2013

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small country town. He lived on Henley Street.

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon".

His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

John Shakespeare married Mary in 1557

William Shakespeare married Anne in 1582

Shakespeare died on the 23rd April 1616 and left behind his wife and two daughters.

Shakespeare was buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church two days after his death.

The epitaph carved into the tombstone covering his grave includes a curse against moving his bones:

“Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear,To dig the dust enclosed here.Blessed be the man that spares these stones,And cursed be he who moves my bones."

William Shakespeare's influence extends from theatre to literature to present day movies and to the English language itself.

Shakespeare is the second most quoted writer in the history of the English-speaking world after the various writers of the Bible, and many of his quotations and neologisms have passed into everyday usage in English and other languages.

The interesting thing about Shakespeare is that even though he was and still is such a famous poet and playwright, he remains an enigma for some reason. The starkest example of this is the fact that we don't know, exactly, the date of his birth, only the day he was baptised.

Even his name is uncertain, being variously spelled: Shakespeare, Shaxpere, Shakepeare, Shakspeare, Shaxberd, Shak-speare and Shake-speare.

In a poem by Ben Jonson, Shakespeare is hailed as "not of an age, but for all time”.

Ben Jonson predicted that Shakespeare’s talent will remain immortal and he was right about that because even nowadays we are still reading and appreciating Shakespeare’s work.

Comedies All's Well That Ends Well** As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Cymbeline Love's Labours Lost Measure for Measure** The Merry Wives of Windsor The Merchant of Venice** A Midsummer Night's

Dream Much Ado About Nothing Pericles, Prince of Tyre * Taming of the Shrew The Tempest* Troilus and Cressida Twelfth Night Two Gentlemen of Verona The Winter's Tale* The Two Noble Kinsmen*

Histories Henry IV, part 1 Henry IV, part 2 Henry V Henry VI, part 1 Henry VI, part 2 Henry VI, part 3 Henry VIII King John Richard II Richard III

Tragedies Antony and Cleopatra Coriolanus Hamlet Julius Caesar King Lear Macbeth Othello Romeo and Juliet Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus Troilus and Cressida ** Cymbeline*

Poems The Sonnets A Lover's

Complaint The Rape of

Lucrece Venus and Adonis Funeral Elegy by

W.S.

Plays marked with an asterisk (*) are now commonly referred to as the “romances”.

Plays marked with two asterisks (**) are sometimes referred to as the “problem plays”.

The project was made by : Andrea TrifTeacher : Rodica Tala