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William Shakespeare 1564-1616
Four hundred years have gone by since Shakespeare's death and yet his work is as present as ever. What has made him so captivating? Where does his genius lie? Not only in the beauty of his expression, his lively plots or subtle characterization but also having addressed profound human emotions immutable throughout the ages. Love, hatred, envy, ambition, fear have been explored with mastery.
Regarding his sonnets, they speak to us about the power of love which is the leading theme. Underlying it are: the brevity of life, the transcience of beauty and the trappings of desire.
Information on Shakespeare's life is scanty but it is known that sometime between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as a player, playwright and shareholder of a playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's men. He was also part of the company that built the Globe Theatre. His early plays were comedies and histories followed by the tragedies, amongst them Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth are held to be the finest drama in English.
Shakespeare's theatrical success allowed him considerable wealth enabling him to purchase properties such as New Place in Stratford. He went to live there when he retired around 1610 and died on April 23rd 1616 at the age of 52.
His works, translated into every language, have become a world heritage.