UNESCO decided that the pleasures of books and reading should be celebrated and World Book Day was first held in 1995 and has been celebrated every year since on the 23rd of April. More than 100 countries worldwide take part in World Book Day. It is a fun way of encouraging people to read and makes it more appealing to younger audiences.
World Book Day is held on the 23rd of April. Do you have any idea why it might be held on this date?
It is quite a significant date in the world of literature as Miguel de Cervantes (d. 1616) William Shakespeare (d.1616), and Inca Garcilaso de la Vegais are thought to have died around this day. What a coincidence! In fact, in the case of Shakespeare, he is thought to have died on his birthday! Rather unfortunate.
William Shakespeare was one of the best playwrights of all time and his influence on the English language is undeniable. I thought, today, it would fascinating to talk about him.
Carry on reading to find out more…
Who was William Shakespeare?
He was born in a beautiful little town in The Midlands, in Britain called Stratford-upon-Avon in about 1564. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. John Shakespeare was a glove maker and landowner. According to records, he appeared to have a higher income than just a simple glove maker and therefore a higher status in society meaning that he could send some of his children to school, William was one of the lucky ones. He had the opportunity to study Latin and a lot of grammar.
In 1582, at the age of 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway who was 8 years his senior. It is thought that the ceremony was somewhat rushed as Anne was actually pregnant at the time she got married. Their daughter, Susana, was born just six months after they married. Anne and Shakespeare went on to have twins, Hamnet and Judith. Unfortunately, at the age of 11, Hamnet died.
How did Shakespeare manage to take the leap from living in a small house in Stratford, working for his father in the family business, to becoming a well-known playwright and poet?
Shakespeare didn’t want to stay in Stratford as he knew perfectly well that the best theatres were in London and held far more opportunities for actors and playwrights, so that is where he headed for, leaving his brother in charge of his family to make sure they were OK. He is said to have regularly sent money.
Between 1587 and 1592 no one really knows what Shakespeare was doing, they are known as “The Lost Years”. There seems to be no real record. However, there are lots more records and by the 1590s he started to become very well-known for his work.
Shakespeare was able to make a name for himself in London. He became a member of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men (a theatre company he actually became a shareholder in) and that he worked for a ⅓ of his life. He performed for Queen Elizabeth I and King James.
Shakespeare was a prolific writer and his first published works were actually two long poems: “Venus and Adonis” (1593) and “The rape of Lucrece” (1594). At the time, the Plague was rife and theatres and playhouses were not open so Shakespeare began to write and write.
Between 1590 and 1613 he wrote, at least, 37 plays, and 154 sonnets. There are no original manuscripts. How is that we have a record of a lot of Shakespeare’s works? When Shakespeare died actors made a record of the plays and that is how they got handed down over the centuries.
In his works, Shakespeare wrote many different genres: Historical plays, tragedies, and comedies that dealt with jealousy, grief, murder, revenge, magic, and mystery. They also dealt with ambition, power, fate, will, and evil. He was surprisingly advanced for his times.
Photos of Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace
Shakespeare and English
Did you know that Shakespeare helped in the standardization of the English language? If you thought English was a bit chaotic, you should have studied it before Shakespeare’s times! The English language went through a process called Standardisation in the 17th and 18th Century and because Shakespeare’s works were so prolific they helped to standardize spelling, grammar, and vocabulary.
Shakespeare was really adept at taking words from other languages did this by:
* Making verbs from nouns
* Making adjectives verbs
* connecting words that had never been put together before
* using prefixes or suffixes
* making up entirely original terms
Thanks to Shakspeare…
Those words have stuck and it is thought that Shakespeare introduced around 1700 words into the English language.
Do you want to know some of the common ones?
Listen to the audio to help you with the pronunciation of these common words.
Road, Accommodation, Gloomy, Control, Suspicious, Hurry, Dawn, Lonely, Bedroom, Fashionable, Manager, Useful, and loooooooong, etc.
Everyday Expressions
Eat me out of house and home (2 Henry IV) - used a lot to talk about teenagers nowadays. It is used to talk about when someone eats a lot.
The kids are growing and they are eating me out of house and home.
What’s done is done (Macbeth) - You can’t change what has already happened.
To be in a pickle (The Tempest) - to be in trouble / to be in a mess
Love is blind (The Merchant of Venice) -When people can’t see the faults of the people they love
Neither rhyme nor reason (Comedy of Errors) - With no logical reason why (the comedy of errors)
I have not slept a wink ( Cymbeline)- To say you have not slept very well at all
The clothes make the man (Hamlet) - A man is judged by the clothes he wears.
Break the ice -The Taming of the Shrew - To calm an awkward/difficult social situation.
Take a look at last year’s article…
If you are looking for something to read in English, here are some recommendations and ways to make reading in English more painless
Here’s the link to Woodside Weekly from last year:
Bookworms
Want to improve your English speaking skills?
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