Editing William Shakespeare

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{{Infobox Individual
|alias             = {{il|Mr Seyton|[[Tia Kofi (Tia Kofi Enters the Time Fracture!)|Tia Kofi]] II}}
|image             = Shakespeare A History of Humankind.jpg
|species           = Human
|job               = Poet
|job2              = Playwright
|origin            = [[Stratford-upon-Avon]]
|child             = Susan (The Kingmaker){{!}}Susanna
|child2            = Judith Shakespeare
|child3            = Hamnet Shakespeare
|spouse            = Anne Hathaway
|first mention     = City of the Daleks (comic story)
|first             = The Chase (TV story)
|appearances       = {{appears}}
|actor             = Dean Lennox Kelly
|other actor       = Hugh Walters
|voice actor       = Nicholas Asbury
|other voice actor = [[Jem Bassett]], [[Michael Fenton-Stevens]], [[Stephen Beckett]]
|clip              = Expelliarmus! William Shakespeare Vs The Carrionites - Doctor Who - The Shakespeare Code - BBC
|clip2             = Tia Kofi Enters the Time Fracture! - Doctor Who
}}
{{you may|William Shakespeare (writer)|n1=the real Shakespeare}}
{{William Shakespeare}}
'''William Shakespeare''', ([[1564]]-[[1616]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)|The Time Travellers' Almanac]]'')) also known as '''William Shackspur''', '''William Shaxsberd''', '''William Shaxberd''' and, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Apocrypha Bipedium (short story)|Apocrypha Bipedium]]'') in an [[alternate timeline]], as '''Concuthasta''', ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warlords of Utopia (novel)|Warlords of Utopia]]'') was widely considered to be the greatest [[poet]] and [[playwright]] in the [[history]] of [[England]] and one of the greatest in [[human]] history. The [[Tenth Doctor]] considered him the most "human" human that ever lived. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'')

Many sources depicted Shakespeare as a real individual who shared interactions with [[the Doctor]] on multiple occasions, ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Time of the Daleks (audio story)|The Time of the Daleks]]'', [[COMIC]]: ''[[A Groatsworth of Wit (comic story)|A Groatsworth of Wit]]'') as [[history]] recorded, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Whoniverse (novel)|The Whoniverse]]'') but others claimed that Shakespeare was "no more than a [[rumour]]" and that "no real empirical evidence of anyone of that name in courtly circles" existed, with one stating it was an [[alias]] of [[Christopher Marlowe]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[All Done with Mirrors (short story)|All Done with Mirrors]]'') Additionally, sources that agreed on Shakespeare's existence conflicted over the circumstances of his demise. One claimed that he died in [[April]] [[1616]] after being [[poison]]ed on the orders of [[Walter Raleigh]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Empire of Glass (novel)|The Empire of Glass]]'') but another depicted him as taking the place of the doomed [[King]] [[Richard III of England|Richard III]] at the [[Battle of Bosworth]], with the real Richard taking Shakespeare's place in history in [[1597]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Kingmaker (audio story)|The Kingmaker]]'') 

In a [[20th century]] textbook owned by the [[Coal Hill library]], it was acknowledged that for all his [[play]]s, "little" was known about the man himself. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A History of Humankind (novel)|A History of Humankind]]'') By [[1963]], [[Literature|literary]] [[scholar]]s had argued about whether Shakespeare had really written his own works for [[Century|centuries]]. History [[teacher]] [[Barbara Wright]] considered [[Francis Bacon]] such a credible candidate for the true [[author]] that she attempted to use the [[Time-Space Visualiser]] to find out for certain. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Chase (novelisation)|The Chase]]'') Indeed, [[Iris Wildthyme]] once concurred with this [[theory]], having been told by Will himself that he and Bacon had an "arrangement". ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Minions of the Moon (short story)|Minions of the Moon]]'') Of Shakespeare's contemporaries, [[Thomas Middleton]] was another possibility, with some evidence existing that ''[[Macbeth]]'' contained "interpolations" drawn from Middleton's work. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The True Tragedie of Macbeth (short story)|The True Tragedie of Macbeth]]'') 

