Did you know that words such as arch-villain, leapfrog, dewdrop, watchdog, birthplace, radiance and zany were made up by William Shakespeare? Born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon to John and Mary Shakespeare, young William probably studied at Stratford Grammar School. He married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18 and had three children – Susannah, Judith and Hamnet. A few years later he moved to London where he soon became well-known as a playwright, poet and actor.
He wrote more than 30 plays, of which historic plays include ‘Julius Caesar’ and ‘Henry VI’; tragedies include ‘Othello’ and ‘Macbeth’; comedies include ‘As you like it’ and ‘A Midsummer night’s dream’; and romances include ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Antony and Cleopatra’.
Shakespeare is widely regarded as the most influential writer of all time. His themes, depth of characters, inimitable use of words and employment of a variety of literary devices make each one of his plays masterpieces.
His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright in history. They continue to be studied, reinterpreted and adapted for screens big and small. Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616 at the age of 52.
In 1623 two friends of Shakespeare’s, John Heminges and Henry Condell, published the ‘First Folio’, a posthumous collection of Shakespeare’s works. Its preface hailed Shakespeare with the now famous words – “not of an age, but for all time”.
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