The Bard

Today is Shakespeare's birthday, as far as we know. All we have to go on are his baptismal records. Since children in his time were baptised on the first Sunday after their birth, conventional wisdom places his date of birth as the same as his death date, thereby adding even more allure to an already mysterious figure.

Even in death, he used poetry to serve a purpose. The following is inscribed on his gravestone:

GOOD FREND FOR JESUS SAKE FORBEARE
TO DIGG THE DUST ENCLOASED HEARE.
BLEST BE YE MAN YT SPARES THES STONES
AND CURST BE HE YT MOVES MY BONES

Gravedigging was a constant concern in those days; while other graves near the Bard's have been disturbed, his has been spared.

Who says poetry isn't useful?