You
don't need to be an expert in English language and literature to know
that one particular person stands like a colossus over its rich
history and culture. That person is, of course, William Shakespeare,
known simply as
'the Bard'.
He
is thought to have died
on April 23rd,
1616, exactly 400 years ago (which coincidentally was the day after
the death of Spain's own literary genius, Cervantes). To mark this
milestone anniversary and the Bard's priceless legacy, many events
are being held all over the world, but especially in Britain and his
hometown Stratford-upon-Avon.
Perhaps
it will surprise you that much of his life remains a mystery. This
has led to conjecture about his religious beliefs, sexuality and even
if he was really the author of his works, although in truth this
appears to be little more than a conspiracy theory with nothing real
to support it. We know that he was the son of a wealthy glover (glove
maker), born in 1564, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He seems
to have been educated in Latin at school, before marrying Anne
Hathaway at the age of 18. The first of their three children was
born, scandalously, just 6 months after their wedding. The
second scandal was that he decided to abandon his family to start an
acting career in London. In fact, he
spent most of his working life in London's theatres, becoming
successful and wealthy enough to buy land and property in his native
Stratford. He died of unknown causes, possibly on his 52nd
birthday.
Shakespeare
wrote many poems and was an actor, although he is most famous for
writing plays, classified as
either comedies
(such
as Much
Ado About Nothing),
histories
(Richard
III)
and tragedies
(Macbeth).
He
had a great influence on future generations of artists of all types:
not only writers and poets, but musicians and painters too. His
plays are written in iambic
pentameter,
a literary metre with five pairs of alternately stressed syllables
per line. You can learn about this poetic metre here.
His
works have been translated into over 80 languages and performed all
over the world; they have also been adapted to different cultures,
but always keeping his powerful modern words and thoughts about human
nature. Good examples are this performance of Hamlet in Zimbabwe and Romeo
and Juliet in Japan.
Through
these works his influence on language is also extraordinary. Perhaps
this can best be illustrated with a few numbers. The Oxford English
Dictionary states that he introduced 3,000 words
into the English language, and that around one in ten of the most
famous and used expressions in English comes from his works, second
only to the Bible. There are also 7,000 different words that he only
ever used once in his works: to put this into context, the King James
Bible (the official English-language Bible published during
Shakespeare's lifetime) has fewer than 7,000 different words in the
whole
book. Apart from all this, in questions of grammar and spelling,
Shakespeare's use was often adopted as the single accepted form in an
effort to standardise the language.
So
to celebrate the 400th
anniversary this year, why not discover more about the Bard? You
could watch one of his plays, read into his life and times, or if
you're visiting Britain, even make a trip to the Globe Theatre in
London or his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon. So, take advantage of
every opportunity! Or, as Shakespeare himself may have told
you,
“All
the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”
(Shakespeare, from As You Like It)
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”
(Shakespeare, from As You Like It)
- Some curiosities:
- English spelling was much more varied and less standardised than today. We have written evidence of over 80 different contemporary spellings of his name, but none of them was “William Shakespeare” as it is spelt today!
- He started writing poetry during a plague epidemic, when his plays could not be performed because all the theatres were closed.
- The date considered to be that of Shakespeare's birth and death, April 23rd, is also St. George's Day – the patron saint of England and Catalonia. World Book Day was chosen as this date to honour Shakespeare, Cervantes and other literary figures who died on or near this date.
- He was a master of words and insults! You can check his elegant, witty and even funny bad words here.
- His plays have been adapted into many films. Macbeth, for instance, has been adapted by Japanese director Kumonosu-jō in 1957 (the title of the film in English is Throne of Blood), the American director Willian Reilly in 1990 (Men of Respect) and the Indian Vishal Bhardwaj in 2004 (Maqbool).
Some
expressions:
-
to
lie low (used
in the play Much
Ado About Nothing).
Meaning:
to hide, and stay out of trouble.
- a night owl (used in Twelfth Night). Meaning: a person who is busy at night while others sleep.
- at a snailʼs pace (used in Richard III). Meaning: very slowly.
-
to break the ice (used
in The
Taming of the Shrew).
Meaning:
make people feel relaxed when they first meet.- a night owl (used in Twelfth Night). Meaning: a person who is busy at night while others sleep.
- at a snailʼs pace (used in Richard III). Meaning: very slowly.
The
information used in this article has come from a combination of the
following sources. To find out more, please visit:
A
good starting point for all sorts of general information connected
with Shakespeare.
The
BBC's 400th
anniversary commemorations and associated articles.
"A
charity promoting the enjoyment and understanding of Shakespeare's
work, life and times."
A
website with translations of Shakespeare's works in modern-day
English and other articles about the Bard and his life.
