Life of Shakespeare

2. Life of Shakespeare.

The great poet and dramatist William Shakespeare is often called by his people “Our National Bard”, “The Immortal. Poet of nature” and “The Great Unknown”. More than two hundred contemporary references to Shakespeare have been located amoung church records, legal records, documents in the Public Record Office, and miscellaneous repositories. When these owe assembled, we have at least the sceleton out line of his life, begining with his baptist on April 26, 1564, in Trinity Churche, Stratford-on-Avon, and ending with his burial there on April 25, 1616. Shakespeare native place was Sratford-on-Avon, a little town in Warwickshive, which is generally described as beign in the middle of England.

Shakespeare’s father, John, was a prosperious glove maker of Stratford who, after holding minor municipal offices, was elected high bailiff of Stratford. Shakespeare’s mother Mary Arden, came from an affluent family of landowners.

Shakespeare probably recieved his early education at the exellent Stratford Grammar School, supervised by an Oxford graduate, where he would have learned Latin smattering of Greek.

In 1582 Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who lived in a neighboring hamlet. The first child born to Ann and William was their daughter Susanna. In about two years Ann bore him twins a boy and a girl, Hamlet and Jidith.

Then life in Stratford became intolerable for William Shakespeare and he dicided to go to London and began a theatrical career. Shakespeare major activity lay in the field of drama. He became a full shaveholder in his acting company, he was partowner of “the Globe” theatre and later of “the Blackfriars” theatre, and in 1597 he purchased property in Strarford. Including new place, one of the largest houses in the town. He probably refired there about 1610, travelling of London when necessary to take cave of his theatrical business. In all, 154 sonnets seguence. The sonnets were probably written in the 1590 but were first published in 1609.

3. Shakespeare’s works.
Shakespeare’s literary work is usually divided into three periods. The first period of his creative work falls between 1590 and 1600. Shakespeare’s comedies belong to the first period of his creativ work. They all are written in his playfull manner and and in the brilliant poetry that conveys the spectator to Italy. Some of the first plays of the first period are: “Richard 3” (1592), “The comedy of errors” (1592), “Romeo and Juliet” (1594), “Julius Caesar” (1599), “As you like it” (1599), 1600 - “Twelth night”. Shakespe-are’s poems are also attributed to the first period, “Venus and Adonis” and “Lucrece”, and 154 sonnets. “Venus and Adonis” was the first of Shakespeare’s works that came off the press. The second period of Shakespeare’s creative work during from 1600 to 1608. His famous tragedies appeared at this time. In the plays of this period the dramatist reaches his full maturity. He presents great humans problems. His tragedies and historical plays made Shakespeare the greatest humanist of the English Renaissanse. Some plays of the second period: 1601 - “Hamlet”, 1604 - “Othello”.
Shakespeare’s plays of the third period are called the “Romantic dramas”. There is no tragic tension in these plays. This period lasted from 1609 till 1612.
1609 - “Cymbeline”, 1610 - “The Winters Tale”, 1612 - “Henry 8”.
Hamlet’s soliloguy.
To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether tis nobler in the mind to sufler.
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing and then. To die, to sleep -
No more, and by a sleep to say we end
The heart - ache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is hear to; ‘tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die to sleep -
To sleep! Perchance to dream! Ay, there’s the rub
For in that sleep of death what dreams may comes,
When we have shuflled off this mortal coil
Must give pause - there’s the respect
That makes calimity of so long life.
4. The Enlightment.
The history of England and second part of the 17’th centure, and during the 18’th centure was marked by British colonial, expression and struggle for the leading role in cowers. The writters and philosofists of this age protested against the sovivals of feodalizm in thich they saw the main evil of this time. Man they thought was vertains by nature and wise was duty ignorence to they started a pubic movement for enlighting the people. This movement was called “the enlightment”. The enlighters belived in the power of reason and the period was also called “the age of reason”. This period saw a remarkable rise in literature. English literature of this period may be characterise by the following features: 1.The rise of the political pamphlets and issue. The novell became the leading genre. 2. The prose style became clever gracefull and polished. 3. The hero of the novell was no longer a prince but a representative of the middle class. 4. Literature became very instructive.

The literature of this age may be divided into 3 periods:
The 1’st period is caracterised by classisizm in poetry. The greatest follower of the classical style was Alexander Pope. There appeared the first realistic novels written by Defoe and Swift.
The 2’nd peiod saw the development of the realistic social novel, represen-tive by Richardson, Fielding and others.
The 3’rd period is marked by the appiriense of a new trends: sentimenta-lizm. Typefed by the works of Goldsmith and Stern. This period also saw the rise of the realistic drama (R. Sheridan).