The true authorship of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets was still considered an "ancient mystery" in the [[space]]-faring age of the [[25th century]] with the list of potential candidates having been expanded to include [[extra-terrestrial]]s. According to one account, all of his work had in fact been written by the [[Dalek Prime|Dalek Emperor]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[City of the Daleks (comic story)|City of the Daleks]]'') Other accounts showed multiple [[incarnation]]s of the Doctor helping with the authorship of his works, particularly with ''[[Hamlet]]'', ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Stranger, The Writer, His Wife and the Mixed Metaphor (short story)|The Stranger, The Writer, His Wife and the Mixed Metaphor]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[City of Death (TV story)|City of Death]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Foe from the Future (audio story)|The Foe from the Future]]'') with yet more accounts indicating that Shakespeare was [[paradox]]ically given access to some or all of his works by the Doctor. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[All Done with Mirrors (short story)|All Done with Mirrors]]'', ''[[Apocrypha Bipedium (short story)|Apocrypha Bipedium]]'', ''[[The Tempest – A Work in Progress (short story)|The Tempest – A Work in Progress]]'')

== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Shakespeare was born on [[23 April]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Time Traveller's Diary (novel)|Time Traveller's Diary]]'') [[1564]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'') in [[Stratford-upon-Avon]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A History of Humankind (novel)|A History of Humankind]]'')

The [[Fourth Doctor]] claimed that Shakespeare as a boy was "very taciturn" and that he said to him, "There's no point in talking if you've got nothing to say". ([[TV]]: ''[[City of Death (TV story)|City of Death]]'')

The [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Charlotte Pollard|Charley Pollard]] met a young Will Shakespeare who had been taken out of his rightful time ([[1572]]) by [[Viola Learman]] and brought to [[New Britain]] in the early 21st century. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Time of the Daleks (audio story)|The Time of the Daleks]]'') The three of them briefly ended up in [[Asia Minor]], where they encountered the Doctor's previous companion, [[Vicki Pallister|Vicki]], calling herself Cressida, and her husband [[Troilus]]. The Doctor was afraid that Will would learn too much about his future play, ''[[Troilus and Cressida]]'', but learned that Shakespeare had not invented the story. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Apocrypha Bipedium (short story)|Apocrypha Bipedium]]'') The Doctor eventually dropped Shakespeare off in [[Warwick]] in his own time period. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Foreshadowing (audio story)|Foreshadowing]]'')

Shakespeare was an uneducated rural actor, later turned playwright. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[A Groatsworth of Wit (comic story)|A Groatsworth of Wit]]'') Shakespeare married [[Anne Hathaway]] in [[1582]] and they went on to have three children; [[Susan (The Kingmaker)|Susanna]] was born shortly after they married, with twins [[Judith Shakespeare|Judith]] and [[Hamnet Shakespeare|Hamnet]] born in [[1585]]. Some time after 1585, he moved to [[London]] where he started his career as an actor, poet and playwright. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A History of Humankind (novel)|A History of Humankind]]'') His family remained in Stratford. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)|The Time Travellers' Almanac]]'')

Most of his works dated from the period between [[1589]] and [[1613]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A History of Humankind (novel)|A History of Humankind]]'')

[[File:Shakespeare Nine Rose.jpg|thumb|Shakespeare dismisses his brush with the [[Shadey]]s as trickery. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[A Groatsworth of Wit (comic story)|A Groatsworth of Wit]]'')]]
In [[1592]], the [[Ninth Doctor]] and [[Rose Tyler]] encountered Shakespeare at [[the Rose]] [[theatre]], where he was to perform [[Richard III of England|the lead part]] on the premiere night of his play ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]''. At the Doctor's request, Rose agreed to distract Shakespeare from the stage "with a hey nonny nonny", telling him [[Queen]] [[Elizabeth I]] was ready to immediately give him a royal audience at his home, in an attempt to stop the [[Shadey]]-influenced [[Robert Greene]] from [[murder]]ing him. When the two reached his house and found no Elizabeth, Shakespeare interpreted it as an attempt by Rose "to wrest [him] to [her] side". However, Greene soon appeared with the Shadeys and demonstrated his powers. Although Shakespeare dismissed the "[[magic]]" of the "[[clay]]-[[brain]]ed [[fool]]" as "an [[illusion]]", Rose pulled him away and they ran back to theatre, where the Doctor had taken up the role of Richard III at short notice. Shakespeare was initially more concerned with the Doctor's unscheduled intrusion onto his stage, calling him a "[[dog]]" and reclaiming Richard's hump from the Doctor's back. He also briefly put [[Earth]] in further peril by continuing to antagonise Greene. Nevertheless, the Doctor and Rose eventually defused the situation and convinced Greene to banish the Shadeys back to their own [[dimension]]. Shakespeare was unfazed by the whole experience and refused to let "such trick-shows" interfere with his future career. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[A Groatsworth of Wit (comic story)|A Groatsworth of Wit]]'')

=== The "death" of Christopher Marlowe ===
[[File:Christopher Marlowe Point of Entry.jpg|thumb|left|[[Christopher Marlowe]] in [[1590]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Point of Entry (audio story)|Point of Entry]]'')]]
One account stated that Shakespeare was another name for [[playwright]] [[Christopher Marlowe]]. He observed that his "true name denote[d] a celebration of [[savage]]ry, of the [[music]] of [[power]], the [[beauty]] of [[war]] and conflict, the lexicon of [[blood]] and [[death]]" whilst his other name also did this but with lighter expression and more enamoured establishment.

