William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet, and the "Bard of Avon".

Biography

Pre-birth

William Shakespeare was cryptically mentioned by the prophecy-telling pig, Matilda in 870s Canterbury. The prophecy was witnessed by the Viking shieldmaiden Eivor Varinsdottir under the influence of hallucinogenics. The so-called prophecy referred to him as the "river's swan" and to his father as the "gloved hand". The prophecy also noted his talent for weaving words and made reference to the Iambic pentameter, a type of metric line commonly used in English poetry.

Early life

William was born in Stratford-upon-Avon to John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glove-maker, and Mary Arden. He was later baptized on 26 April 1564 shortly afterward. At 18, Shakespeare married the 26-year-old Anne Hathaway.

Career

During his lifetime, Shakespeare wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets. Among his plays, he wrote The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream. The former featured a Jewish villain partially inspired by the execution of Roderigo Lopez, Queen Elizabeth I's Jewish chief physician who was hanged, drawn, and quartered in 1594 for attempting to poison her.

In 1603, John Dee, Queen Elizabeth's former consultant, attended a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe Theatre in London. The following year, he sent a letter to Elizabeth Jane Weston, recommending her to watch it, saying that he thought she would "find the subject matter of this play prevalent to [her] liking." Elizabeth and her husband, Johannes Leo, would subsequently attend a performance of the play at Vladislav Hall in Prague.

Death

Later in life, Shakespeare retired to his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon. He died on 26 April 1616, aged 52, within a month of signing his will. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.

Legacy

In addition to his plays and sonnets, Shakespeare also contributed hundreds of new words into the English language.

In 2012, one of Ezio Auditore's repressed genetic memories experienced by Desmond Miles in the Animus 2.0, was named after the Shakespeare's 1598 play Love's Labour's Lost. Later that year, within the database entry for Oak Island on the Animus 3.0, Shaun Hastings claimed that Francis Bacon had used William Kidd's "Money Pit" to store the original documents proving that he wrote the works of William Shakespeare, although Shaun quickly admitted that it was not true.

In 2015, during a Helix Initiate's session of Jacob Frye's genetic memory, one such memory was named in reference to Shakespeare's 1600 play Much Ado About Nothing.

In 2020, Shaun, Rebecca Crane and Layla Hassan were staying at a cabin in New England as Layla explored Eivor Varinsdottir's genetic memories. In a note left on the cabin's inner walls, Shaun joked that Shakespeare had missed a chance to write a play about King Alfred of Wessex's campaigns against the invading Vikings, and parodied the first lines of the opening soliloquy in the 1592 play Richard III said by the titular character.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed III (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed film (promotional material only)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (indirect mention only)