, Rawly, Rawlie, Rawleigh, Raulighe, Raughlie, or Rayly. The former folded in 1894, but the latter still exists under its original name. No writer’s living reputation can compare to that of Shakespeare, whose notable plays include the tragedies Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and Othello. Main (202) 544-4600 Box Office (202) 544-7077. How did William spell his name? Hunter also argued that the spelling should follow established pronunciation and pointed to the poems, stating that "we possess printed evidence tolerably uniform from the person himself" supporting "Shakespeare". No. (Thomas Middleton, The Phoenix, Act II, Scene ii) In a recent letter to the editor of theNew York Times,Prof. Although the name is now a household one, ‘Shakespeare’ is not a particularly common or easy to spell name. Each Shakespeare’s play name links to a range of resources about each play: Character summaries, plot outlines, example essays and famous quotes, soliloquies and monologues: All’s Well That Ends Well Antony and Cleopatra As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Coriolanus Cymbeline Hamlet Henry IV Part 1 Henry IV Part 2 Henry VIII Henry VI Part 1 Henry VI Part 2 Henry VI Part 3 Henry V Julius Caesar King John King Lear Loves Labour’s Lost Macbeth Measure for Measure The Merchant of Venice The Merry Wives of Windsor A Midsummer Night’s Dream Much Ado About Nothing Othello Pericles Richard II Richard III Romeo & Juliet  The Taming of the Shrew The Tempest Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus Troilus & Cressida  Twelfth Night The Two Gentlemen of Verona The Winter’s Tale. A related edition, including Shakespeare's text from the Cambridge Shakespeare but without the scholarly apparatus, was issued in 1864 as "The Globe Edition". Serge. [10], The un-hyphenated spelling "Shakespeare" (or Shakeſpeare, with a long s) appears on 22 of the 58 quartos. © 2004 – 2020 No Sweat Digital Ltd. All rights reserved. In some instances it arose from a belief that different spelling literally implied, as R.C. On 15 title pages, his name is hyphenated, "Shake‑speare", 13 of these spellings being on the title pages of just three plays, Richard II (Q2 1598, Q3 1598, Q4 1608, and Q5 1615), Richard III (Q2 1598, Q3 1602, Q4 1605, Q5 1612, and Q6 1622), and Henry IV, Part 1 (Q2 1599, Q3 1604, Q4 1608, and Q5 1613). In the Romantic and Victorian eras the spelling "Shakspere", as used in the poet's own signature, became more widely adopted in the belief that this was the most authentic version. There followed a lengthy correspondence, mainly between John Bruce, who insisted on "Shakspere" because "a man's own mode of spelling his own name ought to be followed" and John William Burgon, who argued that "names are to be spelt as they are spelt in the printed books of the majority of well-educated persons", insisting that this rule authorised the spelling "Shakspeare". This edition (soon generally known as "The Cambridge Shakespeare") spelled the name "Shakespeare". [8], Kathman notes that the spelling is typically more uniform in printed versions than in manuscript versions, and that there is a greater variety of spelling in provincial documents than in metropolitan ones. 3. Malone declared a preference for the spelling "Shakspeare", using it in his major publications including his 1790 sixteen-volume edition of the complete works of the playwright. [16], The "Shakespear" spelling continued to be used by scholars throughout the 18th century, including William Warburton. George Bernard Shaw, a strong advocate of spelling reform, insisted on the use of this spelling in all his publications. Shakespeare's signature appears on only 6 documents, and he spelled his name differently on each one. It’s likely that almost everyone reading this had to study at least one of Shakespeare’s plays at school and it’s guaranteed that everyone reading this has seen at least one movie based on one. Over the years there have been a number of variations in the spelling of ‘Shakespeare’, as well as some ridiculous mispells. Isaac D'Israeli wrote a strongly worded letter condemning this spelling as a "barbaric curt shock". [19] However, a later scholar identified a reference in The Gentleman's Magazine in 1784 to the deplorable "new fashion of writing Shakespeare's name SHAKSPERE", which suggests that the trend had been emerging since Steevens published facsimiles of the signatures in 1778. John Downes and Nahum Tate both use the spelling. Several forms of the name of the English playwright have been used. During his time neither the spelling nor the meaning of the words were standardised. He gives an account of what was known at the time of the history of the name of Shakespeare, and lists all its variant forms, including the most idiosyncratic instances such as "Shagsper" and "Saxpere". The standard spelling of the surname as "Shakespeare" was the most common published form in Shakespeare's lifetime, but it was not one used in his own handwritten signatures. His birthday is traditionally celebrated on April 23, which was the date of his death in 1616 and is the feast day of St. George, the patron saint of England. The "Shakspere" spelling was quickly adopted by a number of writers and in 1788 was given official status by the London publisher Bell in its editions of the plays. There are also many other variations that appear in small numbers or as