Happy Birthday Shakespeare!

The Bard of Avon is turning 450 years old today! Now all the world's his stage , says an article in The Telegraph, as people all over the world celebrate his (traditionally observed) birthday with much fanfare.

William Shakespeare's date of birth is conjectured from records of his date of baptism which is on the 26th of April. If you want to know how Stratford- upon -Avon is celebrating his birthday, check their site which also has a lot of information about Shakespeare's life.

This is where Shakespeare was born:-

and this is a look at the interior...

If you are interested in listening to some in-depth criticism of the play, here's a podcast on the ways in which personal relationships are shaped by models of financial transaction, using the casket scenes as a central example in the Merchant of Venice.

And when you have some time in hand do listen in to a really interesting lecture by Dr.Vivian Rakoff at the Stratford Festival where he contextualizes the social and political framework behind one of Shakespeare's most controversial plays, The Merchant of Venice. I did enjoy listening to him deliver Shylock's memorable  speech- 'Hath not a Jew eyes?...'

So here's wishing a very happy birthday to the Bard who occupies a special place in our English classes and hoping our explanations of his well crafted language does justice to his stature.

I am posting for you a link to the full text of the play with annotations and a delightful interpretation of the plot of the play and an analysis of the characters on BBC bitesize.

Have fun discovering Shakespeare and let me know if this has been helpful.