Editing William Shakespeare (section)

===Later years and death===
[[File:Monument-ht6.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Shakespeare's funerary monument]] in Stratford-upon-Avon]]

[[Nicholas Rowe (writer)|Nicholas Rowe]] was the first biographer to record the tradition, repeated by [[Samuel Johnson]], that Shakespeare retired to Stratford "some years before his death".{{sfn|Ackroyd|2006|p=476}}{{sfn|Wood|1806|pp=ix–x, lxxii}} He was still working as an actor in London in 1608; in an answer to the sharers' petition in 1635, [[Cuthbert Burbage]] stated that after purchasing the lease of the [[Blackfriars Theatre]] in 1608 from [[Henry Evans (theatre)|Henry Evans]], the King's Men "placed men players" there, "which were [[John Heminges|Heminges]], [[Henry Condell|Condell]], Shakespeare, etc.".{{sfn|Smith|1964|p=558}} However, it is perhaps relevant that the [[bubonic plague]] raged in London throughout 1609.{{sfn|Ackroyd|2006|p=477}}{{sfn|Barroll|1991|pp=179–182}} The London public playhouses were repeatedly closed during extended outbreaks of the plague (a total of over 60 months closure between May 1603 and February 1610),{{sfn|Bate|2008|pp=354–355}} which meant there was often no acting work. Retirement from all work was uncommon at that time.{{sfn|Honan|1998|pp=382–383}} Shakespeare continued to visit London during the years 1611–1614.{{sfn|Ackroyd|2006|p=476}} In 1612, he was called as a witness in ''[[Bellott v Mountjoy]]'', a court case concerning the marriage settlement of Mountjoy's daughter, Mary.{{sfn|Honan|1998|p=326}}{{sfn|Ackroyd|2006|pp=462–464}} In March 1613, he bought a [[gatehouse]] in the former [[Blackfriars, London|Blackfriars]] priory;{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1987|pp=272–274}} and from November 1614, he was in London for several weeks with his son-in-law, [[John Hall (physician)|John Hall]].{{sfn|Honan|1998|p=387}} After 1610, Shakespeare wrote fewer plays, and none are attributed to him after 1613.{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1987|p=[https://archive.org/details/williamshakespea0000scho/page/279 279]}} His last three plays were collaborations, probably with [[John Fletcher (playwright)|John Fletcher]],{{sfn|Honan|1998|pp=375–378}} who succeeded him as the house playwright of the King's Men. He retired in 1613, before the [[Globe Theatre]] burned down during the performance of ''[[Henry VIII (play)|Henry VIII]]'' on 29 June.{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1987|p=[https://archive.org/details/williamshakespea0000scho/page/279 279]}}

Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52.{{efn|Inscribed in Latin on his [[Shakespeare's funerary monument|funerary monument]]: {{lang|la|AETATIS 53 DIE 23 APR|italic=yes}} (In his 53rd year he died 23 April).{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1987|p=[https://archive.org/details/williamshakespea0000scho/page/311 311]}}}} He died within a month of signing his will, a document which he begins by describing himself as being in "perfect health". No extant contemporary source explains how or why he died. Half a century later, [[John Ward (vicar)|John Ward]], the vicar of Stratford, wrote in his notebook: "Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and, it seems, drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted",{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1991|p=[https://archive.org/details/williamshakespea0000scho/page/78 78]}}{{sfn|Rowse|1963|p=453}} not an impossible scenario since Shakespeare knew Jonson and [[Michael Drayton|Drayton]]. Of the [[tribute]]s from fellow authors, one refers to his relatively sudden death: "We wondered, Shakespeare, that thou went'st so soon / From the world's stage to the grave's tiring room."{{sfn|Kinney|2012|p=11}}{{efn|Verse by [[James Mabbe]] printed in the First Folio.{{sfn|Kinney|2012|p=11}}}}
[[File:Trinity Church yard, Stratford-on-Avon, England-LCCN2002708131.jpg|left|thumb|[[Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon|Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon]], where Shakespeare was baptised and is buried]]
He was survived by his wife and two daughters. Susanna had married a physician, John Hall, in 1607,{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1987|p=[https://archive.org/details/williamshakespea0000scho/page/287 287]}} and Judith had married [[Thomas Quiney]], a [[vintner]], two months before Shakespeare's death.{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1987|pp=292–294}} Shakespeare signed his last will and testament on 25 March 1616; the following day, Thomas Quiney, his new son-in-law, was found guilty of fathering an illegitimate son by Margaret Wheeler, both of whom had died during childbirth. Thomas was ordered by the church court to do public penance, which would have caused much shame and embarrassment for the Shakespeare family.{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1987|pp=292–294}}

