Though he died nearly 400 years ago, barely a day goes by without a politician or journalist quoting a line from the works of England’s most famous playwright, author and poet, William Shakespeare (the Bard, 1564-1616). Whether it be an uplifting speech from Henry V, a thought provoking snippet from Macbeth or a line from one of his sonnets, the works of Shakespeare have influenced literature like those of no other playwright before or since. I mention this because tomorrow, April 23rd, is his birthday and coincidentally, England’s national day, St George’s Day.
William Shakespeare wrote forty two plays and a vast collection of poems and sonnets which are still as magical and inspirational today as they were when he wrote them. Perhaps his greatest gift was the ability to understand, describe and portray the human condition. The characters he created embrace the whole spectrum of human behaviour. There are heroes and anti-heroes, warriors and lovers, beggars and thieves, honest men and cheats all dotted throughout his tragedies, comedies and historical dramas.
He describes and analyses in great detail all the emotions and feelings known to man such as love, hatred, envy, jealousy, fear, greed, hunger and vanity. Many phrases that we today take for granted come from Shakespeare; phrases such as “neither a borrower nor a lender be”, “the world’s my oyster” and “ all that glistens is not gold” are all from his works.
Four hundred years on the works of William Shakespeare are as relevant as ever and so, as we celebrate our national day tomorrow we should also drink a toast to one of England’s finest sons.
Common Sense 