William Shakespeare is one of the greatest playwrights in history. His works served as the basis for an uncountable number of theatrical productions and films, although, of course, the most famous of his novels are “Romeo and Juliet” and “Hamlet”.
William Shakespeare deservedly considered the greatest of writers who created in English, and the most successful playwright in the world – the works of no other writer can compare with his plays on the frequency of productions in theaters around the globe.
Shakespeare’s life has very little information, so it is still quite popular view that the attributed to him the work was written by another person or even a group of people. Skeptics note that Shakespeare was an uneducated native from the outback, but his works are distinguished by a rich vocabulary, a fine knowledge of history and literature.
Another topic for fierce disputes is the appearance of Shakespeare – the lifelong portraits of the playwright or descriptions of his appearance have not been preserved, which creates the ground for various speculations.
When Shakespeare married, he was 18 years old, and his wife – 26. They had three children – two daughters and a son, who died at the age of 11.
Shakespeare was a co-owner of the theatrical company “Servant Lord Chamberlain”, for which he not only wrote plays, but also acted on stage as an actor.
Although Shakespeare’s creations were favorably received by his contemporaries, real popularity came to the English poet only a few centuries later.
Shakespeare’s birth date is not exactly known, but there is a legend according to which he was born on April 23 and died the same day 51 years later.
“Shakespeare” literally translated from English means “stunning spear”. The Shakespeare family emblem depicted a yellow-black shield with a tournament spear and a knight’s helmet. Below in French the motto was inscribed: “Not without the right”.
In addition to William, Shakespeare’s parents had seven children.
The father of the future writer paid huge fines for refusing to attend divine services in the church. It is believed that he could secretly profess Catholicism.
According to one version, Shakespeare moved from his native Stratford to London, fleeing accusations of poaching in the lands of the local squire.
The theater made Shakespeare so rich that he bought for his family the New Place estate, the second largest in Stratford. In addition, together with partners, they built the theater “Globe” in London and bought the ruined Blackfriars Theater.
During the production of Hamlet, Shakespeare played the shadow of the murdered father of the Danish prince.
In London Shakespeare rented accommodation from a Frenchman who produced women’s wigs.
Shakespeare bequeathed most of his property to his eldest daughter, and his wife, according to the will, was entitled to a “second-quality bed”. Some researchers consider these words an insult, others believe that Shakespeare had in mind the marital bed.
None of Shakespeare’s four grandchildren produced any heir, so the playwright’s immediate descendants soon did not remain.
Leo Tolstoy severely criticized Shakespeare as a playwright and devoted a devastating study of his essay works.
Love and romance began to be considered worthy themes for tragedies only after Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
With the works of Shakespeare, according to estimates of scientists, there are at least 20,000 musical works of various genres associated.
Sigmund Freud’s research on human nature is largely based on Shakespeare’s characters – for example, on the psychology of Hamlet.
It is believed that the works of Shakespeare created the basis for modern English.
