Many fans of "William Shakespeare" often miss out the vital details of Shakespeare's life and career. 

James Halliwell Phillips writes in his two-volume analysis “Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare” published in 1887 in order to determine the “Correct Dating of Shakespeare’s Plays”:

“The would be biographer of Shakespeare is baffled in every quarter by the want of graphical documents, and little more can be accomplished beyond a very imperfect sketch or outline of the material features of the poet’s career.”

In particular that his coat of arms does not contain a SPEAR at all in the black diagonal band but a pen in the form of a jousting LANCE -this was presumably a prank played out by the College of Arms who were instructed by the powers above them to grant a coat of arms to a jobbing actor from Stratford-upon-Avon which they had previously declined (Non, Sanz Droict-meaning "No Without Right"). As far as I am aware "Shakespeare" had no real reputation with a lance at jousting otherwise it would have been officially recorded. Despite the apparent dearth of information I was nevertheless tempted to write a feasible and realistic “Biography of William Shakspere”. Early biographers of Shakespeare relied on textual allusions made by the playwright and any recorded evidence of possible date of composition, date of registration, first performance and finally date of publishing. None of which were especially easy to deduce since only 15 of Shakespeare’s plays were actually registered at the Stationers Office (1603-1607), the majority being published anonymously and very few bearing his name or signature. Four more plays were registered from 1607 including “Romeo & Juliet”, “Love’s Labours Lost” and “Anthony & Cleopatra” the latter was not registered until the 1623 Folio was published. Shakespeare’s “Pericles, Prince of Tyre” (omitted from the first folio was published in 1609) and Othello, listed in October 1621 was published in 1622. Finally as late as the 8th of November the remaining unregistered eighteen plays were finally published in 1622. Since then other academics and scholars such as E. K. Chambers were persuaded to analyse Shakespeare’s evolving literary and poetic style in order to solve the problem of chronology. Using modern stylometric and computer analysis has led other researchers into numerous other conclusions as well as “blind alleys” and extensive theories on The “Shadowy Figure” of Shakespeare.

Moreover, is the large blackbird perched on top of the shield (also holding a pen-like lance) an eagle or is it a cormorant or "Shag" as it was commonly called in Shakespeare's time-from which one might assume that William Shag-spere was a garrulous and greedy fellow!