Torfaen Libraries' blog: World Book Night AND Shakespeare's birthday on the same day! How amazing is that?

What do we know about

William Shakespeare?

We know that he was supposedly born on 23rd April 1564 and died on 23rd April 1616. Rotten luck dying on your birthday, or perhaps it was a wonderfully dramatic and poetic time for him to lay down his quill on that blotting paper in the sky... 'The wheel is come full circle.'

He was born in Stratford Upon Avon, married Anne Hathaway when he was only 18 and had three children. His work as a prolific playwright took place mainly in London but in latter years he returned to Stratford, where he died aged only 52. In his will he left his wife his "second-best bed". This has sparked interesting debate ever since. Personally I would have been slightly miffed. But he must have had his reasons. 'Expectation is the root of all heartache'

During his career he wrote 37 plays that we know of. There could have been more which were either not kept or have not been properly identified as his. There are 5 narrative poems and some 154 sonnets attributed to Shakespeare.
'Shall I compare thee to a Summer's Day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.'

As his success grew he was able to contribute a large percentage of the cost of building The Globe Theatre in 1599. His audience included people from every walk of life, right up to Queen Elizabeth I herself.

He deliberately made his plays accessible to rich and poor alike. You didn't need to be able to read and could get cheap entry as a 'groundling' where you would stand in front of the stage in the open air. His plays were entertaining, but also explored politics, religion and morality. He 'enlightened' the playgoers. 'I say there is not darkness but ignorance'

Shakespeare was a wonderful observer of people and used his skill with words to tell wonderful stories based on human emotions and experiences: love, hate, passion, jealousy, power, betrayal and death. These topics are still evident in today's literature, film, soap operas and even cartoons.

Our tastes may have changed in some ways, but we still love a good story - particularly one about human nature. Shakespeare was a genius in his field and we should never shy away from his work on the grounds that it is difficult to understand. The language is 400 hundred years old but as relevant as the day it was written.

This is my advice if you are an aspiring, 'toe in the water' kind of Shakespeare fan: Go and see a good production of a classic such as Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth or King Lear and lose yourself in the story. You could also watch the film 'Shakespeare in Love' whilst not necessarily factual, gives an insight into the writer's life and the period in which he lived. It doesn't hurt that he is portrayed by the rather dishy Joseph Fiennes sporting a full head of hair.