Around Tokyo
Little Attention to Shakespeare's Death
One of the reasons why I think that William Shakespeare was assassinated with poison is the condition of the death of Shakespeare.
Nobody came to his burial service from London. No noblemen and none from the royal court of King James I, though "after the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, the company was awarded a royal patent by the new king,James I, and changed its name to the King's Men." (Wikipeda)
So, there are some arguments about his relatively lonely burial.
Shakespeare was a famous and respected dramatist at the time of his death. Why was so little attention paid to his passing?
Shakespeare was indeed a man of fame and wealth for many years before his death, thanks in great part to the privileges granted him by King James I. Yet, surprisingly there are no records of any significant tributes to Shakespeare by his fellow actors and writers at the time of his death. The great eulogies praising the Sweet Swan of Avon appeared much later, in the First Folio of 1623. The situation was quite different for Shakespeare's friend and legendary actor, Richard Burbage. When Burbage died in 1619 the nation mourned and eulogies poured forth from distraught writers whose characters would surely die with him.
The shock and sadness over Burbage's passing may be the key to our understanding of why so little was written on Shakespeare's death just three years earlier - a brilliant theory put so eloquently by C. C. Stopes in Burbage and Shakespeare's Stage:
Shakespeare was out of it all now - away in the quiet Stratford Church he lay. And Richard Burbage, having a son at the end of the year, in memory of him called the child by the name of '"William." It has often been noted by enemies that the world did not seem very much distressed about the death of Shakespeare. No one seems to have grasped the true reason. Shakespeare had retired from the stage, as an actor, some time before he died. His personal appearances in London were rare.
And when the end came, and the creation of plays from that source ceased, we have every reason to believe that there was an increase in the number of the performances of his plays. For in the characters Shakespeare wrote for him Richard Burbage attained his greatest glory. Men did not realize that Shakespeare was dead while Burbage lived. His power of impersonation was so great that he became his characters....We have only to turn to the poems referring to Richard Burbage to realize that it was in the death of Burbage that to the world our Shakespeare died (115).
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/faq/shakespeareremembered.html
This is an indirect proof that Shakespeare was killed by some agents from the royal court in London. The royal authority in London tried to make the death of Shakespeare unnoticed as much as possible without encouraging influential people in London to visit the funeral, since some King's agents assassinated Shakespeare with poison, though it took some time or specifically more than a month to put an end to the life of Shakespeare.
It must have been related to the conflict between Catholics and Protestants. As some Catholic group tried to blow up the central part of London, which however failed, the British court took very stern measures against Catholics.
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.
The plan was to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of England's Parliament on 5 November 1605, as the prelude to a popular revolt in the Midlands during which James's nine-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, was to be installed as the Catholic head of state.
...
The plot was revealed to the authorities in an anonymous letter sent to William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, on 26 October 1605. During a search of the House of Lords at about midnight on 4 November 1605, Fawkes was discovered guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder—enough to reduce the House of Lords to rubble—and arrested. Most of the conspirators fled from London as they learned of the plot's discovery, trying to enlist support along the way. Several made a stand against the pursuing Sheriff of Worcester and his men at Holbeche House; in the ensuing battle Catesby was one of those shot and killed. At their trial on 27 January 1606, eight of the survivors, including Fawkes, were convicted and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder_Plot
Though Shakespeare seems to have had no associations with those revolutionary Catholics, subsequent investigations must have concluded that William Shakespeare could be a threat, since he wrote plays that could appeal to Catholics secretly.
So, the British authority decided to take on Shakespeare. But he was so popular as an actor and a dramatist. Shakespeare's theater company was even authorized by King James I to enjoy the highest reputation in the public and among noble people. So, the assassination had to be carried out secretly in Stratford-upon-Avon. but not in London.
That is why no word from King James I on the death of Shakespeare, the most popular leader of the King's Men.
Conversely the fact that King James I neglected the death of Shakespeare indicated that Shakespeare was assassinated by the King, most probably.
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Shakespeare Messages to Catholics
If you admit that Shakespeare was assassinated with poison after forced retirement because the English royal authority found that the great dramatist had been sending messages to Catholics through writing plays, every mystery of William Shakespeare would be solved.
