Thus with a kiss I die: could pufferfish be the key to a Shakespearean poison?

In celebration of the Bard, let's forensically examine the curious substance that gave Juliet the appearance of death. Could a Japanese delicacy be a clue?

This coming 23 April marks the 400^th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. Just three days later it is the 452^nd anniversary of his birth. The Bard has given us many great things, as well as occasional and intriguing uses of poisons. There is the "hebanon" poured in the ear of Hamlet's father (perhaps an extract of hellebore); the "liquor" dropped into the eyes of protagonists in A Midsummer Night's Dream (possibly belladonna), and, of course, the "poisoned entrails", "sweltered venom" and "root of hemlock" added to the witches cauldron in Macbeth. I thought I would look into just one poison, perhaps the most famous, the mysterious substance swallowed by Juliet to give her the appearance of death.

Related: Strychnine: the notorious but rare poison at the heart of a modern mystery