William Shakespeare was a poet and a playwright, and is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, in central England, in 1564 and he died in 1616. His surviving work consists of 38 plays, 154 sonnets (a special type of poem with 14 lines) and some other poems. He is best known for his plays, which have been translated into every major language and are performed more than those of any other playwright in the world.
When William Shakespeare was 18 years old he married Anne Hathaway, and they had three children. Shakespeare went to London to work as an actor and a writer. In 1599 the Globe Theatre was built in London and it was in this theatre, situated on the banks of the River Thames, that some of Shakespeare’s plays were first performed. In 1613 the theatre was destroyed by a fire. However, a modern reconstruction of the theatre was built near the original site in 1997 so even today you can go to the Globe Theatre to see one of Shakespeare’s plays.
Shakespeare’s work is still very popular today. But why do we like these old plays? Perhaps it is because they all contain fantastic stories. His characters suffer bloody battles, deaths by poison, huge family fights, problems between brothers and sisters, problems between parents and children … The plays are also full of parties, weddings and funerals. They are quite simply action-packed.
Here is a selection of Shakespeare’s plays. Maybe you’ve seen some of them.
– See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/uk-now/read-uk/shakespeare#sthash.MPFQ6CuC.dpuf
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