Especially one of mysteries that almost no documents Shakespeare wrote in his daily lives, business, and society circles have been left can be explained by this theory. After Shakespeare was assassinated, agents of the authority must have collected such documents and letters to burn them.
As Shakespeare was so popular in the public and highly praised by parties concerned in the trade, the royal anti-Catholic authority must have wanted to take on Shakespeare secretly. (Shakespeare even covertly joined translation for the King James Version of the Bible.) So, they used poison and buried the dead body in two days in haste; they even concocted the well-known epitaph on the grave of Shakespeare.
Indeed, how could William Shakespeare, a talented Catholic dramatist, wish to leave such cursed words on his grave?
Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blest be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.
It looks like the agent who killed Shakespeare tried to hide evidence of his crime in the coffin of Shakespeare laid in the grave for ever.
Now, the following is a copy of my past writings on this issue:
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King James and Shakespeare in 1605 and 1611
It has a significant meaning that the Authorized Version of the Bible, sponsored by James VI and I (1566-1625), was produced while Shakespeare was active in his creative work.
So, there might have been some linkage between William Shakespeare (1564-1616) and the King James Version of the Bible.
Shakespeare: General Q & A
Is it true that Shakespeare worked on the King James Bible?
Some believe that Psalm 46 may have been translated by Shakespeare. The King James version of the Bible was printed in 1611, when Shakespeare was 46 years old. It is a faint possibility, but no one knows for sure. James C. Humes notes that "The 46th word from the top of the 46th Psalm is "Shake" ("The earth doth shake."), and the 46th word from the bottom is "spear" ("God cutteth forth a spear")" (164).
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/faq/psalmshakespeare.html
Specifically, the 46th Psalms are as follows:
Psa 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psa 46:2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Psa 46:3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
Psa 46:4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
Psa 46:5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
Psa 46:6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
Psa 46:7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
Psa 46:8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
Psa 46:9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
Psa 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psa 46:11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
But what was the relationship between King James and William Shakespeare?
Shakespeare's Relationship with King James I
William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in order to win the approval of King James of England and used the king's favor to generate wealth and prosperity for himself. William Shakespeare was known for challenging himself to write plays using different techniques and approaches. In the infancy of the 1600s, between 1603 and 1606, Shakespeare wrote one of his most famous and most adapted tragedies with Macbeth.By 1608, he was expanding his play company to a second theatre. (Frye 15) Commonly referred to as "The Scottish Play," Macbeth tells the story of a thane who through the machinations of a trio of witches ascends to the throne in Scotland via a series of murders and deceptions. The play was used to propel Shakespeare from a playwright from Stratford to the king's personal performer, rendering Shakespeare wealthy and allowing him to expand from the Globe to other theatres and spread the knowledge of his plays across England. (Frye 14) At the time the play was written, King James VI of Scotland had recently succeeded Queen Elizabeth I as reigning monarch of England and Ireland, becoming James I of England. Many of the themes and ideas that are presented in Macbeth seem to suggest that Shakespeare took several creative liberties with the history of England at the time and tailored the play specifically to flatter King James. At a time when performing a play that even hinted at corruption in the crown would have resulted in not only the death of the theatre company but of the playwright himself, it is understandable that Shakespeare would write a play for a court performance complimentary to the ruler of Great Britain. (Project Muse) This action won the acclaim of the king, and gave Shakespeare and his troupe (formerly Lord Chamberlain's Men) resourcespreviously unimaginable. (Greenblatt 335) In 1603, Shakespeare's troupe changed their name to The King's Company. They received much more money, thus earning them more costumes and props on top of the gifts they were receiving from the King. Performances before James were four times as frequent as they had been before Elizabeth. (Frye 15)
http://voices.yahoo.com/shakespeares-relationship-king-james-i-3916692.html?cat=37
As the translation of the Bible started in 1604 following King's order , Shakespeare could have a chance to be asked by King James to translate some passages of Psalms.
King James might really have an idea to have Shakespeare take part in the great project of producing the King James' Version of the Bible, since the king loved literature and talent of writers and poets so much.