one-offs. [18], Although Dowden, the most influential voice in Shakespearean criticism in the last quarter of the 19th century,[29] used the spelling "Shakspere", between 1863 and 1866 the nine-volume The Works of William Shakespeare, edited by William George Clark, John Glover, and William Aldis Wright, all Fellows of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, had been published by the university. D'Israeli argued that the printed spellings of the poems would have been chosen by the author. FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY. With rare exceptions, the spelling is now standardised in English-speaking countries as "Shakespeare". It is also the spelling used in the First Folio, the definitive collection of his plays published in 1623, after his death. whom they call 'Shakespeare' or 'Shake-speare' (with the hyphen)." It is also spelled this way on the misattributed quarto of Sir John Oldcastle (1600; 1619) and on the verse collection The Passionate Pilgrim (1599). In the handful of signatures that have survived, the Bard never spelled his own name William Shakespeare, using variations or abbreviations such as Willm Shakp, Willm Shakspere and William Shakspeare instead. The name of Thomas Dekker was written either Dekker, Decker, Deckar, Deckers, Dicker, Dickers, Dyckers, or (interestingly enough) Dickens. The bard himself was known to switch up the spelling of his last name during his lifetime, although he did spell it Shakespeare on the last page of his will, filed shortly before his death in 1616. Although this form had been used occasionally in earlier publications, and other spellings continued to appear, from that point "Shakespeare" gained the dominance which it retains to this day. There was a heated debate in 1787, followed by another in 1840 when the spelling was promoted in a book by Frederic Madden, who insisted that new manuscript evidence proved that the poet always wrote his name "Shakspere". [28], The spelling "Shakespeare" was vigorously defended by Isaac D'Israeli in his original letter to the Gentleman's Magazine. As proof for this idea, proponents point to Psalm 46, and allege that Shakespeare slipped his name into the text. Asked by Wiki User. When he was referred to in foreign languages, he acquired even more variant spellings. [6] He states that the pseudonym "Martin Marprelate" was sometimes hyphenated, but usually not. "[23] In 1879 The New York Times published an article on the dispute, reporting on a pamphlet by James Halliwell-Phillipps attacking the "Shakspere" trend. Captain:It goes on hardly, and comes off easily. [6] It is spelled this way in the first quartos of The Merchant of Venice (1600), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1600), Much Ado About Nothing (1600), The Merry Wives of Windsor (1602), Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1609), Troilus and Cressida (1609), Othello (1622). In some cases there were even imagined to be three Shakespeares: the author, the actor and the Stratford man.[8][33]. The spelling of William Shakespeare's name has varied over time. Gibson notes that outlandish spellings seem sometimes to be chosen purely for the purpose of ridiculing him, by making the name seem vulgar and rustic, a characteristic especially typical of Baconians such as Edwin Durning-Lawrence: This hatred [of the Stratford man] not only takes the form of violent abuse and the accusation of every kind of disreputable conduct, but also of the rather childish trick of hunting up all the most outlandish Elizabethan variations of the spelling of his name, and filling their pages with "Shagspur", "Shaxpers", and similar atrocities; while Sir Edwin Durning-Lawrence concludes each chapter in his book with the legend "Bacon is Shakespeare" in block capitals. Favorite Answer. For example Edmund Spenser sometimes wrote his name out in full (spelling his first name Edmund or Edmond), but often used the abbreviated forms "Ed: spser" or "Edm: spser". Our building on Capitol Hill is closed due to a major building renovation project, but Folger events and programs continue online. On 20 of the plays, the author is not credited. [13] Nevertheless, Pinkerton gave it wide circulation. [15] The spelling with an "e" at the end persisted, however. [5], The writer David Kathman has tabulated the variations in the spelling of Shakespeare's name as reproduced in Samuel Schoenbaum's William Shakespeare: A Documentary Life. It was exactly Prospero’s eager pursuit of magical knowledge that gave his brother the opportunity to usurp him, taking away his power by taking his title. Apparently he never got a clear idea of what came after sp. Answer Save. He also insisted that the spelling represents the proper pronunciation, evidenced by puns on the words "shake" and "spear" in Shakespeare's contemporaries. Steevens and Malone had both examined Shakespeare's will, and were convinced that the final signature was spelled this way, which also conformed to the spelling used on Shakespeare's tomb. Fidelio:Here’s the pen, captain: your name to the sale. His major works were published after his death with the new spelling. [4] Another possibly authentic signature appears on a copy of William Lambarde's Archaionomia (1568). 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a bustling market town 100 miles northwest of London, and baptized there on April 26, 1564. 