2007 December 06 » International Youth Theater Network

William Shakespeare

Thursday, December 6th, 2007

William Shakespeare never would have dreamt that he would someday be recognized as the world’s finest writer in the English language. Also called the “Bard of Avon” or simply, “The Bard,” Shakespeare came to London in 1588 to join the theater. It was around this time that he showed great promise as an actor and as a playwright. His tremendous talent for acting and writing was his ticket so he could join the Lord Chamberlain’s Men in 1594. Together with Will Kempe, a talented comedian and Richard Burbage, the leading tragic actor during their time, their theater company became a hit in London and was patronized both by the royalties and the theater-loving public.

During his time, Shakespeare was regarded as a very prolific writer. The publishers of First Folio, John Heminges and Henry Condell were often amazed with how Shakespeare’s mind and hand seemed to work together. So fast was Shakespeare as a writer that they seldom saw any errors in his original manuscripts. The First Folio of 1623 listed 36 plays written by the Bard. These plays were categorized as comedies, histories and tragedies. It is alleged that some of these plays were not entirely written by Shakespeare but rather were collaborations with another writer. Due to their popularity, there had been countless adaptations of these plays in films, television shows and theater productions.

Bookmarks: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.