Under James, the "Golden Age" of Elizabethan literature and drama continued, with writers such as William Shakespeare, John Donne, Ben Jonson, and Sir Francis Bacon contributing to a flourishing literary culture.[3] James himself was a talented scholar, the author of works such as Daemonologie (1597), True Law of Free Monarchies (1598), and Basilikon Doron (1599). He sponsored the translation of the Bible that was named after him: the Authorised King James Version.[4] Sir Anthony Weldon claimed that James had been termed "the wisest fool in Christendom", an epithet associated with his character ever since.[5] Since the latter half of the twentieth century, however, historians have revised James's reputation and have treated him as a serious and thoughtful monarch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_VI_and_I#Literary_patronage
In addition, other paragraphs in Psalms that contain "shake" or "spear" are as follows:
Psalms 22:7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
Psalms 35:3 Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
Psalms 69:23 Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.
Psalms 72:16 There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
Note that with a focus on Psalms 22:7 including "shake"and 35:3 including "spear" the sum of the title numbers of each of the paragraphs is 11 (11 = 2 + 2 + 7 and also 11 = 3 + 5 + 3), and the "shake" appears as the 16th word in Psalms 22:7, while the word "spear" is the fifth word in Psalms 35:3.
As the King James version of the Bible was first printed in 1611, this 11 can be regraded as a sign to direct readers' attentions to these two verses.
(In 1605, it must have been planned that the new Bible was to be published in 1611, which Shakespeare must have known.)
As the translation work started in 1604 and continued till 1611, Shakespeare must have been engaged in the translation of these Psalms in 1605. Or actually he must have written these paragraphs in 1605.
We could infer that Shakespeare was doing translation of the Psalms for the King James Version in 1605 though this new English Bible was first printed in 1611. And then Shakespeare died in 1616.
Psalms 22:7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake (16th) the head, saying,
Psalms 35:3 Draw out also the spear (5th), and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
That is, Shakespeare in 1605!
These two verses tell that Shakespeare translated the Psalms in 1605 for the King James Version of the Bible that was most probably expected at the time to be delivered in 1611.
Finally, the contents of Psalms 22:7 and 35:3 really seem to fit the possible mind set of Shakespeare who must have had a sense of danger that he might have been persecuted as a Catholic in the worst case.
Incidentally, Shakespeare was probably exactly 46 years old when the Authorised King James Version was published in 1611.
APPENDIX 1: Psalms 16
Psalm 16 has only 11 paragraphs, namely from 16:1 to 16:11. It really tells that the translator, probably Shakespeare, indicated the numbers of Psalms were important with some implications.
The fact that Psalms 16:11 is the last paragraph of Psalms 16 means that the King James Bible was first released in 1611 or expected to be released first in 1611 when the Psalms 16 was being translated.
Psa 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
This verse implies that the new Bible is completed in 1611 to its "fullness" with the "hand" of Shakespeare taking part of the great and holy project.
Psalms 16:5, representing the year 1605 when Shakespeare actually translated Psalms, is also meaningful in this context.
Psa 16:5 The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.
This really tells that Psalms is "portion" of Shakespeare's "inheritance, cup, and lot."
The contents of the two paragraphs really fit the idea that Shakespeare translated Psalms for the King James Version.
APPENDIX 2: Shakespeare's State around 1605
If we admit that Shakespeare was engaged in the translation work of Psalms for the King James Bible in 1605, what was situations around him at the time?
In 1597, he bought the second-largest house in Stratford, New Place, and in 1605, he invested in a share of the parish tithes in Stratford.
The absence of his name from the 1605 cast list for Jonson's Volpone is taken by some scholars as a sign that his acting career was nearing its end.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare#Plays
Maybe Shakespeare was busy in his holy work in the translation work while becoming a little more religious.
His works completed around 1605 are as follows:
1604-1606: Timon of Athens
1605: King Lear
1606: Macbeth
APPENDIX 3: Translators for the King James Version Bible
If 50 people are engaged in a big translation project while some others are invited for various contribution, it would be difficult to manage their work and practices completely.
The following accounts of the King James translators are taken from, The Translators Revived by Alexander McClure published in 1858.
It is commonly reported that there were 54 translators selected to the translation, but only 47 actually participated in the work. Mr. McClure's book chronicles 51 translators. As you read the translator's rules, you will see that other principal and learned men of the kingdom were also invited to make their comments on the work at hand.