Shakespeare bequeathed the bulk of his large estate to his elder daughter Susanna{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1987|p=[https://archive.org/details/williamshakespea0000scho/page/304 304]}} under stipulations that she pass it down intact to "the first son of her body".{{sfn|Honan|1998|pp=395–396}} The Quineys had three children, all of whom died without marrying.{{sfn|Chambers|1930b|pp=8, 11, 104}}{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1987|p=[https://archive.org/details/williamshakespea0000scho/page/296 296]}} The Halls had one child, Elizabeth, who married twice but died without children in 1670, ending Shakespeare's direct line.{{sfn|Chambers|1930b|pp=7, 9, 13}}{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1987|pp=289, 318–319}} Shakespeare's will scarcely mentions his wife, Anne, who was probably entitled to one-third of his estate automatically.{{efn|[[Charles Knight (publisher)|Charles Knight]], 1842, in his notes on ''[[Twelfth Night]]''.{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1991|p=[https://archive.org/details/williamshakespea0000scho/page/275 275]}}}} He did make a point, however, of leaving her "my second best bed", a bequest that has led to much speculation.{{sfn|Ackroyd|2006|p=483}}{{sfn|Frye|2005|p=16}}{{sfn|Greenblatt|2005|pp=145–146}} Some scholars see the bequest as an insult to Anne, whereas others believe that the second-best bed would have been the matrimonial bed and therefore rich in significance.{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1987|pp=301–303}}

[[File:Shakespeare grave -Stratford-upon-Avon -3June2007.jpg|thumb|Shakespeare's grave, next to those of Anne Shakespeare, his wife, and [[Thomas Nash (relative of Shakespeare)|Thomas Nash]], the husband of his granddaughter]]

Shakespeare was buried in the [[chancel]] of the [[Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon|Holy Trinity Church]] two days after his death.{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1987|pp=306–307}}{{sfn|Wells|Taylor|Jowett|Montgomery|2005|p=xviii}} 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:{{sfn|BBC News|2008}}

{{Verse translation
|Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare,
To digg the dvst encloased heare.
Bleste be yͤ man yͭ spares thes stones,
And cvrst be he yͭ moves my bones.{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1987|p=[https://archive.org/details/williamshakespea0000scho/page/306 306]}}{{efn|In the scribal abbreviations ''ye'' for ''the'' (3rd line) and ''yt'' for ''that'' (3rd and 4th lines) the letter ''y'' represents ''th'': see ''[[thorn (letter)|thorn]]''.}}
|Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.
}}

Some time before 1623, a [[Shakespeare's funerary monument|funerary monument]] was erected in his memory on the north wall, with a half-effigy of him in the act of writing. Its plaque compares him to [[Nestor (mythology)|Nestor]], [[Socrates]], and [[Virgil]].{{sfn|Schoenbaum|1987|pp=308–310}} In 1623, in conjunction with the publication of the [[First Folio]], the [[Droeshout engraving]] was published.{{sfn|Cooper|2006|p=48}} Shakespeare has been commemorated in many [[Memorials to William Shakespeare|statues and memorials]] around the world, including funeral monuments in [[Southwark Cathedral]] and [[Poets' Corner]] in [[Westminster Abbey]].{{sfn|Westminster Abbey|n.d.}}{{sfn|Southwark Cathedral|n.d.}}