<i>&quot;Shakespeare was the most commonly used spelling in his day, but by the 18th century, the version most favored was Shakespear, and only in the 20th century did Shakespeare become the standard. Interestingly, of the six surviving signatures the great man himself left behind, not one is spelled Shakespeare.&quot;</i><p>He must have gotten it wrong. Thank goodness we&#x27;ve corrected it for him. Not like he was particularly good at English.