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William
Shakespeare (1564-1616) was buried in Holy Trinity Church,
Stratford upon Avon in Warwickshire. Shortly after
Shakespeare's death there was some talk about removing his
remains from Stratford to Westminster Abbey but the idea was
soon abandoned.
But it was not until 29th January 1741 (1740 in Old Style
dating) that a memorial statue to him was finally erected in
Poets' Corner (although the Dean and Chapter had given leave
to erect a monument to him back in 1726 at the request of John
Rich. Perhaps funds were not forthcoming at this time).
The life-size white marble statue, shown in the dress of his
period and wearing a cloak, was erected by the 3rd Earl of
Burlington (Richard Boyle), Dr Richard Mead, Alexander Pope
and Tom Martin. Charles Fleetwood of the Drury Lane Theatre
and John Rich of Covent Garden Theatre gave a benefit to help
raise funds for the public subscription. The monument was
designed by William Kent and executed by Peter Scheemakers,
and both signed it, with the date 1740. The Dean and Chapter
of Westminster charged no fee for its erection.
The carved heads of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry V and Richard III
appear on the base of a pedestal. The figure of the poet,
about 5 feet 6 inches in height, stands with his right leg
crossed in front of his left, leaning his elbow on a pile of
three books (they have no titles). A chaplet (wreath of bays,
signifying immortality) with a dagger (symbol of tragedy) and
a dramatic mask are also shown above the head of Richard III.
The group is in front of a pedimented architectural frame.
William's left hand index finger points to a scroll hanging
from the pedestal on which is painted a variant of Prospero's
lines from The Tempest:
The Cloud capt Tow'rs,
The Gorgeous Palaces,
The Solemn Temples,
The Great Globe itself,
Yea all which it Inherit,
Shall Dissolve;
And like the baseless Fabrick of a Vision
Leave not a wreck behind.
Some of the black paint has rubbed off this inscription so
some letters are now incomplete. The last but one line of the
inscription appears in The Tempest as "And, like this
insubstantial pageant faded" and the substituted line (which
should be "And, like the baseless fabric of this vision")
should head the quotation. It is not clear why this variation
was used.
There is no other wording on the memorial. Originally there
were railings in front of the monument but these were removed,
probably in 1821. On the marble ledge between the feet of the
statue the letters "T.T.1787" are incised. This is probably
graffiti by a Westminster schoolboy, as there are many other
monuments in the Abbey that were defaced by initials by boys
at this period. The monument was last fully cleaned in 1997.
Several actors and actresses particularly known for their
Shakespearian roles are buried or commemorated in the Abbey -
David Garrick, Sarah Siddons, Sir Henry Irving, Philip Kemble,
John Henderson, Hannah Pritchard, Peggy Ashcroft and Laurence
Olivier.
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