William Shakespeare is often called the worlds greatest

William Shakespeare is often called the world's greatest playwright. He wrote comedies, tragedies and historical plays in England in the last part of the 16 th and the early 17 th century.

William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in the English town of Stratford-upon-Avon.

His mother was the daughter of a farmer and his father was a glove-maker. William had three younger brothers and two younger sisters.

Like other boys of middle-class families, William attended a grammar school in Stratford where he got a good education and also learned Latin.

When William was 18 he married Anne Hathaway. They had three children, first Susanna and then twins, a son named Hamnet and a daughter named Judith. Hamnet died when he was 11.

In 1592 he went to London to work as a writer and actor. It was a difficult job and only the best found work in London.

From 1592 to 1594 the Black Death spread across England. Many public places were closed and plays couldn't be performed either. Shakespeare spent these years writing sonnets and poems.

When theatres opened up again in 1594 Shakespeare joined the best acting company of the country—Lord Chamberlain's Men. It had the best actors, the best writers and the most famous theatre—the Globe.

Plays always started at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. People who didn't have the money to buy a seat were allowed to stand in the front of the stage. All kinds of people came to see the shows– housewives, children, noblemen and even visitors from other countries.

In the twenty years that he worked on stage Shakespeare wrote 37 plays. They can be put into three big categories: - Tragedies. His most famous tragedies are Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth.

- Comedies. A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It and The Merry Wives of Windsor are among the most popular.

Historical plays - are dramas about the lives of some of England's most powerful kings like Henry IV or Richard II.

William Shakespeare retired from theatre in 1610 and went back to his home town Stratford, where he lived until his death in 1616.

Sonnet 90 by William Shakespeare в оригинале. Then hate me when thou wilt, if ever, now Now while the world is bent my deeds to cross, Join with the spite of Fortune, make me bow, And do not drop in for an after-loss. Ah do not, when my heart has scaped this sorrow, Come in the rearward of a conquered woe; Give not a windy night a rainy morrow, To linger out a purposed overthrow. If thou wilt leave me*, do not leave me last, When other petty griefs have done their spite, But in the onset come; so shall I taste At first the very worst of Fortune's might; And other strains of woe, which now seem woe, Compared with loss of thee, will not seem so.

Sonnet 90 by William Shakespeare в исполнении А. Пугачевой.

Sonnet 2 by William Shakespeare в оригинале. When forty winters shall beseige thy brow, And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field, Thy youth's proud livery, so gazed on now, Will be a tatter'd weed, of small worth held: Then being ask'd where all thy beauty lies, Where all the treasure of thy lusty days, To say, withine own deep-sunken eyes, Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise. How much more praise deserved thy beauty's use, If thou couldst answer "This fair child of mine Shall sum my count and make my old excuse, " Proving his beauty by succession thine! This were to be new made when thou art old, And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.

The Quiz 1. In what year was Shakespeare born? a) 1564 b)1616 c) 1558 d) 1592 2. What town or city was Shakespeare born in? a)London b) Stratford-upon-Avon c) Snitterfield d) Oxford 3. Who did Shakespeare marry? a)Judith Sadler b)Susanna Hall c)Anne Hathaway d)Mary Queen of Scots 4. How old was Shakespeare when he got married? a)17 b)18 c)19 d)20

The Quiz 5. Shakespeare was the father of how many children? a)3 b)2 c)10 d)1 6. In what year did Shakespeare die? a)1599 b)1616 c)1623 d)1642 7. How many plays did W. Shakespeare write? a) 45 b) 37 c) 28 d) 52