William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. His father was an important man in the town, so Shakespeare had a good childhood. Shakespeare probably went to school but not university. He got married to Anne Hathaway when he was 18 and the couple had 3 children.
Shakespeare wrote 39 plays and 154 sonnets (a kind of poem). He began working in his hometown of Stratford, but by 1592, he began writing in London. He became rich enough to buy a house in the capital and another in Stratford. He wrote sad stories called tragedies, like Romeo and Juliet, funny stories or comedies, romantic stories and stories about history, such as Julius Caesar.
Shakespeare died in 1616, about 400 years ago. But why are his works still popular today?
His works looked at common human themes, such as murder, lust, power, ambition and love. Even until now, these memes are still part of human nature. We can also see the themes in modem soap operas and Hollywood films. Even though his theatre, The Globe, burnt down in 1613, it was rebuilt in London in 1997 and you can still see his plays performed there today.
Shakespeare's influence on me English language can still be felt today. We talk about "fair play", meaning honest behaviour, but this phrase was first used by Shakespeare. And it was Shakespeare that came up with the expression of "disappear into thin air". And we still useittoday when we lose something. Besides, Shakespeare's works have been translated into many languages in the world. And perhaps we'll still be as fascinated by his works 400 years from now as we've been for almost the last 400 years.
