IN WRITING THIS book I have sorted fictional Shakespeares into various categories as if they were entirely distinct, but naturally that is not true. The works that suggest someone else wrote the plays make the same claim the versions in Chapter One do—that the plays grow out of lived experiences. Some of the more tormented Shakespeares in Chapter One could have snuck into Chapter Two and many of the supernaturally-inspired Shakespeares of Chapter Three end up having experiences that create or shape their genius. All systems of classification are artificial and as such I would like to close this book by exploring how the categories I propose collapse into each other in two very different works.

The Shakespeare Code

For the first example, I turn to an episode of a television show that is as much a part of British history and culture as Shakespeare, and that is Doctor Who. Begun over fifty years ago, the show has become an icon and, especially since the reboot in 2005, an international powerhouse. The main character of the show, the Doctor, is a Time Lord, an alien who explores the universe, usually with one or more human companions, in a ship, the TARDIS, that can travel in both time and space. Originally the show was conceived of as family-friendly entertainment that would teach children history with episodes that have the Doctor and his companions travel into humanity's past. The popularity of the science-fiction aspect quickly overwhelmed that original idea and now, even when an episode is set in the past, it usually features aliens or monsters. Despite many trips to the past, it was not until 2007 that an episode focusing on Shakespeare was presented. “The Shakespeare Code” has the Doctor taking his new companion, Martha, to 1599. What is meant to be a short trip to introduce Martha to time travel turns into a fight to save the human race from the Carrionites, an alien race of witch-like creatures who use words as energy. They have been exiled from this universe for millennia, and plan to use the power of Shakespeare's words to return and destroy the human race. The Doctor, with the help of Martha and Shakespeare, defeat the Carrionites and banish them again.