Shakespeare Day

The 23rd April is not only World Book Day but also Shakespeare Day. I`m absolutely sure that everybody has heard of Shakespeare. He was undoubtedly the most gifted writer in English language, but what do we really know about this man and his life?

His fellow author Ben Jonson wrote of him, Shakespeare is "not of an age, but for all time." William Shakespeare lived more than 400 years ago and many records from that time are lost. That`s why we don't know everything about his life. For example, we know that he was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, 100 miles northwest of London, on April 26, 1564. But we don't know his exact birthdate, which must have been a few days earlier. So, he was probably born on about April 23, 1564, the date that is traditionally given for his birth. His parents were John Shakespeare (a leatherworker) and Mary Arden (a housewife). As the son of a prosperous businessman, William almost certainly attended Stratford's grammar school (most likely until about age 15).

A few years after he left school, in late 1582, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. She was already expecting their first-born child, Susanna, which was a fairly common situation at the time. When they married, Anne was 26 and William was 18. In early 1585, the couple had twins, Judith and Hamnet. In the years ahead, Anne and the children lived in Stratford-upon-Avon while Shakespeare worked in London (the family subsequently died out, leaving no direct descendants of Shakespeare). Nothing is known for certain of Shakespeare's activities: how he earned a living when he moved from Stratford, or how he got his start in the theater. The first definite mention of Shakespeare is in 1592 as an established London actor and playwright.

For more than two decades, Shakespeare had multiple roles in the London theater as an actor, playwright, and, in time, a business partner in a major acting company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (renamed the King's Men in 1603). Over the years, he became more famous in the London theater world; his name, which was not even listed on the first quartos of his plays, became a regular feature-clearly a selling point-on later title pages. Shakespeare prospered financially from his partnership in the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later the King's Men), as well as from his writing and acting. He invested much of his wealth in real-estate purchases in Stafford and bought the second-largest house in town, New Place, in 1597. He died on April 23, 1616-the traditional date of his birthday, though his precise birthdate is unknown.

Shakespeare`s work

Shakespeare wrote at least 38 plays and over 150 short and long poems, many of which are considered to be the finest ever written in English. His works have been translated into every major living language and nearly 400 years after his death, they continue to be performed around the world. Shakespeare's plays fit into three categories: tragedies, comedies and histories. "Romeo and Juliet", "Hamlet", "Othello" and "Macbeth" are perhaps his most famous tragic stories. Unforgettable are such history plays as "Antony and Cleopatra", "Richard III" and "Henry V" which are based on the lives of real historical people.

Shakespeare's work is still very popular today. But why do we like these old plays? They are very difficult to read because of his old English language. Not everybody can understand them and that`s why people prefer to read the adapted ones. Perhaps it is because they all contain fantastic stories and describe things which are actual in our modern world even though our world has changed a lot. What do you think?

Information: https://www.folger.edu/

Photo: www.williamshakespeare.net