The King James Bible translators were a collection of some of the world's best scholars. They approached this translation with the mindset that they were translating the very Word of God, not just some book. The King James Bible has been called "the monument of English prose" as well as "the only great work of art ever created by a committee."
BIOGRAPHIES OF THE
KING JAMES VERSION TRANSLATORS
I. The First Westminister Company--translated the historical books, beginning with Genesis and ending with the Second Book of Kings.
Dr. Lancelot Andrews
Dr. John Overall
Dr. Hadrian Saravia
Dr. Richard Clarke, Dr. John Laifield, Dr. Robert Tighe, Francis Burleigh, Geoffry King, Richard Thompson
Dr. William Bedwell
II. The Cambridge Company--translated Chronicles to the end of the Song of Songs.
Edward Lively, Dr. John Richardson, Dr. Lawrence Chaderton
Francis Dillingham, Dr. Roger Andrews, Thomas Harrison, Dr. Robert Spaulding, Dr. Andrew Bing
III. The Oxford Company--translated beginning of Isaiah to the end of the Old Testament.
Dr. John Harding, Dr. John Reynolds
Dr. Thomas Holland, Dr. Richard Kilby
Dr. Miles Smith, Dr. Richard Brett, Daniel Fairclough
IV. The Second Oxford Company--translated the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Revelation of St. John the Divine.
Dr. Thomas Ravis, Dr. George Abbot
Dr. Richard Eedes, Dr. Giles Tomson, Sir Henry Savile
Dr. John Peryn, Dr. Ralph Ravens, Dr. John Harmar
V. The Fifth Company of Translators at Westminster--translated all of the Epistles of the New Testament
Dr. William Barlow, Dr. John Spencer, Dr. Roger Fenton, Dr. Ralph Hutchinson, William Dakins, Michael Rabbet, [Thomas(?)] Sanderson
VI. The Sixth Company of Translators at Cambridge translated the apocryphal books.
Dr. John Duport, Dr. William Brainthwaite, Dr. Jeremiah Radcliffe
Dr. Samuel Ward
Dr. Andrew Downes, John Bois
Dr. John Ward, Dr. John Aglionby, Dr. Leonard Hutten
Dr. Thomas Bilson, Dr. Richard Bancroft
http://jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/The%20King%20James%20Bible/Translators/translators.htm
Probably, King James must have asked William Shakespeare to contribute to translation of Psalms, since Shakespeare had great reputation at the time as a poet. And, at the time, Shakespeare might regard himself as the 46th translator. Indeed, "54 translators selected to the translation, but only 47 actually participated." It meant that there was some confusion in an early stage of forming the translation committee. Perhaps it was after 1605 that the committee came to have a fixed number of translators, that is 47. Till then, it does not look so unnatural that Shakespeare regarded himself as the 46th translator. It must be the reason why Shakespeare put his name in Psalms 46 in the magical way.
In the case, as Shakespeare would become 46 years old when the new Bible was published in 1611, he must have some special meaning in the number 46.
Shakespeare Assassinated
Put simply, in my theory, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was assassinated because he was found to be a dangerous Catholic though hidden.
It should be noted that the cause of death of Shakespeare has not been definitely identified.
How Did Shakespeare Die?
The cause of Shakespeare's death is a mystery, but an entry in the diary of John Ward, the vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford (where Shakespeare is buried), tells us that "Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and it seems drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted." Ward, a self-proclaimed Shakespeare fan, wrote his diary fifty years after Shakespeare died and most historians agree it appears to be a baseless anecdote. It should be noted though that a serious outbreak of typhus, known as the "new fever", in 1616 (the year Shakespeare died), lends credibility to Ward's story.
C. Martin Mitchell, in his insightful biography of Shakespeare's physician and son-in-law, Dr. John Hall, presents the following hypothesis: "I have formed the opinion that it was more likely than not in the nature of a cerebral hemorrhage or apoplexy that quickly deepened and soon became fatal.
Unfortunately, Shakespeare's death at the age of fifty-two will almost surely remain a mystery.
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/deathofshakespeare.html
There are some studies on what Shakespeare believed in to conclude that he was a Catholic.