Although [[history]] recorded that Marlowe [[Death|died]] on [[30 May]] [[1593]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[All Done with Mirrors (short story)|All Done with Mirrors]]'') in a tavern in [[Deptford]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Master Faustus (short story)|Master Faustus]]'', ''[[Raleigh Dreaming (short story)|Raleigh Dreaming]]'') this account stated that the [[Fourth Doctor]] posed as Marlowe to fake his death which allowed Marlowe to permanently become Shakespeare. The Doctor gave Marlowe his copy of the ''[[Complete Works of Shakespeare]]'' as a parting gift and told him to only use it "if he really [got] stuck". The Doctor told [[Sarah Jane Smith]] that as long as Marlowe kept a low profile nobody would find out and the [[secret]] would die with him in about twenty-three [[year]]s. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[All Done with Mirrors (short story)|All Done with Mirrors]]'')

The [[Shakespeare Notebooks]], a collection of works supposedly written by Shakespeare which [[The Shakespeare Notebooks|an academic publication]] invited the reader "to determine whether you believe the Shakespeare Notebooks are indeed genuine, or an elaborate [[hoax]]" for themselves, held a different account of Marlowe's death. This account held that it was {{Ainley}} who tried to prevent Marlowe's death by taking him away from Deptford shortly before he was scheduled to die, with Marlowe travelling with the Master for some time before accepting fate and returning to Deptford to be [[Stabbing|stabbed]] to death by [[Dullberry]] and [[Dobbin]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Master Faustus (short story)|Master Faustus]]'') Another account held that Marlowe was stabbed to death by the [[Time Agent]] [[John Hart]] after he had [[sex]] with him alongside [[Jack Harkness]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Death of Captain Jack (audio story)|The Death of Captain Jack]]'')

According to a second account which explicitly separated Marlowe and Shakespeare, Marlowe had actually travelled to the [[colony]] of [[Roanoke]] in the future [[United States]] to [[spy]] on [[Sir]] [[Walter Raleigh]]. He actually died in [[1609]] as a result of a [[duel]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Empire of Glass (novel)|The Empire of Glass]]'') Other accounts depicted both Shakespeare and Marlowe as having been [[Resurrection|resurrected]] in the [[City of the Saved]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'', ''[[Unification Theory (short story)|Unification Theory]]'')

Shakespeare was in London in [[1596]] when his son, [[Hamnet Shakespeare|Hamnet]], died at the age of 11. His guilt drove him mad and only his fear of [[Bedlam]] restored his sanity. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)|The Time Travellers' Almanac]]'')

=== Influencing the past ===
==== Advising Richard III ====
In [[1597]], the [[Fifth Doctor]] shared a few drinks with Shakespeare, during which he condemned the playright for failing to do any historical research for his play ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]''. The Doctor called him a "[[fiction]] peddling puppet to the [[House of Tudor]] and a lapdog to the court of [[Queen]] [[Elizabeth I|Elizabeth]]", telling him people were already questioning [[Richard III of England|Richard]]'s motives for killing the [[Princes in the Tower]] with suspicion falling upon his beloved Queen's [[grandfather]] [[Henry Tudor]] while by the [[20th century]] his play would be seen for what it was, "nothing but tawdry propaganda". The defamation of Elizabeth's lineage was unacceptable to Shakespeare so he stowed away in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]], as the Doctor had said he going to investigate the Princes' disappearance, with the hope of persuading Richard to kill the Princes in such a way unmistakable to history. The Doctor left in [[1485]] but Shakespeare was stranded when the TARDIS accidentally went to [[1483]].

