by Dr. Robert A. Norman William Shakespeare had a profound knowledge of the medicine of his day, far beyond the knowledge of any playwright, author, or even ordinary physician. Over the course of his thirty-seven plays he notes almost all the contemporary maladies and therapeutics.   R.R. Simpson, in his book Shakespeare and Medicine, cites 712 medical references in Shakespeare, and categorizes each according to subject. Shakespeare wrote about many medical issues, including the humors, herbs and plants, the effect of the planets on disease and the moon on the mind, quackery, blood-letting, sexually transmitted disease and public health, suffering, and death. My purpose in this three part article is to … Continue reading →