William Shakespeare

"We are an unimaginative lot when it comes to naming things." The title of this article is conjectural. Although this article is based on canonical information, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

William Shakespeare
Biographical information
Gender	Male
Title(s)	Playwright Poet

"You read, Captain Sparrow? I mean, for pleasure?"
"Yes I do, Mr. Beckett, when I can find books to take on voyages with me."
"What kinds of things?"
"Poetry, history, biography...I like learning about the world."
"Shakespeare?"
"Some of his plays, most of his poetry."

―Cutler Beckett and Jack Sparrow

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor. He was widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, often called England's national poet, and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some plays, sonnets, long narrative poems and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. Most of his known works were comedies, histories, and tragedies regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres, among them Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in English.

Biography

Legacy

Following William Shakespeare's death, most of his poetry and some of his plays were read by Jack Sparrow.

"'A hit, a very palpable hit.'"
"What does that mean?"
"It's a quote from a Shakespeare play called Hamlet, about a prince who can't decide whether or not to avenge his father's murder by killing his uncle, the king. The final act of the play is a fencing match, and, early on, Hamlet touches his opponent, Laertes."

―Jack Sparrow and Amenirdis

Following his death, William Shakespeare was widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and England's national poet. At some time during the Age of Piracy, Captain Jack Sparrow had read books that he would take on voyages, including some of Shakespeare's plays and most of his poetry. When Sparrow was a merchant seaman under the employ of the East India Trading Company, Shakespeare would be a matter of discussion during his first meeting with Cutler Beckett, the EITC Director of West African Imports and Exports for the Company. Frank Connery, Sparrow's Second Mate aboard the EITC merchant vessel Wicked Wench, owned a book of Shakespeare's sonnets.

Behind the scenes

"It faded on the crowing of the cock.
Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long;
And then, they say, no spirit can walk abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time."

―William Shakespeare's Hamlet

William Shakespeare was mentioned in the 2011 novel Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom by A. C. Crispin.

Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) was originally killed by Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) in the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, but was shown to have been resurrected in Dead Man's Chest, setting his return in At World's End, On Stranger Tides, and Dead Men Tell No Tales, where he met his eventual final demise. Despite this, when asked if Barbossa could return, following the character's selfless sacrifice at the end of Dead Men Tell No Tales, Geoffrey Rush referenced Shakespeare's Hamlet and stated, "[Barbossa] could come back like Hamlet's father, as a ghost. Just to annoy Jack."

William Shakespeare was mentioned in Tim Powers' 1987 novel On Stranger Tides, which was used as the basis of the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Although he was named "Shakespeare" within the story, the name "William Shakespeare" appeared with a quote from Hamlet used for the opening of the epilogue.

For On Stranger Tides, the scenes of King George II at the dining room of St. James's Palace along Prime Minister Henry Pelham and Lord John Carteret were stated to give the 1975 film Barry Lyndon a run for the money in period authenticity and detail, thanks to Richard Griffiths' acting ability along being in company of Roger Allam and Anton Lesser, two great proclaimed Shakespearean actors.

Appearances

• The Price of Freedom (First mentioned)

External links

• William Shakespeare on Wikipedia