Shakespeare in Fiction: Difference between revisions

* Shakespeare's marriage was of at best questionable happiness (because he only left his wife his "second best bed" in his will, and because he spent most of his life in London while she was in Stratford-upon-Avon). His wife gave birth less than nine months after their marriage, so it's often presented as a [[Shotgun Wedding]]. [[Justifying Edit|It's worth mentioning thatSome Shakespeare scholars dispute both these factoids]]: apparently the second-best bed was the bed a couple would typically sleep in; (the best was kept for guests - like the "company dinner service") and. underUnder the laws of the time, the wife would automatically inherit a large share of the estate. As for the marriage, Shakespeare and his wife had been formally engaged for a number of months before the marriage ceremony and at the time, engaged couples were seen as married in all but name. (This crops up as an important plot point in ''[[Measure for Measure]]''.)