1564. Summer. A weaver’s apprentice passed away in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small village in the English countryside. Next to the name of the weaver’s apprentice, which was found in the town’s records, were three words: “Hic incipit pestis” — “here begins the plague.”
Much of this town’s inhabitants were wiped out because of the plague. Nobody knew who would live and who would die — it all came to chance. The plague would visit one family and skip the next one in the neighborhood. All were in danger due to the plague, especially helpless infants. It would only be a miracle if an infant would survive.
A couple from this town who had already lost two children to previous waves of the plague breathed a sigh of relief when the plague finally ended in their town, as they just witnessed a miracle in their lives — their infant, which was less than a year old, survived the plague. That infant would soon become one of the well-known poets in history. His name: William Shakespeare.
For much of his writing career, the plague remained a taboo subject.
Even when it was the only thing on anybody’s mind, nobody could bring himself to speak about it. Londoners went to the city’s playhouses so they could temporarily escape their dread of the plague. A play about the plague had the appeal of watching a movie about a plane crash while 35,000 feet in the air.
But Shakespeare didn’t shy away from taking advantage of the plague. It was Shakespeare’s secret weapon in telling the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet.
Find out where the plague is in the story over at Slate.
(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)