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William Shakespeare the Bard of Avon Birth Anniversary 23 April /Literary work/ Famous Quotes

Written by Sachin Raut

William Shakespeare the Bard of Avon Birth Anniversary 23 April

Hello Friends, do you know it is the 23rd of April which celebrates the birth anniversary of William Shakespeare the Bard of Avon. William Shakespeare (The Bard of Avon) is a great poet and playwright in English literature. Let’s learn about William Shakespeare.

 William Shakespeare the Bard of Avon: 

There has never been as great a name in English literature as that of William Shakespeare (26 April 1564-23 April 1616 – 52 years) 

The great poet and dramatist William Shakespeare was born and grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon London. He was baptized on 26 April 1564. He attended the local grammar school, The king’s New School. Shakespeare’s literary work started around 1592. 

         Shakespeare – a playwright, poet, and actor nick-named Bard of Avon – considered England’s National poet, contributed 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and two epic poems in a short span of 25 years. His plays are categorized into (i) Histories (ii) Comedies and (iii) Tragedies. His great comedies. Merry wives of Windsor, Merchant of Venice, Comedy of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, Midsummer Night’s Dream, As you Like It.

         The rise of Shakespeare’s literary career started in the 1592s. around this time, he was earning a livening in London as an actor and dramatist. Several plays were produced at this time. Two years later, he joined an acting troupe called The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. When King James I came in to rule, in 1903, the company changed its name to the King’s Men.

William Shakespeare (the Bard of Avon) Family:

  • Father’s name: John Shakespeare  ( A local business man Burgess)
  • Mother’s name : Mary Arden  ( A local landed heiress)
  • Marriage : wife- Anne Hathaway (at the age of 18 William Shakespeare married Mary Arden  and she was 26 years old)
  • Children: they had 3 children. First child- Susanna Second Twins- Son –Hamlet and Daughter- Judith. Hamlet (son) died at the age of 11.
  • Career: Successful time of his career was 1585 to 1592.
  • Name of the playing Company – Lord Chamberlain’s Men
  • Nick name: “Bard of Avon”
  • Plays: 38 plays
  • Sonnet: 154 sonnets and two long narrative Poems.
  •  Died: on 23rd of April 1616 at the age of 52 years.

Shakespeare’s Tragedies:

  1. Antony and Cleopatra
  2. Coriolanus
  3. Hamlet
  4. Julius Caesar
  5. King Lear
  6. Macbeth
  7. Othello
  8. Romeo and Juliet
  9. The life of Timon of Athens
  10. Titus Andronicus
  11. The History of Troilus and Cressida
  12. Cymbeline

Shakespeare’s Comedies:

  1. “All’s Well That Ends Well”
  2. ” As You Like It”
  3. ” The Comedy of Error”
  4. “Cymbeline”
  5. “Love’s Labour’s Lost”
  6. “Measure for Measure”
  7. “The Merry Wives of Windsor”
  8. “The Merchant of Venice”
  9. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
  10. ” Much Ado About Nothing”
  11. “Pericles, Prince of Tyre”
  12. “The Taming of the Shrew”
  13. “The Tempest”
  14. ” Troilus and Cressida”
  15. “Twelfth Night”
  16. “Two Gentlemen of Verona”
  17. “The Two Noble Kinsmen”
  18. “The Winter’s Tale”

Shakespeare’s Histories plays:

  1. “Henry IV, Part I”
  2. “Henry IV, Part II”
  3. “​Henry V”
  4. “Henry VI, Part I”
  5. “Henry VI, Part II”
  6. “Henry VI, Part III”
  7. “​Henry VIII”
  8. “King John”
  9. “Richard II”
  10. “Richard

Narrative Poems of Shakespeare:

  • Venus and Adonis.
  • The Rape of Lucrece.
  • The Passionate Pilgrim.
  • The Phoenix and the Turtle.
  • A Lover’s Complaint.

William Shakespeare (the Bard of Avon) Famous Quotes:

  • “To be, or not to be: that is the question:
    William Shakespeare, Hamlet
  • “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
     William Shakespeare, As You Like it
  • “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.”
     William Shakespeare, All’s Well that End Well
  • “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
    And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”

    William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Nights’a Dream
  • “Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.”
    William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
  • “Doubt thou the stars are fire;
    Doubt that the sun doth move;
    Doubt truth to be a liar;
    But never doubt I love.”

    William Shakespeare, Hamlet
  •  “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
    William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
  • “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
    William Shakespeare, Hamlet
  •  “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”
    William Shakespeare, The Tempest
  •  “This above all: to thine own self be true,
    And it must follow, as the night the day,
    Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

    William Shakespeare, Hamlet
  • “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”
    William Shakespeare
  •  “If music be the food of love, play on,
    Give me excess of it; that surfeiting,
    The appetite may sicken, and so die.”

    William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
  • “When he shall die,
    Take him and cut him out in little stars,
    And he will make the face of heaven so fine
    That all the world will be in love with night
    And pay no worship to the garish sun.”
    William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
  • “We know what we are, but not what we may be.”
    William Shakespeare
  • “All the world’s a stage,
    And all the men and women merely players;
    They have their exits and their entrances;
    And one man in his time plays many parts,
    His acts being seven ages.”

    William Shakespeare, As You Like It
  •  “You speak an infinite deal of nothing.”
    William Shakespeare, The Merchant Venice
  • “Words are easy, like the wind; faithful friends are hard to find.”
     William Shakespeare, The Passionate Pilgrim
  • “These violent delights have violent ends
    And in their triump die, like fire and powder
    Which, as they kiss, consume”

    William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
  • “Though she be but little, she is fierce!”
    William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
  •  “Cowards die many times before their deaths;
    The valiant never taste of death but once.
    Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
    It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
    Seeing that death, a necessary end,
    Will come when it will come.”
    William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
  • “The course of true love never did run smooth.”
    William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
  •  “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.”
    William Shakespeare, Macbeth
  •  “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”
    William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
  • “My tongue will tell the anger of my heart, or else my heart concealing it will break.”
     William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew
  • “My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
    My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
    The more I have, for both are infinite.”

     William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
  • “By the pricking of my thumbs,
    Something wicked this way comes.”

    William Shakespeare, Macbeth

You may also read about the Great Comedy of William Shakespeare’s Comedy Play The Midsummer Night’s Dream

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Sachin Raut

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