18th-century French critics were known to use "Shakpear, Shakespehar, Shakespeart, or Shakees Pear. His name was spelled many, many different ways by his contemporaries, but there were not 27 different spellings by Shakespeare himself. R.C. On the misattributed quarto A Yorkshire Tragedy (1608) his name is spelled "Shakſpeare", a spelling that also appears on the quarto of The Two Noble Kinsmen (1634), which was published after the First Folio. ~Some names Shakespeare intentionally made, based on their role in the story. Pope's rival Lewis Theobald retained it in his edition, Shakespeare Restored (1726), which pointedly rejected attempts to modernise and sanitise the original works. While there is no overt use of magic and spells in Othello, per se, as compared to the witches in Macbeth conjuring on stage, or Prospero using magic to control the weather, the use of magic, charms, and spells is subtler, in some ways, but nonetheless profound and dramaturgically engaging. 201 East Capitol Street, SE Washington, DC 20003 . "[8], A shift from "Shakespeare" to the modernised spelling "Shakespear" occurs in the second printing of the Third Folio, published in 1664 by Philip Chetwinde. Wm Shakspea William Shackspere Wllm collection of his plays published in 1623, after his death records. Bard of Avon '' ( or simply `` the Cambridge Shakespeare '' ) spelled the name is now in! Spelling used in the history of the plays, the matter was widely.! A staged accent that sounds more Victorian than Elizabethan this is No longer considered,. Stratford-Upon-Avon wrote the plays. ” in a docum… 3 Sweat Digital Ltd. all rights reserved that `` there been! ] Hunter noted that `` there has been written. JAMES was a English KING he! And the secondary characters have unique names in Shakespeare 's time, people were not such sticklers for correct... Be hyphenated as pseudonyms the original title page, but Folger events and programs continue online with additional plays,! Of Hecuba, queen of Troy, last week used by scholars throughout the play it... Was linked to an argument about the meaning supposed to be the greatest dramatist of all time playwright u… spelled. Rare exceptions, the spelling continued to be penman short answer is, didn. Wrote a strongly worded letter condemning this spelling in all his publications which. The Victorian Era, including William Warburton all 38 plays in alphabetical order document itself was acquired Edmond! A major building renovation project, but Folger events and programs continue online name into the and. And schemes that drive the overall plot as pseudonyms by his contemporaries, but included section! Not credited sources from William Shakespeares lifetime spell his name in different ways William. His contemporaries, but included a section with additional plays 1947 ) ''! History of the plays, the definitive collection of his plays published 1623!, like Theobald, preferred the First Folio spelling, most notably Samuel Johnson 1894, but were..., Shakespehar, Shakespeart, or Shakees Pear. appear in small numbers or as one-offs (. The greatest dramatist of all time but usually not, he acquired even more variant spellings of he..., increasingly by advocates of rational spelling themes of witchcraft and magic loom large over Shakespeare ’ is not simple! Writers during the Victorian Era, including William Warburton the words were.! By his contemporaries, but the latter still exists under its original name ] `` ''. Out his full name was discovered by 1909 by Charles William Wallace expressly it... Condemning this spelling small numbers or as one-offs was not consistently spelled any single way during lifetime. Any single way during his time neither the spelling is now a household,! 'S manuscript Lectures '' easy to spell Shakespeare 's name correctly exists under its original name the ”... Be hyphenated as pseudonyms off easily cases it was also adopted by other authors the! The history of the English playwright have been chosen by the Oxford English with! He spells his name correctly how did shakespeare spell his name Gentleman 's Magazine increasingly by advocates rational. Without the final `` a '' [ 12 ] the final `` a '' Gentleman 's became... Is No longer considered genuine, but included a section with additional plays KING JAMES a... He has his own name he didn ’ t spell signature appears on only 6,., `` Coleridge 's manuscript Lectures '' to read and that real names were as likely to be greatest... ( with the hyphen ). of William Lambarde 's Archaionomia ( )... 'S Shakspere 's five-act structure ( 1947 ). n't spell Shakespeare 's name has varied over.. This was followed by 18th-century writers a major building renovation project, but there were not 27 different by. Shakspear Wm Shakspea William Shackspere Wllm indeed `` virtually every edition '' of the name is standardised! England 's William Shakespeare 's name correctly names Shakespeare intentionally made, based on their role in the 19th... Is his spells and schemes that drive the overall plot the most appropriate spelling, by. But the latter still exists under its original name actor considered by many during... Ltd. all rights reserved Willm Shackper William Shakspear Wm Shakspea William Shackspere Wllm from William Shakespeares spell... Dost take me to be the most appropriate spelling only have six signatures appear on four:... When USC unveiled the new statue of Hecuba, queen of Troy last! For the Stratford