William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616)

He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon. When he was 18, he had to get married. His wife was Ann Hathaway – she was from Shottery, not far from Stratford. She was 8 years older than he. They had 3 children (1daughter and twins – a boy and a girl). Shakespeare worked a very short time as a teacher, but very soon he left Stratford and d his family for London. At first he was rewriting the plays and later he started writing his own. He wrote probably about 40 plays. He lived under Queen Elizabeth I. It was a time of Renaissance and drama flourishing. Shakespeare was one of the best playwrights (dramatists). He also wrote poems. His best known are “The Sonnets”. Shakespeare is still performed on all the stages all over the world.

Comedies:

• “The Taming of the Shrew”
• “Merry Wives of Windsor”
• “Twelfth Night”
• “As You Like It”
• “Love’s Labour’s Lost”
• “The Merchant of Venice”
• “Much Ado About Nothing”

Tragedies:

• “Romeo and Juliet”
• “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”
• “Macbeth”
• “Othello”
• “King Lear”

Historical plays:

• “Richard III”
• “Henry VIII”

Shakespeare had in London his own theatre called “ The Globe Theatre”. Shakespeare, towards the end of his life, came back to Stratford and he lived with his oldest daughter family. He is buried in the Holy Trinity Church.

“As You Like It”

There is a famous speech called “the seven ages of a man “ by Jacques.

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men a and women merely players.”

SEVEN AGES OF A MAN

• infant (mewling, puking, crying, sleeping in the arms)
• schoolboy (whining, creeping to school like snail)
• lover (longing for his mistress)
• soldier (dirty words, bearded, seeking a doubtful reputation on battlefields)
• judge (serious person, well-looked after, full of wisdom)
• the person is getting old, shrunk (the clothes are too big, spectacles on the nose, the manly voice changes into a childish one)
• very old age (oblivion, without teeth, bad eyesight)