When you think of Shakespeare, you probably picture quill‑in‑hand poets reciting verses in dusty classrooms. Yet there are many things high schools never teach about the Bard’s real life, from daring theater heists to scandalous sonnets.
Things High: The Untold Shakespeare Stories
10 He Stole A Theater
Shakespeare’s landlord finally had enough of cleaning up after a troupe of rowdy actors and decided to shut down the venue, hoping to rent the space to more “respectable” tenants. Rather than accept the loss, the playwright rallied an armed crew and stormed the building.
According to court records, the men broke in wielding swords and axes, and in a “very riotous and outrageous manner” they attempted to “pull down and carry away the said theatre.” In other words, they literally dismantled the structure piece by piece and lugged it across town.
The result? A brand‑new playhouse that Shakespeare christened the Globe, which he had literally ripped from the ground and re‑erected elsewhere.
9 Elizabethans Kidnapped Children For Erotic Plays
It’s well‑known that young boys often portrayed female roles in Elizabethan drama, but the means of acquiring those boys were far darker than a simple apprenticeship.
Research from Oxford University reveals that theater managers routinely kidnapped children, beat them, and forced them to perform in dimly lit venues that catered to adult, male audiences. These weren’t rogue kidnappers acting alone; the practice carried royal approval, with Queen Elizabeth herself sanctioning the right of theater bosses to seize any nobleman’s son without consequence.
Shakespeare himself avoided using these abducted boys and even slipped a critique of the practice into a scene in Hamlet. Yet his contemporaries weren’t so scrupulous. Thomas Middleton described a children’s troupe as “a nest of boys able to ravish a man,” Henry VIII wrote letters requesting a boy he “desirous to have,” and Christopher Marlowe penned explicit plays for such illicit audiences.
8 He Couldn’t Spell His Own Name
While Shakespeare is credited with coining roughly 3,000 words and mastering the English language, he couldn’t seem to get his own name right.
Six surviving examples of his signature exist, and not a single one spells “William Shakespeare” identically. One reads “Wm Shakspea,” stopping just short of the final letters, while another appears as “Shakspear,” missing the final “e.” No record shows him ever spelling his name correctly—or even the same way twice.
7 He Was Considered Low‑Brow
Today Shakespeare is vaulted as high literature, with entire journals devoted to dissecting his work. But his first public critic, playwright Robert Greene, called him “an up‑start crow beautified with our feather,” accusing him of imitating the “past excellence” of noble poets.
Greene’s scathing attack suggested Shakespeare was a hack, a sentiment that seemed to stick with the Bard. In a sonnet published seventeen years after Greene’s barrage, Shakespeare asks, “Why is my verse so barren of new pride? So far from variation or quick change?” hinting at the lingering sting of that early criticism.
6 Much Ado About Nothing Is Obscene
In Elizabethan slang, “nothing” was a euphemism for a woman’s lack of “something” between her legs—essentially a bawdy reference to vaginas. Thus the title Much Ado About Nothing was, to contemporary ears, a cheeky nod to “Much Ado About Vaginas.”
Shakespeare catered to a mixed audience: aristocrats in the galleries and penny‑paying folk in the pit. The latter demanded bawdy humor, and the playwright obliged with risqué wordplay.
One notorious exchange, masquerading as a tender moment between Hamlet and Ophelia, actually reads as a series of double‑entendres about “country matters” and “nothing,” designed to elicit laughs from the rowdy front‑row crowd.
5 He Was Chased Out Of Town
One popular legend says Shakespeare fled his hometown of Stratford after getting tangled in petty theft. Oxford clergyman Richard Davies, writing in 1688, claimed Shakespeare was a habitual thief who stole venison and rabbits, often ending up whipped or jailed.
The story zeroes in on a feud with local gentleman Thomas Lucy. After repeated run‑ins—including a whipping—Lucy allegedly forced Shakespeare to escape to London.
Rather than let the grudge die, Shakespeare supposedly penned a mocking poem targeting Lucy’s name, turning his personal vendetta into verse.
4 He Had A Shotgun Wedding
At 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in a hurried ceremony. Evidence suggests Hathaway was already three months pregnant—a circumstance that, in the 16th century, often forced a rapid marriage.
The traditional three‑time proclamation of the vows—meant to give the congregation chances to object—was reportedly done only once, indicating a desire to seal the union quietly and quickly.
Later clues hint at marital strain: the two lived in separate towns, and Shakespeare bequeathed Anne merely his “second‑best bed” in his will.
3 He Might Have Had An Illegitimate Child
William Davenant, Shakespeare’s godson raised by a tavern‑owner, claimed the playwright was his biological father. According to Davenant’s own recollections, his mother told him that a drunken Shakespeare had visited the tavern nine months before his birth, fathering him with a woman she referred to as a “whore” (a term of endearment for the woman who raised him).
Despite the scandalous origin, Davenant seemed proud of his lineage, asserting that Shakespeare treated him kindly when he did appear. The alleged son also pursued poetry, and many readers note stylistic echoes between his work and Shakespeare’s.
2 Shakespeare Had Groupies
Shakespeare was a celebrity of his day, and like modern stars, he attracted a circle of admirers. A 1602 diary entry from a lawyer recounts a rumor that, after a performance of Richard III, a fan invited the actor over for a private encounter. Shakespeare allegedly arrived early, “entertained” the guest, and then swapped places with his fellow actor, William the Conqueror, to gain access.
While the story can’t be verified, it illustrates the kind of gossip that surrounded the playwright—rumors that, true or not, cemented his reputation as a charismatic, perhaps roguish, figure.
1 He Wrote 126 Sonnets To A Boy
Shakespeare’s sonnet collection is celebrated for its lyrical beauty, yet 126 of the 154 poems are addressed to a young man rather than a lady. These verses gush over the youth’s appearance and virtue, and in at least one sonnet the poet laments being “prick’d … out for women’s pleasure,” a line that has fueled speculation about the Bard’s sexuality.
Whether the dedication reflects genuine romantic affection, platonic admiration, or a literary convention, it undeniably reshapes how we interpret the sonnets’ emotional core.