Welcome to the new AromaTools website! Please update the password on your account if you haven't logged in yet.
0

Your Cart is Empty

Happy Birthday, William Shakespeare!

Four hundred and fifty years ago, William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564.

In honor of this historic event, we present this short video we created about Romeo & Juliet, but with a much happier ending to the story.

10 Fun Facts About William Shakespeare:

1. His actual birth date is not known, but he was baptized on April 26th, which leads many scholars to believe that he was born on April 23rd. Since he died on April 23, 1616, if scholars are correct about his birth date, he would have died on his 52nd birthday.

2. During his lifetime, Shakespeare wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets!  This means he wrote an average of 1.5 plays a year since he first started writing in 1589.

3. Even though he is renowned for writing plays and sonnets, his claimed profession was an actor.  He played parts in plays he wrote as well as many written by others.

4. Shakespeare is the second most quoted writer in the English language––after the various writers of the Bible.

5. Some of Shakespeare’s signatures have survived on original documents.  On these documents, he spells his last name as “Shakespe,” “Shakspe,” “Shakspere,” or “Shakespear” but never “Shakespeare,” which is the standard spelling today. There are more than 80 variations recorded for his full name.

6. During Shakespeare’s lifetime, it was illegal for women and girls to perform in the theater, so all the female parts were written for boys or young men.

7. Copyrights didn’t exist during Shakespeare’s time, so it wasn’t uncommon for plays to be copied illegally.  In an effort to protect the play, the actors would be cued or fed lines by someone backstage as the play was performed.

8. In Psalm 46 of the King James Bible, the 46th word down from the top is ‘shake,’ and the 46th word up from the bottom is ‘spear’. Some think this was a hidden birthday message to William Shakespeare on his 46th birthday, as the King James Bible was published in the same year (1611).

9. Unlike most artists during his time, Shakespeare was a very wealthy businessman. He brilliantly formed a joint-stock company called the King’s Men with his actors so that he could take a share in the company’s profits as well as earn a fee for each play he wrote.

10. Shakespeare has been credited by the Oxford English Dictionary with introducing almost 3,000 words to the English language.  Estimations of his vocabulary range from 17,000 to 29,000 words! That’s at least double the number of words used by the average conversationalist!

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare

Shakespeare Facts: Read Facts About William Shakespeare

http://absoluteshakespeare.tripod.com/homepage/id1.html

Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.


Also in Essential Ideas by AromaTools

Essential Oil Spotlight: Spanish Sage
Essential Oil Spotlight: Spanish Sage

Spanish sage, also known as sage lavender (Salvia lavandulifolia), is steam distilled from the leaves and stems of the plant. It belongs to the Lamiaceae botanical family. The aroma is herbaceous and camphorous (with camphor as a primary chemical constituent), with a subtle lavender undertone.

Read More
Essential Oil Spotlight: Guaiacwood
Essential Oil Spotlight: Guaiacwood

Guaiacwood (Bulnesia sarmientoi)—pronounced GWHY-ack-wood—is steam distilled from the heartwood of the plant. It belongs to the Zygophyllaceae botanical family and is native to parts of South America. The aroma is woodsy with a subtle smoky-sweetness reminiscent of sandalwood. Its properties are...

Read More
Be an EO First Responder with Modern Essentials® 14!
Be an EO First Responder with Modern Essentials® 14!

The original and best ready EO reference is still Modern Essentials®! With the Modern Essentials® 14 family, you and your team are prepared to learn, teach, and share about essential oils with accessible, authoritative information.

Read More