WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

             TO READ OR NOT TO READ THE BARD?

                           WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

The word "bard" means a poet. Bards were travelling poets in medieval times who made a living performing and telling stories.Shakespeare's nickname was the  Bard of Avon or the Swan of Avon.

How well do you know the bard? Test your knowledge HERE.

William Shakespeare is one of the world's greatest writers. He was a poet, playwright and actor.He wrote approximately  39 plays, 154 sonnets and 2 long narrative poems.

You can find more facts about him HERE.

THE GLOBE

Many of Shakespeare’s plays were first performed at the Globe, although his plays were performed at other theatres too. Probably the first Shakespeare play to be performed at the Globe was Julius Caesar, in 1599. Some other Shakespeare plays first performed there are: As You Like It; Hamlet; Measure for Measure; Othello; King Lear; Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra.

    QUEEN ELIZABETH Ist & THE ELIZABETHAN ERA

When Shakespeare began writing, Queen Elizabeth I ruled England, therefore the  period from 1558 to 1603 is known as the Elizabethan Era or the England's Golden Era.

Queen Elizabeth I (September 7, 1533 to March 24, 1603) claimed the throne in 1558 at the age of 25 and held it until her death 44 years later. The daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth was born a princess but declared illegitimate or a bastard through political machinations. Eventually, upon her half-sister Mary Tudor's death, she took the crown. During her reign, Elizabeth I establlished Protestantism in England, defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, maintained peace inside England and created an environment where the arts flourished.

                                      

You can watch the trailer for the film Elizabeth:The Golden Age, a biographical drama film directed by S. Kapur and starring Cate Blanchett in the role of Queen Elizabeth I:

                                      

                            ELIZABETHAN THEATRE

The period led to a development of music and literature, poetry and drama in particular. 

                                     

NEW WORDS AND PHRASES MADE BY SHAKESPEARE

There are a number of words and phrases  that made their first appearance in Shakespeare's plays and it is believed that Shakespeare coined them. Since it is difficult to trace new words back to their original source and due to the fact that words are spoken before they are written, it is true that they were first seen in  the writings of Shakespeare.  

You can play a quiz on some of the words and phrases believed to have been created by Shakespeare HERE.

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