Monday 15 October 2012

Mr. William Shakespeare.

On the 23rd of April 1564, William Shakespaeare, widely regarded as the greatest wrighter in the English language, was born and raised in Stratford-Upon-Avon, now a very popular tourist attraction. Mr William Shakespeare died on the 23rf April 1616, his 52nd birthday.
At the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26 year-old Anne Hathaway. Only six months after the marriage, Anne gave birth to a daughter named Susanna. Followed by twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith who were born two years after Anne's firstborn. In late 1596, Hamnet died of an unknown cause at the age of 11.

William's career consisted of 38 plays, 154 sonnets and 2 long narrative poems. He produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication by the end of the 16th century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights.

Shakespeare was buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church two days after his death. The epitaph carved into the stone slab covering his grave includes a curse against moving his bones, which was carefully avoided during restoration of the church in 2008:
 Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare,
To digg the dvst encloased heare.
Bleste be ye man yt spares thes stones,
And cvrst be he yt moves my bones.

(Modern spelling: Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear, | To dig the dust enclosed here. | Blessed be the man that spares these stones, | And cursed be he that moves my bones.)