SHAKESPEARE:
Britain's Man of the Millennium
Mark Hull |
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William
Shakespeare
was voted the Man of the Millennium for Britain.
He is considered to have
been the most influential
figure in
Britain
for
the last millennium. |
This
is amazing news when you consider how little people know about
him.
William Shakespeare
is believed to have been born in April 1564
and died in April 1623. He married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18,
and had three children, including a son who died at the age of 11.
He was an actor,
playwright and poet. He wrote, or helped to write
38 plays although several
scholars dispute the number of plays he
wrote. Shakespeare is the only author
to have
had over 300 films
based on his plays. In British schools Shakespeare is the only
compulsory author and every British student is familiar with at
least one of his plays. Even Flemish painter Frans Hals
(1584-1666) painted a portrait of Shakespeare.
However, over the centuries, many scholars have written articles
and reviews claiming that Shakespeare did not write all the plays.
What is the truth?
In the 1950s George Elliot Sweet’s Shakespeare The Mystery
claims that Queen Elizabeth was the author. Other scholars claimed
that Shakespeare’s works were written by Sir Francis Bacon. In
the early nineteenth century the writer, Henry James wrote: ‘I
am sort of
haunted by the conviction that the divine William is
the biggest most successful
fraud ever practised on a patient
world’.
In 1987, The Moot Court Debate in Washington DC in America held a
mock trial with three judges of the Supreme Court. Two of the
judges, while voting for Shakespeare
on legal grounds, expressed
their interest in Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford as being the
author. However, there are contemporary papers which mention
Shakespeare and his plays being performed at the famous Globe
Theatre and also at Court.
Despite the
controversy over what he wrote, there is no doubt that
Shakespeare’s works have had a great influence on the English
language. Many famous phrases have been linked to Shakespeare. For
example, the phrase ‘I have not slept a wink’ (meaning
"I have
not slept at all") is attributed to Shakespeare. The phrase ‘cold
comfort’ (meaning "of little or no comfort") is also said to belong
to
the
Bard.
His influence on other cultures is also leading to moves to turn
him into a cultural
icon for Europe. The European Commission has
now
backed a proposal from Germany’s Goethe Institute for a
giant Shakespeare festival in Belgium, with his plays being
performed in many different languages. The Goethe Institute says
that Shakespeare is just
too big a writer to belong to just one
European country.
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Source:
New English
Digest |
GLOSSARY |
Shakespeare is believed to have
been born...: Historians
believe that Shakespeare was born... (se cree que Shakespeare
nació...)
playwright:
dramatist, someone who writes plays (dramaturgo)
scholars: learned people (especially in the humanities)
(eruditos)
to have had: who has had
(que ha tenido)
compulsory: mandatory, something you must do (obligatorio)
I am sort of haunted by: I am obsessed in a certain way by
(estoy obsesionado en cierto modo por) |
fraud:
fake, something intended to deceive (fraude, engaño)
mock trial: an imitation of a trial (simulacro de
juicio)
on legal grounds: legally (legalmente)
controversy: disagreement, discord usually about a theory
(controversia, discusión)
the Bard: in celtic it means "lyric poet", as Shakespeare is usually known
(el Bardo)
icon: model, image (ícono)
backed: supported, voted for (apoyado)
too big a writer: such a prominent writer (un escritor
demasiado importante) |
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READ THIS CONVERSATION
ABOUT
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. |
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DAVE: |
You like Shakespeare as much as I do, don’t you, Ted? |
TED: |
I love most of his plays, Dave, but reading them is nothing
compared to seeing them in the theatre. |
DAVE: |
That’s
true. Do you think Shakespeare really wrote all the plays
which are attributed to
him? |
TED: |
I guess we’ll never be 100% sure, but if he didn’t, who do
you think did? |
DAVE: |
I’ve never doubted that he wrote them all himself, but there
are lots of
conflicting
theories. |
TED: |
Now that you mention it, I remember reading an article which
claimed
Elizabeth I wrote them! |
DAVE: |
Other
theories
support Lord Oxford, Christopher Marlowe and
others. I’ve never believed them. |
TED: |
Neither do I. The Bard wrote his own works.
Genius
can’t be explained!! |
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MAS "DESTACADOS"
FORO
INICIO |
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