Thornton, Peter, and Helen Dorey. A Miscellany of Objects from Sir John Soane’s Museum. London: Laurence King, 1992. For several years after the birth of Judith and Hamnet in 1585, nothing is known for certain of Shakespeare’s activities: how he earned a living, when he moved from Stratford, or how he got his start in the theater.

William Shakespeare Statue, New York City department of Parks and Recreation". Nycgovparks.org. 12 February 2007 . Retrieved 10 December 2011. We still need to account for those distinguishing facial features, some of which appear to be pathological or traumatic in nature. The discovery of the death mask in the mid-19th century was naturally exciting, and not just for artists; scientists were fascinated by it, too. Was there any way of proving beyond all reasonable doubt that the death mask was Shakespeare’s? Potentially, yes. If his grave in Holy Trinity Church were opened, and his skull exhumed, it could be compared with the death mask. Shakespeare’s gravestone in the chancel of Holy Trinity does not mention his name or any personal information. Rather, it reads: Dr Paul Edmondson, the head of research at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) in Stratford-upon-Avon, said: “This is truly significant. We can therefore say that is how Shakespeare wanted to be represented in our memories. This is massive. It is compelling new light on what he looked like and how he operated.”Shakespeare's pen has been repeatedly stolen and replaced since, and the paint has been renewed. In 1793 Edmond Malone, the noted Shakespeare scholar, persuaded the vicar to paint the monument white, in keeping with the Neoclassical taste of the time. The paint was removed in 1861 and the monument was repainted in the colours recovered from beneath the white layer. [25] A “monumental lapse” Figure 4. Vertue’s second engraving of Shakespeare in Pope’s 1723-25 edition and the first ever depiction of Shakespeare as a writer. By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library.

a b Reedy, Tom (2015). "William Dugdale on Shakespeare and his Monument". Shakespeare Quarterly. 66 (2): 188–196. doi: 10.1353/shq.2015.0026. S2CID 194022730. Mark Brown, ‘A New View: is this the real Shakespeare?’, Guardian (10 March 2009) < http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/mar/10/shakespeare-cobbe-portrait> [Accessed 12 March 2014]. Writing soon after the restoration, Greene wrote that "the figure of the Bard" was removed to be "cleansed of dust &c". He noted that the figure and cushion were carved from a single piece of limestone. He added that "care was taken, as nearly as could be, not to add to or diminish what the work consisted of, and appear'd to have been when first erected: And really, except changing the substance of the Architraves from alabaster to Marble; nothing has been chang'd, nothing alter'd, except supplying with original material, (sav'd for that purpose,) whatsoever was by accident broken off; reviving the Old Colouring, and renewing the Gilding that was lost". [9] John Hall, the limner from Bristol hired to do the restoration, painted a picture of the monument on pasteboard before 1748. [23] Greene also had a plaster cast of the head made before the restoration began. [24] When Shakespeare died in 1616, he was far from being the global icon ‘Shakespeare’ that we celebrate today. He was a leading English playwright, but not an isolated talent. And when London theatres reopened in 1660 upon the restoration of the British monarchy – Puritans had closed all theatres in 1642, during the Interregnum – plays were radically rewritten for performance: King Lear survived; the witches in Macbeth sang and danced; Miranda in The Tempest gained a sister. There was not yet a belief that Shakespeare’s original words were sacrosanct or that Shakespeare should be treated much differently from his peers – dramatists like Ben Jonson, Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, whose works were sometimes more popular with Restoration audiences.The doublet is ‘pinked’ to show the expensive scarlet lining. The impression is one of slash marks and flesh wounds. In the middle, poking through the doublet, is a neat bow. Jenny Tiramani, an expert in period costume, has admitted that she has never seen the band strings of a shirt collar poking through a buttonhole like this. The detail of the bow in the Wadlow portrait is extremely unusual. More than anything, it appears to resemble a dragonfly. The monument was restored in 1748–49. Parson Joseph Greene, master of Stratford grammar school, organised the first known performance of a Shakespeare play in Stratford to fund the restoration. [21] John Ward's company agreed to perform Othello in the Town Hall on 9 September 1746, with all receipts going to help pay for the restoration. [22] Hamper, William, ed. The Life, Diary and Correspondence of Sir William Dugdale. London: Harding, 1827. Chambers, E.K. William Shakespeare: A Study of Facts and Problems. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon, 1930.