Richard and [[Henry Stafford]], [[Duke]] of [[Buckingham]], saw Shakespeare emerge from the TARDIS and questioned him on his identity. Adopting the [[alias]] Mr Seyton, he claimed to be a wise traveller from the [[future]] come to give counsel to Richard. He told him that if he allowed [[Edward V of England|Edward V]] to ascend to the throne then the [[Woodville family|Woodvilles]] would influence Edward into putting Richard to death, eventually leading to his deposing by the [[France|French]] and the end of [[British monarchy|the monarchy]]. Richard knew from the start that Seyton was untrustworthy but allowed him to return to [[London]] with him to act as his advisor anyway. Richard did end up taking the throne as Richard III, albeit only to prevent scandal when he discovered "Edward" was [[Susan (The Kingmaker)|Susan]], but consistently rejected Shakespeare's arguments that the "Princes" should die and instead held them in the [[Tower of London]].

Around six [[month]]s into Richard's reign, Shakespeare stopped Stafford when he recruited [[Peri Brown]] and [[Erimem]] to [[poison]] the Princes by firing a [[Cyber-rifle]] (which he had found in the TARDIS) in their direction. Shakespeare revealed to Stafford that he also wanted the Princes dead but that he wanted Richard's own hands bloodied, at which point Stafford would get the uprising he desired. They conspired with each other to get Peri and Erimem killed for helping the Princes escape but the two women fled when they overheard this plan. Once Shakespeare realised he had lost Peri and Erimem, he instead decided to betray Stafford and inform Richard of his treachery. He expected Richard to reward him for his [[loyalty]] but he actually ordered [[James Tyrell]] to his escort him to the [[dungeon]]s.

Shakespeare later spoke to Richard about what a "straight arrow" the Doctor was and how he was sure to stop his plan. Richard asked in response if that meant he would stop Shakespeare's plan to kill the Princes. Seyton became "cagey" by this which puzzled Richard, so he tortured Seyton until he revealed everything. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Kingmaker (audio story)|The Kingmaker]]'')

==== Becoming Richard III ====
After Richard captured the Doctor as a [[prisoner]] in [[1485]], he told Seyton's jailer he had "no further use" for him and asked the [[jail]]er to "get rid of him" but instead of executing Seyton as Richard had intended, he let him go.

Shakespeare plotted to threaten Peri and Erimem with his Cyber-rifle and take them to the Doctor. He found him in his cell along with Richard, [[Clarrie]], [[Susan (The Kingmaker)|Susan]] and [[Judith Shakespeare|Judith]]. The latter trio had been staging a rescue attempt, but Shakespeare allowed them to leave when they claimed to be serving wenches delivering [[food]] to prisoners. His plan to have Richard kill the princes himself obviously having failed by this point, Shakespeare decided to instead take Richard to his native time and have him stand [[trial]] for his [[crime]]s in the court of Queen Elizabeth. Shakespeare, still armed, escorted Richard, the Doctor and his [[companion]]s back to the TARDIS where they set a course for [[1597]].

During the journey, Richard revealed that there had been no princes in the Tower at all and that [[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]] had not had sons but daughters, Susan and Judith. Shakespeare branded this a fraud on a scale never before seen and demanded to return to 1485 to collect the girls but at that moment they arrived in 1597, on stage during a performance of ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]''. Although this landing location quickly convinced Shakespeare to leave the TARDIS as he tried to salvage what was left of the interrupted performance, Richard soon followed suit when he saw the playwright speaking with [[Richard Burbage]], who was playing Richard himself. Enraged by his unflattering and stereotypical portrayal, he confronted Shakespeare about the matter before finally taking Burbage's [[sword]] and chasing Shakespeare out of the [[theatre]] and throughout London's [[street]]s.

However, Shakespeare doubled back to the TARDIS, and threatened to detonate what he believed to be a [[Sontaran]] [[grenade]] (though was really the Doctor's [[toothbrush]]) unless the Doctor returned immediately to 1485. Declaring he owed Queen Elizabeth for everything and that he no longer cared what happened to him, he took Erimem hostage and threatened to detonate the grenade but Erimem broke his arm after Peri pointed out he had his [[hand]] on her [[Posterior|Royal behind]]. At that moment, a [[publisher]]'s [[robot]] materialised and told Shakespeare his second draft of ''[[The Tempest]]'' was 7103 [[year]]s overdue for delivery. It chased him out of the TARDIS and into the midst of the raging [[Battle of Bosworth]]; the Doctor asked Richard to when he wanted to be returned and he was intent on "fulfilling his [[destiny]]" so the Doctor had set the coordinates for his final [[battle]]. As Shakespeare continued to be pursued by what onlooking [[soldier]]s thought to be a "huge [[knight]]", his injured arm and limp matched the sterotypical description of King Richard. He was soon cornered by [[Henry Tudor]]'s troops and forced to climb a [[tree]] to save himself from being cut to pieces. One of the King's supporters who witnessed this vowed to let it be recorded that "Richard died fighting like a [[lion]] and not blubbing like a big [[baby]] hiding up a tree". ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Kingmaker (audio story)|The Kingmaker]]'')