SHAKESPEARE THE PAPIST
Author: Peter Milward
Shakespeare, who wrote at the beginning of the long period in which the Catholic faith as violently suppressed in the British Isles, has long enjoyed an iconic status. Some readers have interpreted him as an early agnostic, expressing modern angst about whether anything exists besides "this mortal coil" that seems to be merely "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." In recent years, however, thanks largely to the work of Peter Milward, close study of Shakespeare's plays has raised the question: Was Shakespeare in fact a believing Catholic? To this question, which radically changes the way that Shakespeare's plays should be read, Milward here offers, in his definitive study of the topic, a resounding "Yes."
http://www.mycatholicstore.com/shpa.html
Shakespeare retired to Stratford around 1613 at age 49 after writing The Tempest.
Retirement from all work was uncommon at that time. Shakespeare continued to visit London during the years 1611–1614.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare#Later_years_and_death
One thing sure is that Shakespeare did not think he would soon die after retirement. But he was assassinated, probably, with poison. It could be even sensed from the words engraved on his tomb.
Shakespeare was buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church two days after his death.[79] The epitaph carved into the stone slab covering his grave includes a curse against moving his bones, which was carefully avoided during restoration of the church in 2008:
Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare,
To digg the dvst encloased heare.
Bleste be man that spares thes stones,
And cvrst be he moves my bones.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare#Later_years_and_death
There must be some evidence of assassination on his dead body. So, somebody must have made up this fake curse to conceal the crime. It should be also noted that there is no evidence that this epitaph was written by Shakespeare himself.
As I mentioned before, Shakespeare was trusted by King James. Shakespeare, most probably, joined the translation of the Bible and helped create the King James Version, though secretly. To confirm it, we had better check where the two words, "shake" and "spear," appear in the King James Version of the Bible, especially with a focus on Psalms.
Psalms 22:7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake (16th) the head, saying,
Psalms 35:3 Draw out also the spear (5th), and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
That is, Shakespeare in 1605!
http://eereporter.blogspot.jp/2014/06/joh-630-they-said-therefore-unto-him.html
In 1605 Shakespeare was trusted by King James, but in 1613 he was a kind of forced to retire. And in 1616, he was killed with poison.
Indeed it was still in an era of assassinations, machinations, and betrayals concerning status of religion and politics in England and Europe that Shakespeare lived. In each of his works, Shakespeare must have put his life on the line, literally.
APPENDIX I.
In this era of the latter phase of the religious reformation, even a Pope recommended an assassination of the queen of England.
Pope Gregory XIII on Queen Elizabeth I
This position became more extreme as powerful monarchs left the Roman church. Assassinations were ordered and carried out (Henry of Navarre comes to mind, as well as the Gunpowder plot in England), and this was a consistent product of the Roman doctrine. It is important to note that this was not some accidental phenomena carried out by confused followers, but rather it was the Roman position on civil authority. Here is a quote from the Cardinal of Como, speaking on behalf of Gregory XIII’s papacy, written to the papal ambassador in Spain and meant to inspire Spanish hostilities against England:
Since that guilty woman (Elizabeth) … is the cause of so much injury to the Catholic faith… There is no doubt that whosoever sends her out of the world with the pious intention of doing God service, not only does not sin but gains merit, especially having regard to the sentence pronounced against her by Pius V of holy memory. And so, if those English gentlemen decide actually to undertake so glorious a work, your lordship can assure them that they do not commit any sin.
This is a breathtaking quote, but quite understandable within the Roman system. This also shows you something of how the Reformation actually occurred and definitely explains why King James thought that the militant Presbyterians were Romanizers.
This Gregory was the same pope who celebrated the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre by ordering a Te Deum to be sung in its commemoration.
http://wedgewords.wordpress.com/2009/06/22/pope-gregory-xiii-on-queen-elizabeth-i/
Accordingly, it is no wonder that somebody in the British royal court at the time came to suspect that Shakespeare was Catholic and find a needs to remove him.
Most probably William Shakespeare wrote his plays as messages to show sympathy to Catholics in England under pressure from the non-Catholic regime and encourage them to keep faith in the Roman church. His intention and hidden motives were well concealed for a long time in his career as a professional dramatist.
But when King James assumed the throne, eventually some politicians, noblemen, or officials in the British royal court must have discovered those hidden messages or codes in Shakespeare's plays. Hence, Shakespeare was forced to retire and finally killed with poison.
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Act 8:20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
Act 8:21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
