Shakespeare Properties

Stratford-upon-Avon has many sites that are near and dear to the Shakespeare lover's heart.  Among a handful of sites that one can do quite easily in a day of a walk tour are Shakespeare's birthplace, Anne Hathaway's cottage, The Nash House, Commemorative Statues, and the chapel in which Shakespeare and his family are all buried.

As a group we descended upon one site and then dispersed to the others on our own as we would like to see them.  Our first stop was Anne Hathaway's Cottage.  This stop was welcome in that it was easy to tour at a slow pace and allowed for quiet contemplation of the things we were seeing and learning.  The cottage includes a large acreage that includes formal gardens, a wooded path for the hiker, and a statue garden that depict scenes from William Shakespeare's plays.

I was most interested in seeing the statue garden and appreciated the varying types of statues that were present for the public's perusal.  One statue in particular was interesting to me since it looked like the cast of a very fat man's belly.  This particular statue was a representation of
Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare. In the two Henry IV plays, he is a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is ultimately repudiated after Hal becomes king. Falstaff also appears in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Though primarily a comic figure, Falstaff still embodies a kind of depth common to Shakespeare's tricky comedy. In Act II, Scene III of Henry V, his death is described by the character "Hostess", possibly the Mistress Quickly of Henry IV, who describes his body in terms that parody Plato's description of the death of Socrates.

 And then this statue that is a portrayal of Hamlet with Ophelia in when he is trying to save her life.  If you haven't read any of these plays, you should.  Just plain and simple as that.  I'll tell you though that reading those plays opened my mind to realizing the differing quotes that we are all familiar with.  "Doubt thou the stars are fire; that the sun doth move; truth to be a liar; but never doubt I love."  Hamlet Act II Scene II.

It was fascinating to see how artists had interpreted scenes and then present them for the public to identify. 

Next, I went with a small group to the Holy Trinity Chancel in Stratford-upon-Avon where William Shakespeare, his wife, Anne, and their children are buried.  William Shakespeare, poet and playwright, was baptized in Holy Trinity on 26 April 1564 and was buried there on 25 April 1616. The church still possesses the original Elizabethan register giving details of his baptism and burial, though it is kept by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust for safekeeping. He is buried in the beautiful 15th-century chancel built by Thomas Balsall, Dean of the Collegiate Church, who was buried within it in 1491. Shakespeare's funerary monument is fixed on a wall alongside his burial place.
Shakespeare would have come to Holy Trinity every week when he was in town, i.e. all through his childhood and on his return to live at New Place. His wife Anne Hathaway is buried next to him along with his eldest daughter Susanna. The church witnessed a sad episode shortly before Shakespeare's death. The day after Shakespeare signed his Last Will and Testament on 25 March 1616 in a 'shaky hand', William's son-in-law, Thomas Quiney was found guilty in the church court of fathering an illegitimate son by a Margaret Wheler who had recently died in childbirth. Quiney was ordered to do public penance within the church. The distress and shame for the Shakespeare family must have been immense. Within a month Shakespeare was dead and his funeral and burial being held at Holy Trinity on 25 April 1616.
Above the grave, a badly eroded stone slab displays his epitaph:

GOOD FREND FOR IESUS SAKE FORBEARE,

TO DIGG THE DVST ENCLOASED HEARE.

BLESTE BE Y^E MAN Y^T SPARES THES STONES,

AND CVRST BE HE Y^T MOVES MY BONES.

It has been claimed by at least one textbook author that the warning has served to prevent both the removal of Shakespeare's body to Westminster Abbey and the exhumation of his body for examination.
The grave of Shakespeare's wife Anne Hathaway is next to her husband's. The inscription states, "Here lyeth the body of Anne wife of William Shakespeare who departed this life the 6th day of August 1623 being of the age of 67 years." A Latin inscription followed which translates as "Breasts, O mother, milk and life thou didst give. Woe is me - for how great a boon shall I give stones? How much rather would I pray that the good angel should move the stone so that, like Christ's body, thine image might come forth! But my prayers are unavailing. Come quickly, Christ, that my mother, though shut within this tomb may rise again and reach the stars."  The inscription may have been written by John Hall on behalf of his wife, Anne's daughter, Susanna.

 I enjoyed learning the familial history that is not generally spoken of when one is learning about William Shakespeare.  Most of what I had been taught centered only on his written work and not on his personal daily life.  It was nice to add to my small base knowledge about a playwright that I have come to love, enjoy and someday want to teach.