[[File:10DY1 15 A Horse a Horse King Unicorn.jpg|thumb|right|The King is saved. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[A Rose by Any Other Name (comic story)|A Rose by Any other Name]]'')]]
According to another account, the King at Bosworth begun quoting Shakespeare's ''Richard III'' towards the end of the battle and was crying out "''My [[horse]]! My horse! My [[kingdom]] for a''" until a [[unicorn]] materialised in front of him, saving his life. This event was caused by the meddling of [[Rose-the-cat|Rose]], the [[Tenth Doctor]]'s [[cat]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[A Rose by Any Other Name (comic story)|A Rose by Any Other Name]]'')

With Shakespeare now assuredly dead, the real Richard remained in 1597 to take his allotted place in history; he had never really wanted power and saw taking up Shakespeare's writing career as his second chance at earning a place in history. Richard asked the Doctor how much material he had to write, having experienced trouble early on with spelling his [[name]] correctly, and the Doctor told him he "just had to knock up a few [[play]]s, a couple of historicals, a handful of [[Tragedy|tragedies]], [and] a few [[Comedy|comedies]]", though recommended asking [[Francis Bacon]] for writing tips should he ever struggle with the [[language]]. He also told him he was supposed to be writing ''[[Henry IV, Part 1]]'' around this time and suggested putting [[George, Duke of Clarence|his brother George]] into his first Shakespearan play to give him the [[immortality]] history couldn't, an idea Richard found appealing. Settling into his new life as Shakespeare, Richard was soon joined by Susan and Judith, whom the Doctor had brought forward in time to join him; history recorded that not only had Shakespeare had [[Hamnet Shakespeare|a son who perished]], as he had previously stated, but two daughters named Susanna and Judith, so the Doctor knew their true destiny lay with their uncle as he pursued his own. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Kingmaker (audio story)|The Kingmaker]]'')

=== Later life ===
[[File:Shakespeare main.jpg|thumb|Shakespeare in [[1599]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'')]]
By [[1599]], Shakespeare was a member of [[Lord Chamberlain's Men]] - London's playing company who built the [[Globe Theatre]] in [[Southwark]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)|The Time Travellers' Almanac]]'') The [[Tenth Doctor]] encountered Shakespeare here when the [[witch]]-like [[Carrionite]]s wanted the wordsmith to complete the lost play ''[[Love's Labour's Won]]'' to free the rest of their kind. With the help of the Doctor and [[Martha Jones]], the three Carrionites and their sisters were banished back into the [[Deep Darkness]]. However, the play was banished along with the Carrionites. During this encounter, Shakespeare developed an attraction to the Doctor and Martha, whom he addressed as his "Dark Lady". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'')

[[File:ShakespeareWilliam-Chase.jpg|thumb|left|Shakespeare is inspired. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Chase (TV story)|The Chase]]'')]]
Via the [[Time-Space Visualiser]], the [[First Doctor]] and his companions watched William Shakespeare in conversation with Queen [[Elizabeth I]] about ''[[Hamlet]]''. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Chase (TV story)|The Chase]]'') According to [[Dalek Survival Guide|one account]] which claimed that the Visualiser was a [[hoax]], the people seen on the Visualiser were not the genuine historical figures but [[human]] [[slave]]s of the [[Pursuer-Dalek]]s who were made to re-enact the event as a deception for the Doctor and his [[companion]]s. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Dalek Survival Guide (novel)|Dalek Survival Guide]]'')

The First Doctor collaborated with Shakespeare between drafts one and two of ''Hamlet''. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Byzantium! (novel)|Byzantium!]]'') The Fourth Doctor claimed that he helped Shakespeare transcribe ''[[Hamlet]]'' as Shakespeare had sprained his wrist writing sonnets. The Doctor claimed that he had warned Shakespeare that Hamlet's line "to take arms against a sea of troubles" was a mixed metaphor, but Shakespeare would not listen. ([[TV]]: ''[[City of Death (TV story)|City of Death]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Stranger, The Writer, His Wife and the Mixed Metaphor (short story)|The Stranger, The Writer, His Wife and the Mixed Metaphor]]'')

