* A descendant of farming stock, Shakespeare was steeped in rural tradition, & there is frequent reference in his works to nature; plants, flowers, herbs, & autumn leaves are used to evoke the cycle of the seasons & mark the passage of time.

* Although Shakespeare may have been among the 1st to find a wide audience for the word assassination, he did not coin the term. Even Dante used the term in refering to a murderer in the 19th canto of the Inferno - 'lo perfido assassin'. The popular use of the term in the west came from the infamous name of an Ismaili sect in the mideast that used political murder as its primary method to promote the Shi'ite resurgance in the 1100's.

* Contrary to popular belief, Shakespeare's birthday is NOT known. Scholars know the date he was baptized, & assumed that he was born a few days earlier. It was custom back then to baptize a few days after birth. And, a holiday happened to be one of the dates a few days before his baptizing, so people just slid his birthday onto that date, not really knowing when it was.

* In Elizabethan slang, the term 'to die' meant to have an orgasm. Shakespeare used this phrase in King Lear.

* In Elizabethan slang, the phrase 'to die' meant to have an orgasm. It is used in King Lear & some other Shakespeare plays.

* It has been rumored that when Shakespeare was suffering from writers block, he would masterbate & when he was finished he could continue writing fresh again.

* It is believed that Shakespeare was 46 around the time that the King James Version of the Bible was written. In Psalms 46, the 46th word from the first word is shake & the 46th word from the last word is spear.

* Shakespeare died on his 52nd birthday. The only reason he wrote plays was so that he could act.

* Shakespeare invented the words 'puke' & 'bedroom'

* Shakespeare's tombstone in Stratford's Holy Trinity Church bears this inscription, said to have been written by him: Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear to dig the dust enclosed here. Blest be the man that spares these stones, & curst be he that moves my bones.

* Shakespeare was born April 23, 1564, & died April 23, 1616, exactly 52 years later.

* Shakespeare was born in the Holy Trinity Church, the same place he was baptized & buried in Stratford.

* Shakespeare was not such a great guy. He did get arrested once for poaching on a Duke or Earl's land.