| rdfs:comment
| - William Shakespeare, being the important literary figure that he is, shows up frequently as a fictional character--so frequently, in fact, that a number of standard conventions have developed about how he's portrayed. Most of the fiction about Shakespeare has him experiencing things that mirror his writing, with the implication that they served as inspiration. Specifically, often many of these things are portrayed as true: There are also a number of other common threads in Shakespearean fiction:
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| abstract
| - William Shakespeare, being the important literary figure that he is, shows up frequently as a fictional character--so frequently, in fact, that a number of standard conventions have developed about how he's portrayed. Most of the fiction about Shakespeare has him experiencing things that mirror his writing, with the implication that they served as inspiration. Specifically, often many of these things are portrayed as true:
* Hamlet the play is a reaction to the death of Hamnet Shakespeare (his only son).
* Shakespeare knew some Jews, or a Jew, which is why The Merchant of Venice was Fair for Its Day. Sometimes the Jew in question is Rodrigo Lopez, who was a physician to Queen Elizabeth until he was convicted of treason.
* Some woman Shakespeare knew was the real Dark Lady from his Sonnets. As one contender, Emelia Bassano, was of Sephardi ancestry, this might overlap with the Merchant of Venice one above. (For some reason there aren't nearly as many fictional presentations of the beautiful young man who's the other central figure in the Sonnets.) There are also a number of other common threads in Shakespearean fiction:
* The Tempest and A Midsummer Nights Dream are related somehow--possibly because Puck and Ariel are connected.
* Christopher Marlowe's death is significant, or possibly faked.
* Shakespeare's marriage was of at best questionable happiness (because he only left his wife his "second best bed" in his will, and because he spent most of his life in London while she was in Stratford-upon-Avon). His wife gave birth less than nine months after their marriage, so it's often presented as a Shotgun Wedding. It's worth mentioning that Shakespeare scholars dispute both these factoids: apparently the second-best bed was the bed a couple would typically sleep in (the best was kept for guests - like the "company dinner service") and under the laws of the time, the wife would automatically inherit a large share of the estate. As for the marriage, Shakespeare and his wife had been formally engaged for a number of months before the marriage ceremony and at the time, engaged couples were seen as married in all but name. (This crops up as an important plot point in Measure for Measure.)
* One or both of the lost plays, Love's Labour's Won and the Fletcherian collaboration Cardenio, play some important role in the plot.
* Very little Shakespearean fiction actually subscribes to any of the standard unorthodox perspectives in the authorship controversy, but often the existence of the controversy is referenced somehow--either by having one of the standard candidates give Shakespeare writing advice, or by coming up with a new (and probably completely absurd) candidate for authorship.
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