In [[1601]], he met the [[First Doctor]] and his friends. He tried to get the TARDIS back from the Queen but was waylaid due to a plan of his daughter [[Judith Shakespeare]] and Lady [[Penelope Rich]] to put on an uncut version of [[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]. This caused him to be arrested by [[Robert Cecil]] for treason. He and the Doctor tried to work out how to escape the Tower. He explained the circumstances around the recent play performance. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Hollow Crown (audio story)|The Hollow Crown]]'') 

On [[17 January]] [[1605]], Shakespeare met [[Amy Pond]] when she and [[Rory Williams]] went to see ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' at the Globe during their [[honeymoon]]. In a [[postcard]], Amy told the [[Eleventh Doctor]] Shakespeare said "Hi", or actually "more like 'Hey nonny no'", then tried to touch her [[bum]]. They were interrupted when [[James I]] turned up and tried to have her and Rory [[arrest]]ed upon learning of their association with the Doctor. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Honeymoon Horrors (short story)|Honeymoon Horrors]]'')

In [[1609]], according to one account, Shakespeare, acting as an agent of the Crown, encountered the First Doctor, [[Irving Braxiatel]], and [[Galileo Galilei]] in [[Venice]], and was reunited with [[Christopher Marlowe]], whom he thought was dead. The Doctor forcibly made Shakespeare take a [[retcon]]-like drug to erase his memory of the events that he had witnessed. Shakespeare died in [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] in [[April]] [[1616]], having been poisoned on the orders of Sir [[Walter Raleigh]] who had been released from the [[Tower of London]] only five weeks earlier. Braxiatel visited the playwright on his deathbed and restored the [[English]]man's memories of his time in Venice. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Empire of Glass (novel)|The Empire of Glass]]'')

=== The Golden Emperor ===
[[File:GoldE.JPG|thumb|The [[Dalek Prime|Golden Emperor]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Rogue Planet (comic story)|The Rogue Planet]]'')]]
{{main|Dalek Prime}}
According to one account, the [[Dalek Prime|Golden Emperor]], the first [[Dalek]] ever created, ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Genesis of Evil (comic story)|Genesis of Evil]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]'') was responsible for all of the Shakespeare [[play]]s and [[sonnet]]s. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[City of the Daleks (comic story)|City of the Daleks]]'')

During a [[2400s Dalek invasion of the solar system|war against the Daleks]] in the early [[25th century]], ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Invasion of the Daleks (comic story)|Invasion of the Daleks]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Break-through! (short story)|Break-through!]]'') [[Jeff Stone]] was sent to [[Skaro]] on a scout mission. He infiltrated the [[Dalek City]] where he observed, amongst other things, a report from the [[Ministry of Re-Education]] in the [[Hall of Fame]]. The notice ordered the Daleks in the area to commit the fact to [[memory]]. The Daleks also took credit for a number of other [[human]] achievements. Although he was discovered, Jeff ultimately escaped Skaro in his ship and returned to [[Earth]] with a report on what he had seen in the City. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[City of the Daleks (comic story)|City of the Daleks]]'')

=== The City of the Saved ===
After his original death in [[1616]], Shakespeare continued being a successful writer in his second life in the [[City of the Saved]]. He wrote the hit [[soap opera]] ''[[The Prosperos]]'', which lasted about fifty years. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'')

In the City, [[Francis Bacon]] claimed to have written some of ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', such as [[Mercutio]]'s bawdy [[best man]]'s speech. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Smallest Spark (short story)|The Smallest Spark]]'')

After the [[City of the Saved Civil War]] and the attack of the [[Anonymity]], Shakespeare was resurrected in the second City of the Saved. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[God Encompasses (short story)|God Encompasses]]'')

=== Undated events ===
At one point, he played [[Croquet]] with [[Fourth Doctor|an individual]], and mused that [[Scaroth|his patron]] seemed to like his new work. ([[PROSE]]: [[City of Death (novelisation)|''City of Death'']])

After [[Tia Kofi (Tia Kofi Enters the Time Fracture!)|Tia Kofi]] entered the [[Time Fracture]] as a part of [[Operation Time Fracture]], she ended up in Elizabethan England wherein she met Shakespeare. However when she referred to him by his name, he revealed that he has renounced it due to a play of his going wrong. He instead changed his to Tia Kofi II, offering to be her apprentice.

