Y
Nothing yet. Watch this space.
Z
Nothing yet. Watch this space.
Numbers
1599 - A Year in the Life of Shakespeare
Of all the biographies and studies of Shakespeare that I have read to date, this is probably my favourite. It's by James Shapiro, a professor at Columbia in New York. It's an astonishingly rich and comprehensive read, full of juicy details and very sensible ideas. Best of all, if you feel bereft when it finishes, there's a companion volume called 1606 - The Year of Lear to read next!
40 (Forty)
Forty is often the number Shakespeare uses for a whole heap of things - forty shillings, forty ducats, you name it. It’s large enough to be impressive but also still a conceivable number. Likewise in V.i, forty thousand is huge but still comprehensible.