With more than 83 films based on Shakespeare’s works, he is arguably the most famous playwright in the world. William Shakespeare, throughout his career has written 38 plays: a mixture of comedies, histories and tragedies – as well as 154 “Shakespearean sonnets”.

I recently participated in a “London Walk”, a guided walking tour through the “Square Mile” of the City of London. The tour focused on places connected with the life and work of William Shakespeare, and gave a glimpse into some of the people, places and events which inspired the Bard to write his heart-breaking tragedies and rib-tickling comedies.

The tour started in what is today the church-yard of St Paul’s Cathedral, which was the site of the book-trade in 16th Century London. Around the old cathedral (which was burnt down in the Great Fire of London in 1666) side streets were lined with book shops, and in the churchyard there were open air book stalls which sold tomes providing religious advice (e.g 10 Tips on How to be a Good Protestant) and translations of the old Italian folios. By all accounts an avid reader, Shakespeare frequently visited this part of London, and he adapted many of his story lines from earlier Italian works (including the story of Hero and Claudio in Much Ado about Nothing.) Shakespeare first moved from his home-town in Stratford-upon-Avon in the late 1580s, working as an actor before making his name as a playwright. None of the homes where Shakespeare was recorded to have lived still exist; many would have burnt down in the Great Fire. However, there are records of him lodging at Christopher and Mary Mountjoy’s home, on Silver Street, very near the London Wall, in 1604. This is now called Noble Street, and the tour stopped at the site of Shakespeare’s home, where there is now a plaque bearing his name.

The walking tour progressed along the London Wall, and through the historic street of Little Britain to the oldest existing hospital in Britain – St Bartholomew’s Hospital. There, we heard of a man called Rodrigo Lopez, a Portuguese doctor of Jewish descent, who was house physician at Bart’s. His successful medical practice led him to be promoted to the role of Queen Elizabeth I’s Royal Physician. However, as he was implicated in a Spanish plot to kill the Queen and was executed in 1594.

Lopez may have been an inspiration for the character “Shylock” in the Merchant of Venice. The name Lopez means wolf in Spanish, and there are references to the antagonist being called “Shylock the Werewolf”. Mocking this disgraced courtier may have been Shakespeare’s way of currying favour with the Queen, as well as appealing to the anti-Semitic sentiments of his audiences.

One of the highlights of the tour was a visit to St Mary Aldermanbury’s Garden, near the Guildhall. Here, a stone bust of Shakespeare sits on top of a plinth where there is a fitting tribute to Condell and Heminges. These two men published Shakespeare’s First Folio in 1623, seven years after the Bard’s death. Without the work of Condell and Heminges, Shakespeare’s work may have been lost to history. Thus, I am greatly thankful to Heminges and Condell, without which people I, as well as many people, would never have been able to immerse ourselves in Shakespeare’s stories. Without the publication of the First Folio, it is possible that, 400 years after his death, we might never have been able to walk with Shakespeare.

by Amrita Bhattacharyya