Statue of Historical Figure: William Shakespeare - Central Park, NY, NY

William Shakespeare

Central Park

NY, NY

N 40° 46.190 W 073° 58.344

Short Description: 

A monument honoring English poet and playwright, William Shakespeare is locate at the south end of The Mall in Central Park, New York City.

Long Description:

An 8' by 3' by 2' bronze statue of William Shakespeare stands on an 8' high by 8' square granite base. The statue was created by John Quincy Adams Ward and the base was created by Henry Parry. The monument was erected April 23, 1864 to honor the 300th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare who was baptised on April 26, 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England.

Shakespeare is depicted wearing Elizabethan period clothing consisting of short slashed pants and a cloak. He his holding a book in his right hand.

The back of the base is inscribed:

ERECTED BY

CITIZENS OF NEW YORK

APRIL 23 1864

THE THREE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY

OF THE BIRTH OF

SHAKESPEARE 

William Shakespeare is probably the most famous English writer. In 1609 he published 154 sonnets in a single volume called Sonnets. Throughout his life he wrote some of the most famous plays ever performed. He wrote the following comedies, historical plays, and tragedies:

Comedies:
All's Well That Ends Well 
As You Like It 
The Comedy of Errors 
Cymbeline 
Love's Labours Lost 
Measure for Measure 
The Merry Wives of Windsor 
The Merchant of Venice 
A Midsummer Night's Dream 
Much Ado About Nothing 
Pericles, Prince of Tyre 
Taming of the Shrew 
The Tempest 
Troilus and Cressida 
Twelfth Night 
Two Gentlemen of Verona 
Winter's Tale

Historical Plays :
Henry IV, part 1 
Henry IV, part 2 
Henry V 
Henry VI, part 1 
Henry VI, part 2 
Henry VI, part 3 
Henry VIII 
King John 
Richard II 
Richard III

Tragedies:
Antony and Cleopatra 
Coriolanus 
Hamlet 
Julius Caesar 
King Lear 
Macbeth 
Othello 
Romeo and Juliet 
Timon of Athens 
Titus Andronicus

Among his sonnets are:
The Sonnets 
A Lover's Complaint 
The Rape of Lucrece 
Venus and Adonis 
Funeral Elegy by W.S.