Spielmann found a determined critic in Sir George Greenwood, barrister, member of Parliament and an original thinker determined to make the public aware of the case against Stratford. In his 1908 book, Greenwood agreed with Stopes that Dugdale-Hollar represented the original effigy, but not that it represented Shakespeare as weary and near death. He commended her attempt to explain the discrepancy, but concluded: “It seems absolutely certain that this Stratford bust … is in reality not the original bust at all,” adding that “the whole thing is changed” ( Problem 245–46). This does not suggest to me that the various representations all drew on an original portrait. If they had, the ‘look’ would be similar, even though some of the distinguishing details might have been lost. as nearly as could be, not to add to or diminish what the work consisted of, and appeared to have been when first erected. And really except [for] changing the substance of the architraves from alabaster to marble, nothing has been changed, nothing altered, except the supplying with the original material (saved for that purpose) whatsoever was by accident broken off, reviving the old coloring and renewing the gilding that was lost.” (171, Greene’s emphasis)In 1621 Shakespeare’s son-in-law commissioned The Holy Trinity Bust – a monument to The Bard made by Gerard Jansen which stands above Shakespeare’s grave in the church. It was made while Shakespeare’s wife was still alive, so is generally thought that it is a good likeness of the poet. The inscription on The Holy Trinity Bust by Shakespeare’s grave reads: But now it seems the mystery has been solved. A groundbreaking discovery means we finally know at least how Shakespeare wanted to be seen. By the nineteenth century Shakespeare's reputation had advanced to the point of what came to be known as bardolatry. Statues and other memorials began to appear outside Britain, while in Britain itself Shakespeare's status as national poet was consolidated. Mitchell, Forest L. and Lasswell, James L., A Dazzle of Dragonflies (College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 2005)

He described the research as “a kind of portrait”, noting that in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, Hermione’s statue comes to life at the end. “Lena’s bringing Shakespeare’s monument to life,” he said. “What she’s saying is groundbreaking.” Piper, David, ed. “O Sweet Mr. Shakespeare I’ll Have His Picture.” The Changing Image of Shakespeare’s Person: 1600–1800. London: NPG, 1964. Most Stratfordian biographers avoid the issue, among them: Stephen Greenblatt (2004), and notably in his collected works of Shakespeare for Norton (1997), Michael Wood (2003), Park Honan (1998), and Stanley Wells (1995). None mentions Dugdale’s sketch or the engraving that Hollar made from it for Dugdale’s book, even though Dugdale’s sketch is the earliest eye-witness evidence of what the monument looked like. Dugdale was also the first to transcribe the abstruse epitaph on the monument. Stratfordian biographers, however, rarely try to explain what it means, even though it, too, is primary source evidence suggesting what contemporaries thought about the man for whom it was written and engraved. Evidently, they do not want to confront what the effigy and the epitaph might reveal about his identity. Engraving of the sculpture of Shakespeare at the entrance to the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery. The sculpture is now in the former garden of Shakespeare's home New Place in Stratford. Howes, Jennifer (11 November 2013). "The Shakespeare sculpture at the British Library". English and Drama blog. British Library . Retrieved 11 November 2013.Yes, William’s father, John Shakespeare, was granted a coat of arms in 1596. It was disputed in 1602 by York Herald, Ralph Brooke, saying that the arms were too similar to existing coats of arms, and that the family was unworthy. However, the challenge was unsuccessful, as the Shakespeare coat of arms appears in later heraldic collections and on William Shakespeare’s funeral monument in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. Does Shakespeare have descendants? Today’s Stratford monument is the defining image of William Shakspere of Stratford-upon-Avon as the alleged author of Shakespeare’s poems and plays. In the church where he’s buried, it shows a writer with pen, paper and writing surface (a cushion of all things). The plaque on it says it’s for “Shakspeare,” although without a first name. Thus, according to the Stratfordian storyline, the monument was erected to honor the world’s greatest writer, namely the man from Stratford. But this monument is a fraud, a “monumental” fraud. It is not the original, nor does its effigy resemble the original. The cumulative power of the evidence against the authenticity of today’s monument is clear and convincing. Wheler, Robert Bell. History and Antiquities of Stratford-Upon-Avon. Stratford-upon-Avon: Ward, 1806.