William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is considered to be the world´s greatest playwright. His plays have been performed for centuries and it seems that they will always attract audience and readers. First of all, let me introduce the historical and cultural background associated with Shakespeare´s life.

The second half of the 16th century and the turn of the 17th century is said to be the period of a great overall flourishment in England, with Queen Elizabeth Ist on the throne. England lays quite separated from the rest of Europe, so there was enough space for arts to develop – on contrary to the states on the continent, which were busy fighting against the reformation as well as with each other. Moreover, Elizabeth Ist and her successor James Ist were great supporters of theatre. There were many new theatres freshly opened and some performances were even free of charge for people who could not afford to pay the entrance fee.

Now, something about Shakespeare´s life- He was born on the 23rd April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon as the youngest son of a glove-maker John Shakespeare and his wife Mary Arden. He had also two siblings (a sister and a brother). In 1582 the young William married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: daughters Susan and Judith and a son Hamnet (he died at the age of 11).

There is not much information about Shakespeare´s life until 1592 when he left his family and moved to London. There he was acting for various theatre companies (he even performed in front of Her Majesty herself), writing plays, later he became a shareholder of ´The Globe“ theatre, too.

At the end of his life Shakespeare returned to Stratford to his family where he also died in 1616 (on the same day as he was born).

However, nowadays there are many doubts about Shakespeare, being really the author of all the plays and poems – another author is said to be hiding behind his name. For instance, although he was apparently well acquaint with antique history and literature, he had only gone through a grammar school in Stradford. Yet, none of such theories has been proved.

As for Shakespeare´s works, he is the author of sonnets, poems and approximately 37 plays. The most valued are tragedies: Romeo And Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, Mackbeth and King Lear. Popular are also his comedies, such as The Comedy of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, The Twelfth Night, As You Like It etc. In addition, Shakespeare wrote historical plays: Julius Caesar, Richard II., Henry IV. and so on.

We recognise three productive stages of Shakespeare:

– the first period lasted until 1600. In these times he wrote his beautiful tragedy of unhappy love – Romeo And Juliet, also historical dramas (Richard III., Julius Caesar) and several comedies, such as A Midsummer´s Night Dream, Taming Of The Shrew or Much Ado About Nothing.

– the second period lasted until 1608; in this period a pessimism and disappointment get into Shakespeare´s works, which is consequently reflected in his best tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Mackbeth. As for comedies, we can mention Merry Wives Of Winsor and The Twelfth Night.

– the third period ended in 1612. Pessimism cleared up and Shakespeare´s plays were written in a conciliary manner – The Tempest or The Winter´s Tale, for example.

Finally, a few words about Czech translators of Shakespeare´s works: The first play to be translated into Czech language was Mackbeth (by Václav Thám at the end of the 18th century). Some of the plays were also translated by Jan Kollár. Among the most famous – and the best – translators belong Josef Václav Sládek and E.A. Saudek. Martin Hilský is a contemporary translator, as well as a specialist in Shakespeare´s life and works.