“‘To be or not to be,’ said Hamlet, prince of Denmark, ‘that is the question.’ Yesterday, Hamlet’s creator was; today, he is not. Of that there is no question. The poet, playwright, actor and theatrical-company shareholder William Shakespeare (sometimes spelled Shakspeare, Shagspere, Shaxpere, Shaxberd or any number of blessed ways) died today, April 23, 1616, at home in Stratford-upon-Avon. He was, more or less, 52.”