13. Reading. William Shakespeare

  

 

William Shakespeare was the most renowned English poet and playwright. He was born on the twenty third of April (the date is believed to be also the date of his death) in \(1564\) in Stradford-upon-Avon. His father worked as a glovemaker. William was the eldest of 8 children of John and Mary. When he was eighteen, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who was twenty-six.

Later Shakespeare moved to London, and this gave a start to his career. He published his first works and became a founding member of a company of actors. His early plays were mainly comedies (for example, A Midsummer’s Night Dream) and histories (for example, Henry V). It's highly probable that "The Comedy of Errors", "Romeo and Juliet" and some other plays by Shakespeare were performed for the first time on this stage.   Shakespeare was a prolific author. His legacy is rich and diverse. He wrote \(38\) plays, \(2\) poems, \(154\) sonnets, and a variety of other poems. There are no original manuscripts left, supposedly about a half of his works were lost. His later plays are in the genre of tragedy and these plays are considered Shakespeare’s greatest achievements. Most of his works were not published in his life.

 

Later Shakespeare returned to Stradford. He died there at the age of \(52\).

Some scholars claim that Shakespeare didn't actually write any of his plays. There are a number of theories, for example, that the poet Christopher Marlow was the real author or that Shakespeare's works were written by several people. However, there is no proof to these theories.
He is often called England's national poet and 'the Bard'. His legacy hugely influenced English and world literature.

 

 

1. His father  .

 

2. He published his first works and  of a company of actors.

 

3. His  and world literature.