Biography | William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

National Portrait Gallery, England

Baptised April 26, 1564 – April 23, 1616
English playwright, poet, and neologist.
With the passing of time, the person, character and writings of Shakespeare become more and more controversial, including the question “Was he a freemason?” There is certainly no evidence that he was a freemason, but the supporters of that contention point out many unusual statements and thoughts in his writings. Certainly, many freemasons have believed him to be a brother.
A collection of quotations can be found on this website.
Non-mason

William R. Denslow. 10,000 Famous Freemason volume IV. 1960. Transactions of the Missouri Lodge of Research Volume No. 17: Missouri, 1960. [p. 125].
Those inclined to the theory that Shakespeare did not write the works ascribed to him are advised to familiarize themselves with Samuel Schoenbaum’s William Shakespeare: A Documentary Life. New York : Oxford University Press, 1975 and Irvin Leigh Matus’s Shakespeare, In Fact : Continuum, 1994. Also see: shakespeareauthorship.com/ ; Edward de Vere