Shakespeare Day is a celebration of England’s most popular dramatist and poet William Shakespeare. The day coincides with the UN’s World Book and Copyright Day, a fitting tribute to great writers everywhere.
Shakespeare Day 2019
‘The Bard of Avon’ and England’s national poet, William Shakespeare is one of the greatest personalities of the 16th century. While his exact date of birth is unknown, Shakespeare is believed to have been born in 1564, sometime before 26 April, when he was baptized. As the playwright died on 23 April 1616, it is on this day that the artist who helped shape modern English is usually celebrated.
In his younger years, Shakespeare attended the Christian Holy Trinity church, the now famous limestone cross-shaped cathedral on the banks of the Avon River in the United Kingdom.
At the age of 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children. Between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of the playing company the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as the King’s Men. It is believed that he retired in Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare’s private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
This Bard of Avon has been referred to as a “literary genius” and “Britain’s greatest playwright and poet”. His work includes comedies, such as The Taming of the Shrew and a Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as tragedies such as King Lear, Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. Much of his work has been seen in the modern-day theatre, the ballet and in modern films. His plays have been translated in many different languages across the world.
Shakespeare’s increasing popularity in modern times is reflected by National Shakespeare Day, which started as an idea from Robert J Williamson, the Artistic Director of the British Shakespeare Company. National Shakespeare Day is supported by many people in the United Kingdom, including government ministers.
Much as the Royal Shakespeare Company has tried to have Shakespeare Day recognized as a bank holiday in the UK, Shakespeare Day remains an observance day. If you’ve made up your mind to celebrate the Bard’s day, you’re not alone. You may not know this, but Shakespeare’s Birthplace in Henley Street has been open to visitors for over two and a half centuries. If you can make it on April 23, odds are you’ll have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sign the museum guestbook, just as Charles Dickens and John Keats did before you.
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 but was later destroyed by fire. A second Globe Theatre was rebuilt on the same site in 1614 and closed in 1642. A modern reconstruction of the theatre, “Shakespeare’s Globe”, is currently located in London. It consists of: The Globe Theatre, with a professional theatre company incorporating international artists playing a summer season of plays; Globe Education, which works with students of all ages; and Shakespeare’s Globe Exhibition, devoted to Shakespeare and his contemporaries in performance.
Other symbols identified with Shakespeare include – an image of the poet on a postage stamp or on a portrait; and symbols from his plays, such as a rose (Romeo and Juliet), a human skull (Hamlet), and blood, ghosts and witches (Macbeth).
The Stratford-upon-Avon birthday procession takes place on the Saturday closest to Shakespeare’s birthday. It finishes with an offering of flowers to Shakespeare’s grave at Holy Trinity Church.
Special pageants are held at Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, where Shakespeare was born and where thousands of tourists go each year to see his plays performed. The bells of Holy Trinity Church ring out and the Mayor of Stratford leads a procession there to lay flowers on Shakespeare’s’ grave. The procession includes bands, civic dignitaries, costumed actors and actresses, Morris dancers, and the staff and pupils of some local schools.
In some schools, regular lessons are set aside for students to learn about the great playwright and poet, and his sonnets, narrative poems, and plays. Enthusiasts and fans, including the British Shakespeare Company, have campaigned for Parliament in the United Kingdom to officially recognize national Shakespeare Day.
Speak like Shakespeare and celebrate his birthday. Share on social media by using #TalkLikeShakespeareDay.
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