IN SEARCH OF SHACESPEARE Stepanova I.S., Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor, Head of Foreign Languages Department, Tulchak L. V. Senior Teacher of Foreign Languages Department VNTU

William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre- eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154sonnets, two long narrative poems and a few other verses, the authorship of some of which is uncertain. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

The Gower Monument In 1877 a committee was created in Stratford-upon-Avon to erect a memorial to Shakespeare. This memorial originally comprised a theatre building, to be sited on land donated by the bank of the Avon within sight of the church where Shakespeare was buried. A statue was also created in 1888, the work of Lord Ronald Gower. This memorial is situated in Stratford's Bancroft Gardens. The monument shows Shakespeare seated on a pedestal, surrounded at ground level by statues of Hamlet, lady Macbeth, Prince Hal and Falstaff. These characters were intended to be emblematic of Shakespeare's creative versatility: representing Philosophy, Tragedy, History and Comedy.

Birthday Celebrations Each year, Stratford-upon- Avon comes alive to celebrate Shakespeare's Birthday, particularly on the Saturday closest to 23rd April when a grand Birthday Procession parades through the historic spine of Stratford and finishes with the laying of flowers on Shakespeare’s grave at Holy Trinity Church.

Birthplace Shakespeare's Birthplace is a restored 16th-century half- timbered house situated in Henley Street, Stratford-upon- Avon, England, where it is believed that William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and spent his childhood years. It is now a small museum open to the public and a popular visitor attraction, owned and managed by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. It has been referred to as "a Mecca for all lovers of literature".

Kitchen

Grammar school It is believed that Shakespeare was in Stratford "grammar school", where he received a serious education: Stratford teacher of Latin language and literature, wrote poetry in Latin. Some scholars argue that Shakespeare attended King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon, where he studied the work of poets such as Ovid and Plautus, but the school magazines have not survived, and now nothing can be said for sure.

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage Anne Hathaway's Cottage is a twelve- roomed farmhouse where Anne Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare, lived as a child in the village of Shottery, England, about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Stratford-upon-Avon. Spacious, and with several bedrooms, it is now set in extensive gardens.

London “Globe” The Globe Theatre opened in It is a replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, which burned down in 1613 during a performance of Shakespeare's play Henry VIII.

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) is a 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the British playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is located in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon – Shakespeare's birthplace – in the English Midlands, beside the River Avon. The Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres re-opened in November 2010 after undergoing a major renovation known as the Transformation Project.

Holy Trinity Church Holy Trinity, Stratford, on the banks of the River Avon, is probably England's most visited Parish Church. As well as being a thriving Parish church, it receives many thousands of visitors each year due to the fact that William Shakespeare was baptized here, worshipped here, and is buried in the chancel.

Shakespeare`s monument in Holy Trinity Church

Will William Shakespeare wrote the first draft of his will in January 1616 with the assistance of his attorney, Francis Collins. On March 25 of the same year, Shakespeare revised his will in response to the marriage a month earlier of his second daughter, Judith, to Thomas Quiney. Shakespeare's signature on the will is one of only two samples of his handwriting that survived down through the years.

Gravestone Shakespeare’s grave is famous for having a curse as an epitaph on its’ gravestone which Shakespeare himself wrote. The curse on Shakespeare’s grave warns: Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare, To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones.

There are two representations of Shakespeare that are unambiguously identified as him, although both may be posthumous.

Portrait by Gerald Soest

First folio

Virgin Queen The poet was throughout his life greatly indebted to the patronage and support of royal and noble personages; his royal patrons were Queen Elizabeth and King James I, both of whom greatly loved the drama. From the first to the last the poet had an unwavering lofty opinion of the Queen's supreme goodness, virtue, and purity.

Francis Bakon The Baconian hypothesis of Shakespearean authorship, first proposed in the mid-19th century, contends that Francis Bacon wrote some or all the plays conventionally attributed to William Shakespeare, in opposition to the scholarly tradition that William Shakespeare of Stratford was the author.

OR Edward de Vere, 17 th Earl of Oxford

OR Roger Manners, 5 th Earl of Rutland

Christopher Marlowe Marlowe and Shakespeare were both playwright's in London in the late sixteenth century. Marlowe was one of the most popular playwrights when Shakespeare began his career in the theatre. They occasionally wrote for the same theatre companies. While any personal relationship between the two would be difficult to prove, it is unlikely that they weren't familiar with one another. They were certainly familiar with each other's works. Marlowe was a significant influence on Shakespeare and it is not out of the realm of possibility that there were collaborations, as they were very common at that time. There's no prove of their having worked together, however, and there are other writers that would have been more likely to have collaborated with Shakespeare.

Ben Jonson It was Jonson – perhaps his greatest and most constant critic – who gave Shakespeare his most enduring epitaph: "He was not of an age, but for all time."

William Shakespeare Memorial, Standford-upon-Avon, UK