Shakespeare and the Bubonic Plague

Shakespeare and the Black Plague
When the Black Plague is mentioned most people think of the first occurrence from 1348-1400, yet many people don’t know that it reoccurred when Shakespeare was alive. Shakespeare was affected by the Black Plague in several ways: many of his family members died, his family incurred the high expenses of medical care, and he lived in an environment where people were dying everywhere and bodies even littered the streets.
Many people in Shakespeare’s family died from the Plague, during his life and even after he died. Shakespeare lost eight family members to the Plague. He lost his sisters Joan, Margaret, and Anne. Joan and Margaret died as babies and Anne died when she was seven. Shakespeare’s brother Edmund died when he was 27 (Bubonic Plague and Shakespeare.). The greatest loss for Shakespeare was his only son Hamnet. Hamnet died when he was just eleven. Also, Shakespeare had three grandsons that died from the Plague. Shakespeare Quiney died at six months old and Richard and Thomas Quiney died at ages 19 and 20 years old (Bubonic Plague and Shakespeare.). Because of all the people that were afflicted with the Plague in Shakespeare’s family we can assume that there were enormous medical expenses to pay.
The symptoms of the Black Plague were very painful and very hard to get rid of. There was swelling in the armpits, legs, neck, and groin called buboes; other symptoms included a very high fever, and delirium and mental disorientation. There was also vomiting, muscular pains, bleeding in the lungs and the most fatal symptom was an intense desire to sleep which could lead to death (The Black Death during the Elizabethan Era.). Many tried to help the victims of the plague. Churches, “wise women” who were considered to be knowledgeable of herbal healing and magic charms, barbers that doubled as surgeons because their tools were useful for bloodletting a patient, and the Apothecary who would dispense drugs are all the people that helped the sick. The very wealthy people, like Shakespeare who was very rich and popular in his time, could afford an Elizabethan Physician. The physicians would wear very interesting clothes to protect themselves. They would wear a long beaked mask to shield their face and head from the fleas and black robes, boots, and gloves to cover their boots (The Black Death during the Elizabethan Era.). Plague treatments included sweet smelling herbs like rose, lavender, sage and bay for headaches; also wormwood, mint, and balm would be used to treat stomachaches and sickness. Lung problems would be treated with licorice and comfrey and barbers would bleed patients or have leeches suck the infected blood out of the victim (The Black Death during the Elizabethan Era.). Despite all these efforts, death overcame many.
Throughout the years that the Plague was in England it killed thousands and thousands of people. Out of the estimated population of 460,000 people around 70,000 people died because of the Black Plague. There were three major outbreaks of the plague in 1593, 1603, and 1608, and during them the Globe Theatre was closed (Giblin 46 -47.). During these instances it was very hard for actors and playwrights, like Shakespeare, to find work to support their families. Officials thought dogs and cats started and spread the disease, so in effort to combat the outbreaks, they killed 40,00 dogs and around 200,000 cats (Giblin 47.). This so-called “solution” only made matters worse because without cats the population of rats that spread the disease multiplied. A person with the Plague would be put on a seven-day quarantine in their house. A red cross would be painted on the door to warn away others and guards were posted outside the house to make sure no one entered or exited. In some conditions neighbors and friends would try to help the victim escape because conditions in the house would become unbearable. The only contact with people outside the house for the victim was lowering a food basket to the watchmen and having them put food in it. Death cart labourers patrolled the streets yelling, “Bring out your dead!” The dead would be put on carts and taken away to be buried (Gilbin 47.). Before death carts people would throw their dead out the window on to the street. Death cart labourers were paid very well considering their job was life threatening. Also, if there weren’t enough men they would make women and children be death cart labourers. It was a grim atmosphere in England during the Plague outbreaks, and Shakespeare had to live through it.
Deaths in the family, expensive medical care, and dead bodies everywhere affected Shakespeare and many more during the time of the infamous Black Plague. Hundreds of thousands of people died from the reoccurrence of the Black Plague. Hopefully an outbreak won’t happen like this again.