- For other uses, see William.
- For the primary universe counterpart, see William Shakespeare.
In the mirror universe, William Shakespeare was a Terran male who lived on Earth during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Biography and legacy[]
Like his counterpart in the primary universe, he was a famous playwright. (ENT episode: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II") One of his plays, Comical History of Richard III, was regarded as great literature. (Decipher RPG module: Through a Glass, Darkly)
His works were still read into the 22nd century by people throughout the Terran Empire. In January 2155, it was noted by the ISS Enterprise's chief medical officer Phlox, who was aboard the USS Defiant from the primary universe, that Shakespeare's works "were equally grim in both universes." The other great works of literature were roughly the same in both universes except that the primary universe characters were "weak and compassionate." (ENT episode: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II")
Dark Mirror[]
In a permutation of the mirror universe in which the Terran Empire survived into the 24th century, the mirror Shakespeare's plays were noticeably darker than those of his counterpart. Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the primary universe, reading his counterpart's copy of the works of Shakespeare aboard the ISS Enterprise (ICC-1701-D), felt that they were "a Shakespeare horribly changed in all but the parts that were already horrible." He was particularly shocked that his favorite passage in The Merchant of Venice had been replaced by a passage which began "The quality of mercy must be earned", and that Portia successfully argued that Antonio does indeed owe Shylock a pound of flesh. (TNG novel: Dark Mirror)