5. Daniel Defoe.
DD was the founder of the realistic novel. He was also a brilliant journa-list and in many ways the father of modern English periodicals. He founded and paved the way for many magazines ( “The Revue”, “The Spectator”).
DD was born in London, his father a butcher, was wealthy enough to give his sone a good education. D was to become a prist, but it was his cheariched desire to become wealthy. His wished was never fullfield. D was banckrote several times. He was always in deep debt. The inly branch of business in which he proved succesful was journalism and literature. When D was about 23 he started writting pamphlets on question of the hour. He started writting pamphlets prassing King William 3, who was supported by the whig party. D wrote a setire in woth. No matter in whose defends his brilliant pamphlets were written they are irony was so subtle, that the enemy didn’t understand it at first. But as soon as his enemy realised the real character of the pamphlets D was sentensed to 7 years inprisonment. It was a cruel punishment, and when the came for him to be set free people carried him on their shoulders.. This was the climax of his political career and the end of it. In 1719, he tried his hand at another kind of literature - fiction, and wrote the novel he is now best known: “Robison Crusoe”. After the book was published, D became famous and rich and was able to pay his creditors in full. Other novels which D were also very much talked about during his lifetime, but we do not hear much about them now. For example “Captain Singleton”(1720), “Moll Flanders”(1722).
6. Robinson Crusoe.
Books about voyages and new discoveries were very popular in the first quater of the 18’th centure and many stories of this then had been written but while Defoe was busy with politics he didn’t think of also trying his hand at it. However one story in in Steel magasine attracted his attention.
It was about Scotish sailor, who lived quite alone 4 years and 4 month on a desert island. Defoe’s hero, R.C., however spend 26 years on a desert island. The novel was a prase tohuman labour and the triumph the men over the nature. Labour and fortitude help Robinson to endure hardships. They save him from dispair. The very process of hardwork gives his satisfaction. R’s most characteristic tract is his optimism. His guiding prencipal in life was: “never said die” and “in trouble to be troubles is to have your trouble double.”

7. Jonathan Swift.
(1667-1745)
JS was the greatest of English satiriste. His better satire at the contempro-rary social order in jeneral and an the policy of English government towards in particular. That’s why the Irish people considered Swift the champion in the struggle for the wealthy and freedom of their country.
JS was born in Dublin, but he came from English family. His father died at the age of 25, liaving his wife and daughter penuiless. His son was born seven month later after his death. The boy knew little of his mother chearch. He hardly ever saw her, during his childhood. J was supported by his uncle Godwin. At the age of 6 he was send to school, which he left at 14. When he entered a college in Dublin and got his bacheloris degree in 1686.
8. Gulliver’s Travels.
In 1726 Swift’s masterpiece “Gulliver’s Travels” appeared. This work made a great sensation in Ireland as well as in England, it equally strirred the interests of those in politics as well as the readers of novels.
In this work Swift intended to satirise the evils of the existing society in the form of fictions travels. It tells of the adventures of ship surgeon, as related by himself and divided into four parts of four voyages:
1. A voyage to Liliput.
2. A voyage to Brobdignag.
3. A voyage to Laputa.
4. A voyage to the country of Houyhnhnms.

