WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Hi, kids!
Tomorrow, 23rd April, is a special day for many reasons. One of them is because we celebrate Shakespeare's death anniversary. He died in 1616 (the same day Cervantes died, by the way. Isn't it amazing?). But...do you know anything about this important figure in the history of writing?

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William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon. He was an English poet and playwright (dramaturgo). In fact, he was the most important writer in English and one of the most important in the word.

He married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18!!! They had 3 children: Susanna and the twins Hamnet and Judith.

He died at the age of 52.

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SOME FACTS ABOUT SHAKESPEARE

• Some people say that he was born on the 23rd April, too. Others think he was born on the 26th.
• Shakespeare was spelled 80 different ways (for example, Shaxpere, Shaxberd...) Can you spell his surname correctly? Try it!
• Shakespeare is the most translated author ever (he has been even translated into languages spoken by a minority of people)
• If you google "Shakespeare", you will find more than 44 million results. WOW!

He wrote: 38 plays (obras), 154 sonnets, 2 long narrative poems, 3 epitaphs (epitafios) and lots of poems.

I suppose you know some of his plays, like Romeo and Juliet, MacBeth, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Sueño de una Noche de Verano) and Much Ado About Nothing (Mucho Ruido y Pocas Nueces). Of course, you should learn more than these ones, as you will discover an exceptional collection.

If you visit London, you can't leave without entering his old theatre. Of course, it's been remodelled many times but you can have an idea of the place where Shakespeare worked several years ago. It is called THE GLOBE. I fully recommend you to visit it!

The Globe, nowadays

"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves"

"Better three hours too soon than a minute too late"

"Listen to many, speak to a few"