8-3Will

What was Shakespeare's Last Will and Testament? //Prepared by Riley P.// On April 23rd, 1616 William Shakespeare died of unknown causes leaving behind only his fantastic work and a motley, disorganized, will and testament. William made his final revisions to his will only a few weeks before his death on March 25th which leads some to believe Shakespeare realized he was gravely ill. According to Michael Best’s website “ //Shakespeare's Life and Times, //” William doled out three hundred pounds to his daughter Judith, twenty to his sister Joan Hart, five to each of Joan’s children, and he left ten pounds for the poor of Stratford. One pound in the Elizabethan Era is equivalent to about two-hundred United States dollars according to the webpage, “Historical Currency Conversions.” The majority of Shakespeare’s estate went to his oldest daughter Susanna including real estate in both Stratford and London.

There is an interesting absence in Shakespeare’s will and that is the provisions for his wife Anne Hathaway, who is only mentioned once in the entire will. The line "Item I gyve unto my wief my second best bed with the furniture." is said to have been thrown into the middle of the last page as if he had forgotten all about her. Opinions vary on whether there were deliberate intentions made to leave Anne out as a form of insult. Tanya Cooper, author of the book __Searching for Shakespeare__  said, “By the standards of the time such cursory treatment was unusual,” (pg. 193). There is no question that, since the law of the day stated Anne would be given one-third Shakespeare’s estate, there seemed to be a hole in Shakespeare’s carefully plotted and in-depth testament. Whether Shakespeare gave her such a meager amount was a result of a scandalous marriage or simply a mistake can be debated. Shakespeare’s final portion of his will granted twenty-six shillings to his  friends Hamlet Sadler, William Reynolds, Anthony Nash, and Thomas Nash to buy signet rings.

According to __Searching for Shakespeare__ __,__ it was very common during the 16th and 17th century to leave friends and family money to purchase a ring or give them a ring as a commemorative token of their life. In Cooper’s words it “formed personal keepsakes of the deceased in commemoration or as a sign of mourning,” (pg. 196) Rings often depicted symbols of mortality such as skulls, hourglasses, or crossbones and were very common and even fashionable in England. They also created keepsakes for those close to the deceased. With Shakespeare’s estate and possessions sorted out, only those who he has inspired and the things that he has created are left to carry out his great legacy.  Cooper, Tarnya. __Searching for Shakespeare__. New York: Yale UP, 2006. Eliason, Alan. __Historical Currency Conversions__. 30 Mar. 2009 .
 * Works Cited** Best, Michael. "Shakespeare's Life and Times: Home Page." __Internet Shakespeare Editions__. 15 Apr. 2009 .

[] - The Complete Text of Shakespeare's Will