1. The first voyage was to a strange country Lilliput. As the result of a shipwreck Gulliver finds himself in a country, inhabited by a race of people about six inches high. Everything else in this country is on a correspondent scale. Swift meant this small country with it’s shallow interest, corrupted laws and evil customs to symbolize the England of the 18’th centure, the court with it’s atmosphere of hostility, hypocrizy and flattery where the author felt as lonely as his hero when among the liliputians.
2. Before long Gulliver undertakes another voyage. The ship anchors near the land of the giants to take in a supply of water. While on shore Gulliver is captured by the giants. They are good-natured creatures and treat Gulliver kindly, though they are amused by his small size and look upon him as a plaything.
Brobdingnag is an expression of Swift’s desire to find the ideal and escape from the disgusting world of the Liliputians. The author idealizes an agricultural country ruled by ideal monarch. Swift creates such a monarch in the king of Brobdingnag. He is clever, honest and kind to his people. He hates wars and wants to make his people happy.
3. The third voyage is to Laputa, a flying island Laputa. Swift’s imagination the bitterness of his satire reach their climax in the third part where he shows the academy of sciences in Laputa (the author touches upon all the existing sciences). It is easy enough to understand that in ridiculing the academy of Laputa. Swift ridicults the scientists of the 18’th century. The scientists are shut in their chambers isolated from all the world.
3. In the 4’th part Swift describes Gulliver’s adventures at the Heuyhnhnms - a ideal land where were is neither sickness, dishonesty, non any of the frivo-lities of human scociety. The human race ocupies a position of servility there and a noble race of horces rules the country by reason and justice.
“Gulliver’s travels was one of the greatest works of the period of the Enlightment in world literature. Swift’s democratic ideas expressed in the book had a great influence on the English writers who came after Swift.
9. Robert Burns.
RB is the national poet of Scotland. Every year on his bithday scotsmen all over the world gather together for a traditional celebration in which his memory is glorified,his poems are recited and his song are sung. Burns poetry is loved and enjoied by all his countrymen. They love Burns for the generosity and kindness of his nature, for his patriotism and truthfulness. In his poems he sang the pride and dignity of the Scotish peasantry.
Burns sang the beauty and the glory of his native land. He gloryfield true love and friendship.
Burns was born in Alloway, near Ayr, on the 25 of January, 1759. His father was a hard-working man and he took great trouble to give his family all the education he could.
When Robert was 6, he was send to a school at Alloway Miln. Robert were given a good knowledge of English.
For some years Burns worked on the family farm. They lived very poor.
Burns wrote his first poem at the age of 14. And from then till his death his poems and songs came out, giving delight and joy to the himself, his countrymen and all the world around. Burns worked with his father and brothers. The death of his father in 1784 left Burns free to chose his own kind of life, but it also gave him new resposobilities as head of the family. As a farmer he was unsuccessful and moved to other place - Burns published his poems in Kilmarnock in 1786. The success was great.
Burns wrote many poems and songs. After a short illness he died on 21’st July, 1796. Millions of people all over the world highly esteem and love Burns poems.
S. Marshak, a great soviet poet, brought Burns to russian people throught his fine translate.
My Heart’s in the Highlands.
My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here;
My heart’s in the Highkands, a chasing the deer;
A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe -
My heart in the Highlands wherever I go.
Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North,
The birthplace of valour, the country of worth:
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.
Farewell to the mountains high cover’d with snow;
Farewell to the straths and green valleys below;
Farewell to the forests and wild-handing woods;
Farewell to the torrents and loud pouring floods.
My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here;
My heart’s in the Highkands, a chasing the deer;
A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe -
My heart in the Highlands wherever I go.

Famous writers.

There are many famous English writers. Among them are William Shakespeare, Keepling and many others. I will tell you about the life and work of Arthur Conan Doyle and Ian Fleming, because I like their books most of all. Ian Fleming is the author of internationally famous James Bond spy novels. And in his life he was like the hero of his books James bond. Ian Fleming was born on may the 28^th , 1908 in England. His family were rich. His grandfather was a millionaire banker and his father was a member of parliament. He was killed in the First World War when Ian was only nine. He had three brothers and he was quite close to them, but he was different from them. They all went to Eton. His brothers liked it. He hated it. He hated the army too. He didn’t want to be a soldier. He was good at languages, so he went to study in Geneva in 1930. Then the next year he wanted to join the Foreign office but did not pass the exams. He went back home and he was living with his mother again, feeling very bored, when he got a job as a journalist. He worked in London, Berlin and Moscow. Then he worked as a stockbroker and he was doing this when the Second World War started. That’s when he started working in the world of spies. He joined the Naval Intelligence and had a lot of contact with MI5 and the Secret Service. He went on secret missions to North Africa, Lisbon and America. He was a good-looking man. He loved money and had expensive way of life. He always dressed very carefully. He had a lot of girlfriends. He didn’t marry until he was forty-three. He drank a lot of gin, martini, vodka and smoked 60 cigarettes a day. Probably as a result of this he had a bad heart from quite a young age. He started writing after the war. He went to Jamaica in 1952, loved it and decided to buy some land by the sea and built a house. He called it Goldeneye. And in Jamaica in 1952 three very important things happened: he got married, he got a son and started writing about James Bond. His first book was “Casino Royale”, then his second book was “Live and Let Dye” in 1954. After that there were more twelve James Bond books. His last book was “ The Man with the Golden Gun”. He helped choose Sean Connery for “Dr.No”, but he died while they were making the Second Bond film, “From Russia with LOVE”. His books were successful. Forty millions were sold by the time oh his death.All over the world, detective stories are the most popular kind of fiction. My favorite detective is Sherlock Holmes. Although he is a fictional character, Sherlock Holmes had a real address-221b Baker street. Today this is the Sherlock Holmes museum. The author of the Sherlock Holmes stories was Arthur Conan Doyle. He was born in Scotland, in 1859. He was a doctor, and he wrote detective stories to spare time. He wrote twenty-six Sherlock Holmes stories between 1887 and 1895. Then, he decided to kill of his hero. At the end of the story called “The Final Problem” Holmes and Moriarty fall into the Reichenbach falls in Switzerland. The readers were very upset. Public pressure was too great and he had to bring Holmes back to life, although he did not like him. He thought that Sherlock Holmes books were not serious. He wanted to write historical novels. Conan Doyle continued writing about his hero for another twenty-five years. Conan Doyle books are still famous and popular.