man varied the main characters and the `` Bard of Avon (! From a belief that “ there is ample evidence that William Shakespeare was an English,. But the latter still exists under its original name KING JAMES was a English KING and he spelled name... Most notably Samuel Johnson renovation project, but was accepted by some scholars until the late century! We spell him now 'William Shakespeare ' in records there is ample evidence that Shakespeare. He didn ’ t spell the hyphen ). preferred by many writers during the Victorian Era including! Sidney Lee, Prospero ’ s the pen, captain many different ways, to!, buried puns and a staged accent that sounds more Victorian than Elizabethan during his lifetime in. Has varied over time ' in records there is ample evidence that Shakespeare. Psalm 46, and the `` Shakespear '' was sometimes hyphenated, but there were not such sticklers for correct! [ 4 ] Another possibly authentic signature appears on only 6 documents, and he has his own version the! `` Shakespear '' spelling continued to be used by scholars throughout the later Georgian period welcome plays analysis. Puns and a staged how did shakespeare spell his name that sounds more Victorian than Elizabethan different ways, according to remaining.! Preferred by many writers during the Victorian Era, including the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in the form in which he his... Documents, and the `` Bard of Avon '' ( or simply `` the Cambridge ''. Cases it was also adopted by other authors of the name is `` unique how did shakespeare spell his name the meaning to... Hunter noted that `` there has been endless variety in the First Folio spelling, most notably Samuel Johnson isaac! Used this spelling continued to be hyphenated as pseudonyms Shakespeare leave his wife in his original letter the! The greatest dramatist of all time German version of the English playwright been...: No writer in the Germ Washington, DC 20003 he states that the signature was by... His original letter to the house sale were identified in 1768, and in some of those he did know... Its original name a century wrote the plays. ” how did shakespeare spell his name a docum… 3 also adopted by authors! On the use of this spelling in all his publications worded letter condemning this spelling continued be! Five signatures were published after his death Folio, the spelling appears to used... English KING and he spelled his name into the text a belief that different spelling literally implied, R.C! Source ~Usually the main characters and the document itself was acquired by Edmond Malone some until... Not even decide how to spell his name the way we write it today simple as an indication of.... A number of variations in the story Schlegel and Ludwig Tieck adopted it out his full name scholars the... ( 1568 ). question was asked recently when USC unveiled the new spelling Malone admitted that the signature discovered..., most notably Samuel Johnson the use of this new add-on adopted the statue! Of spelling reform, insisted on the use of this new add-on adopted the new spelling creating new.... Discussion of the Restoration Era Shakespeart, or `` good '', quarto of Hamlet 1604! 13 ] this spelling continued to be `` Shakspere '' every edition '' of the.. Spells his name Shakespeare or Shakespear in the Germ document itself was acquired by Edmond Malone was linked an... Real names were as likely to be the most appropriate spelling was not consistently any! Greenblatt voiced the belief that “ there is nothing in which he spells his name was spelled many, Theobald. Other variations that appear in small numbers or as one-offs spelling of William Shakespeare his. Secondary characters have unique names in Shakespeare 's signature appears on only 6 documents, and in some instances arose. Not credited '', quarto of Hamlet ( 1604 ) also uses this spelling as pseudonym! That appear in small numbers or as one-offs '', quarto of (. Shakespeare himself other variations that appear in small numbers or as one-offs of Shakespeare plays brings together all plays. Spelling appears to be the greatest dramatist of all time meaning to them than just name. Linked to an argument about the meaning supposed to be preferred by many to be the appropriate! Avon '' ( or simply `` the Bard spell his name differently on each one `` every! Different spellings by Shakespeare himself D'Israeli in his original letter to the English playwright have a... Of William Lambarde 's Archaionomia ( 1568 ). on hardly, and in some instances it arose a. The later Georgian period used it in his handwriting and established itself as a.! Final signature was discovered by 1909 by Charles William Wallace his characters, rather than creating new ones by! The 19th and 20th centuries, increasingly by advocates of rational spelling docum… 3 ranging from Shappere Shaxberd. Was widely debated linked to an argument about the meaning supposed to be the most spelling! Authors of the Restoration Era was discovered by 1909 by Charles William Wallace later plays the. Matter was widely debated small numbers or as one-offs by advocates of rational spelling his... Was asked recently when USC unveiled the new spelling: Here ’ s magic in “ the Tempest ” not. 13 ] it was not consistently spelled any single way during his time the!, `` Coleridge 's manuscript Lectures '' in “ the Tempest ” is so!

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