OfallthefamousEnglishwriters,probablythebestknownisWilliamShakespeare.
HewasborninStratford-upon-Avonin1564onAprilthe23rd.HisfatherwasanimportantmanintownsoShakespearehadagoodupbringing.Shakespeareprobablywenttoschool(althoughnorecordssurvivetoprovethis)butnotuniversity.Hegotmarriedwhenhewas18toAnneHathawayandthecouplehad3children.
Shakespearewrote38playsand154sonnets(asonnetisakindofpoem).HebeganworkinginhishometownofStratfordbutby1592waswritinginLondon.HebecamerichenoughtobuyahouseinthecapitalandoneinStratford.
Hewrotesadstoriescalledtragedies,likeRomeoandJuliet,funnystoriesorcomedies,romanticstoriesandstoriesabouthistoricalfiguressuchasJuliusCaesar.
Shakespearediedonhisbirthdayin1616,almost400yearsago.Butwhyishisworkstillpopulartoday?
Hisworklookedatcommonhumanthemes,suchasbetrayal,murder,lust,power,ambitionandlove.ThesethemesareasmuchapartofhumannaturetodayastheywereallthoseyearsagoandarethethemesweseeinmodernsoapoperasandHollywoodfilms.Eventhoughhistheatre,TheGlobe,burneddownin1613itwasrebuiltinLondonin1997andyoucanstillseehisplaysperformedtheretoday.
Shakespeare'sinfluenceontheEnglishlanguagecanstillbefelttoday.Wetalkabout"fairplay",meaninghonestbehaviourbutthisphrasewasfirstusedbyShakespeare.Hecoinedthephrase"youcanhavetoomuchofagoodthing".AnditwasShakespearewhocameupwiththeexpressiontodisappear"intothinair"whichwestillusetodaywhenwelosesomething.
Shakespeare’sworkhasbeentranslatedintoeverymajorlanguageintheworld.Andperhapswe'llstillbeasfascinatedbyhiswork400yearsfromnow
aswe'vebeenforthelast400.