He invited her into his office and discussed a commission made by Elizabeth I to write a tale and asks her to assist him in writing and performing it. Revealing that it is [[Romeo and Juliet]], Tia decides to play the part of Juliet. Before they could celebrate with drinks, Tia was whisked away elsewhere by the Fracture. ([[WC]]: ''[[Tia Kofi Enters the Time Fracture! (webcast)|Tia Kofi Enters the Time Fracture!]]'')

=== Other realities ===
In [[River Song's World|a timeline]] where [[River Song]] caused time to collapse when she refused to kill the [[Eleventh Doctor]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song (TV story)|The Wedding of River Song]]'') Shakespeare became the boss of ''[[EastEnders]]''. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Just a Minute... (short story)|Just a Minute...]]'')

In [[Roma I]], the author of ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'' and ''[[Anthony and Cleopatra]]'' was known as Concuthasta; he had a counterpart in the history of every [[Great Birtain|Britannia]] throughout the [[Known Worlds]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warlords of Utopia (novel)|Warlords of Utopia]]'')

=== Legacy ===
In [[2006]], in an [[essay]] he wrote for [[Who is Doctor Who?]], [[Adam Mitchell]] wrote that humanity could trade "stuff" like the works of Shakespeare for knowledge. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Essay Competition (short story)}})

== Works==
{{section stub}}
William Shakespeare wrote a number of plays, including ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Slow Decay (novel)|Slow Decay]]'') ''[[Hamlet]]'', ([[TV]]: ''[[The Chase (TV story)|The Chase]]'') ''[[Macbeth]]'', ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The True Tragedie of Macbeth (short story)|The True Tragedie of Macbeth]]'') ''[[Love's Labour's Lost]]'' and ''[[Love's Labour's Won]]''. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'')

Shakespeare was credited with the [[invention]] of over [[1700 (number)|1700]] [[word]]s, although later [[scholar]]s believed that some of them originated on [[alien]] [[planet]]s. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Time Traveller's Diary (novel)|Time Traveller's Diary]]'')

By the [[21st century]], his plays were translated into every major language. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A History of Humankind (novel)|A History of Humankind]]'')

== References ==
[[The Monk]] believed that his meddling would enable Shakespeare to have ''Hamlet'' premiere on [[television]]. ([[TV]]: "[[Checkmate (episode)|Checkmate]]")

When the [[Second Doctor]] landed in [[Australia]] in [[2018]], he was actually trying to get to either William Shakespeare's house in [[Stratford-upon-Avon|Stratford]] or the [[Pan-Galactic Games]] on [[Alpha Centauri (planet)|Alpha Centauri]], as [[Victoria Waterfield]] had wanted to see how her ancestors had lived in the late 16th century. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Apocalypse (novel)|Timewyrm: Apocalypse]]'')

After [[1938]], [[Orson Welles]] made several Shakespearean films but the [[Eighth Doctor]] did not believe that they were terribly subtle adaptations. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Time of the Daleks (audio story)|The Time of the Daleks]]'')

In [[October]] [[1987]], [[Alek Zenos]] cited Shakespeare among others as an example of [[Britain]]'s rich culture of artists. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[We Are The Daleks (audio story)|We Are The Daleks]]'')

The ''[[Dalek Survival Guide]]'' presented an image of a [[Dalek]] using its [[sucker arm]] to take a copy of ''[[The Complete Works of Shakespeare]]''. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Dalek Survival Guide (novel)|Dalek Survival Guide]]'')

During his tenure as lecturer at [[St Luke's University]] in [[Bristol]], the [[Twelfth Doctor]] kept a [[bust]] of William Shakespeare in his office. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pilot (TV story)|The Pilot]]'')

In the [[25th century]], the work of [[Lynda La Plante]] was more highly regarded than that of Shakespeare. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Plotters (novel)|The Plotters]]'')

The [[Fourth Doctor]] told [[Leela]] that Shakespeare was the greatest poet in the English language "with [his] assistance." ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Foe from the Future (audio story)|The Foe from the Future]]'') He considered Shakespeare a "charming fellow," but a "dreadful [[actor]]." ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of Evil (TV story)|Planet of Evil]]'') Conversely, the [[Fifth Doctor]] later described him as a "hack" to his companions [[Peri Brown]] and [[Erimem]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Kingmaker (audio story)|The Kingmaker]]'') The Sixth Doctor quoted ''[[Hamlet]]'' to {{Ainley}} and {{O'Mara}}. He called him "the Bard" and intended to meet him again. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Mark of the Rani (TV story)|The Mark of the Rani]]'') By the time of his tenth incarnation, his opinion of Shakespeare's work had considerably improved as he spoke of it in glowing terms to Martha. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'')

