[Picture: the Chandos portrait of William Shakespeare.]
Today is the day traditionally observed as Shakespeare's birthday. See this Wikipedia article for an overview of Shakespeare's life and work. Generally considered to be the greatest writer in the English language, and one of the greatest writers in world literature. A collection of his works may be found online here. Shakespeare, interestingly enough, isn't simply revered by English teachers, his works have found a warm home in Germany, where his plays are widely translated and he is affectionately referred to as "unser Wilhelm" ("our William").
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Happy birthday, William Shakespeare!
[Picture: the Chandos portrait of William Shakespeare.]
Today is the day traditionally observed as Shakespeare's birthday. See this Wikipedia article for an overview of Shakespeare's life and work. Generally considered to be the greatest writer in the English language, and one of the greatest writers in world literature. A collection of his works may be found online here. Shakespeare, interestingly enough, isn't simply revered by English teachers, his works have found a warm home in Germany, where his plays are widely translated and he is affectionately referred to as "unser Wilhelm" ("our William").
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2 comments:
Hi Mark :)
There is absolutely no doubt that William Shakespeare is the greatest writer in English Literature. He left all the others miles and miles behind him.
But I was startled to know that he wrote 133 sonnets in praise of the girlish looking Earl of Southampton expressing his great affection for the Earl. Do you know any thing about this?
Wish you all success in your project work.
Joseph
First, not all the sonnets are to the Earl. Some are, but not all.
Second, remember that our ideas of friendship have changed over time. In Elizabethan England, male friendships were quite flowery in their own way. It was not uncommon for educated men to write poems to each other. Nowadays, we live in a coarser time where such behavior simply isn't done. Or if it is done, it is viewed as having some kind of sexual overtone. That simply wasn't the case in Shakespeare's day. At least not necessarily.
Don't judge 16th century people by 21st century standards.
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