Statue of William Shakespeare seated on the edge of a cruciform chair, his left arm over its back and hand holding a rolled up manuscript. His right forearm rests on his right knee, thumb and index finger together (once holding a bronze quill). His head is angled slightly downwards but his gaze is straight ahead. At his feet are four bronze wreaths.
Directly below these wreaths on the four striking pedestals are four bronze masks with foliage and flowers, each is individually modelled. Two of the masks are tragic and two comic, although they are understated. The masks is symbolic of the character of the additional statue which stands directly in front, and which in turn represents one of four themes:
History:
PRINCE HAL - Henry, Prince of Wales - eldest son of Henry IV; nicknamed 'Hal' or 'Harry', later Henry V of England. Character in the history play Henry IV.
Mask with English roses and French lilies.
Comedy:
FALSTAFF - Sir John Falstaff, fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare, among them The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Mask with hops and roses.
Tragedy:
LADY MACBETH - Macbeth's wife, and later Queen of Scotland, in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth.
Mask with poppies and peonies.
Philosophy:
HAMLET - Prince of Denmark, in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, Hamlet is often perceived as a philosophical character, expounding ideas that are now described as relativist, existentialist, and sceptical.
Mask with ivy and cypress.
Bronze plaque:
These figures were designed and modelled by LORD RONALD GOWER, who presented the Monument to the Town of STRATFORD-UPON-AVON in 1888.
The work was executed in Paris and took twelve years to complete Associated with LORD ROLAND in his task were his assistant, Monsieur L. MADRASSI;
the Tirm of TASSEL, who made all the figures save that of Hamlet, which was entrusted to Messieurs GRAUX and MARLEY; and the House of DE CAUVILLE
and PERZINKU, who cast the wreaths, the masks, the fruit and the flowers. The stone used in this Monument is partly Boxground Bath, partly York. The group was erected on its original site by MR. FREDERICK TAYLOR, Contractor, under the supervision of the Architects, Messieurs PEIGNET and MARNAY, of Paris