The Fifth Doctor's companion [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]] studied Shakespeare's works while at [[Brendon Public School]] in [[1983]] but hated them. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Emerald Tiger (audio story)|The Emerald Tiger]]'')

While travelling with the [[Sixth Doctor]], [[Peri Brown]] found the original draft of an unknown play by Shakespeare, ''[[Mischief Night]]'', in [[the TARDIS]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Changes (comic story)|Changes]]'')

Martha Jones told [[Tallulah]] that she had done a bit of Shakespeare when asked if she had ever been on stage before. ([[TV]]: ''[[Daleks in Manhattan (TV story)|Daleks in Manhattan]]'')

The [[Tenth Doctor]] told [[Mohandas Gandhi]] that he ranked him with Shakespeare as one of the most amazing human beings who ever lived. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Ghosts of India (novel)|Ghosts of India]]'')

== Personality ==
Shakespeare was notable for being one of the few [[human]]s who, without receiving any known sort of psychic training, was not fooled by [[the Doctor's psychic paper]]. The Doctor was very impressed by this fact and applauded him, stating it was proof that he was a [[genius]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'')

The [[Ninth Doctor]] told [[Rose Tyler]] that, despite rumours, Shakespeare was very much heterosexual. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[A Groatsworth of Wit (comic story)|A Groatsworth of Wit]]'') In spite of this, he still flirted with the [[Tenth Doctor]], to which the Doctor commented, "57 academics just punched the air." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'')

He was apt to cheat at [[Croquet]]. ([[PROSE]]: [[City of Death (novelisation)|''City of Death'']])

== Behind the scenes ==
*The conflicting revelations in ''[[City of the Daleks (comic story)|City of the Daleks]]'', ''[[All Done with Mirrors (short story)|All Done with Mirrors]]'' and ''[[The Kingmaker (audio story)|The Kingmaker]]'' regarding Shakespeare's true identity have largely been ignored by other sources. ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'', for example, is set after the events of both ''All Done with Mirrors'' and ''The Kingmaker'' but presents Shakespeare as nothing but the definite article. Additionally, it is not elaborated upon in ''City of the Daleks'' whether there was ever a real Shakespeare or not and the story is somewhat ambiguous as to whether its claim could simply be interpreted as [[Dalek]] [[propaganda]], with just a single panel being devoted to it.
*In ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'', the Tenth Doctor acts as though he's never met Shakespeare before, despite the [[Fourth Doctor]] indicating in ''[[City of Death (TV story)|City of Death]]'' that he knew Shakespeare well enough to help him write ''[[Hamlet]]'', and Shakespeare meeting the Fourth Doctor in the novelisation. Reportedly a line of dialogue was written for the later episode to explain this, but the line was cut. The [[Ninth Doctor]] also claims in ''[[A Groatsworth of Wit (comic story)|A Groatsworth of Wit]]'' that he's known Shakespeare "for ages." 
*During ''The Shakespeare Code'' there is a moment when the Doctor notices Shakespeare is flirting with him after just having done so with Martha. The Doctor says, "Come on, we can all have a good flirt later!" [in reference to them needing to stop the Carrionites]. Shakespeare responds, "Is that a promise, Doctor?" The Doctor muses, mostly to himself, "Fifty-seven academics just punched the air." This is a reference to the idea that most of Shakespeare's sonnets, including Sonnet 18, are believed by some Shakespearean academics to be addressed to a man, and there is a sizeable body of scholarship on Shakespeare's [[sexuality]].
*William Shakespeare is one of three historical figures who are available as playable characters in the online game ''[[TARDIS Tennis (video game)|TARDIS Tennis]]''.
*In the story of ''[[Legacy (video game)|Doctor Who: Legacy]]'', the [[Seventh Doctor]], stressing the importance of preventing the [[Sontaran]]s' interference in the [[timeline]], cites William Shakespeare as an example of an important person in [[human]] [[history]] whose existence is endangered.
*In 2016, [[BBC One]] aired a televised version of Shakespeare's ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' adapted by ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[head writer]] and [[executive producer]] [[Russell T Davies]], with music by [[Murray Gold]], starring [[Matt Lucas]], [[Bernard Cribbins]], [[Colin MacFarlane]], [[Richard Wilson (actor)|Richard Wilson]], [[Nonso Anozie]] and [[Eleanor Matsuura]], and had many of [[BBC Wales]]' ''Doctor Who'' crew working on it.

==External links==
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