I
The facts that we know with absolute certainty about William Shakespeare can be given in a few paragraphs. It is not strange that we know so little about one of the greatest men that the world has produced. His age was not one of biographical writing. Newspapers and magazines did not exist. Encyclopaedias, dictionaries of names and volumes of Who Is Who (1) had not been heard of. Few letters were written and less were kept. Yet we know about Shakespeare as much as (2) we do about most of the writers of his time, and even of many who lived much later.
The playwright's fathers, John Shakespeare, moved to Stratford-on-Avon (3) about 1550 and became a dealer in corn, meat, wool and leather. He probably dealt besides in all things that farmers about the village produced. He seems to have been a good man of business (4), though he could not write. His wife, the writer's mother, Mary Arden, was the daughter of a rich farmer in the village of Wilmcote. He gave his daughter a house, with some land and a good sum of money.
John Shakespeare and his wife were living in a house in Hanley Street when their children were born. It was a house two stories high (5) with small windows cut in the roof. In general appearance it remains much the same as it looked in 1556. Simple and ordinary-looking, it is still the most famous house in England and one of the most famous in the world.
Men and women from all parts of the earth have visited Stratford to see it. Stones and poems have been written about it. For here, in a small room on the second floor, William Shakespeare was born.
How little we know of Shakespeare, compared with poets of the 19th century, is shown by the fact that we are not certain of the exact date on which the greatest of all poets was born But most probably he was born on April 23, 1564 He died also on this date, April 23, in 1616.
Of the poet's early years we know next to nothing (6) It is a mistake, however, to think that he had no education There was in Stratford a free Grammar School (7) to which the boy was sent Here he studied mainly Latin, for education then in England consisted almost entirely of classics.
His friend of later years, Ben Johnson (8). said that Shakespeare had "small Latin and less Greek", but that is not quite true. We cannot compare his knowledge with that of Johnson, who was educated in a college, but the Bible thoroughly. It is clear, too, that by nature he was a boy of remarkable power of observation (9). He was educated more by people and the world of Nature about him than by books and formal teaching.
Shakespeare left the Grammar School when he was thirteen years old and never went to school again. About this time his father's money difficulties began. Another pair of hands was needed at home and William was the oldest son. Just what he did (10), however, between his fourteenth and eighteenth years we cannot say. Probably he helped his father in his business. We know nothing about his work, his reading and the events that were developing his mind during those five years, but we must remember that he was just a boy living in a small town before the age of newspapers, far from people of education and culture During this period as little is know of him as of Cromwell (11) during the same period; as little, but no less.
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When William was only eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway [hxTqwei] the daughter of a farmer from a village not far from Stafford. Anne was nine years older than William and the marriage was not happy. On May 26, 1583 their daughter Susanna [su'zxnq] was born. Two years later, two sons were born to Shakespeare, and soon after the young husband and father left his native town for London.
(to be continued)
(1) Who is Who - , , . (: ).
(2) as much as -
(3) Startford-on-Avon ['strxtfqd On 'eivqn] - ,
(4) man of business - ,
(5) two stories high -
(6) next to nothing -
(7) a free Grammar School - . ( ).
(8) Ben Jonson - (1573-1637), ,
(9) power of observation -
(10) just what he did -
(11) Cromwell ['krOmwel] - (1599-1658), XVII .
. , .
To consist .
school , .
playwright . Play , ; to play (wright) .
, magazine . , .
mind mind and matter , : body and mind . : to keep in mind , , to bear in mind. to mind , -, : to mind the children. Min your own business : (: ). to mind - , : Do you mind my smoking? , ?
few, a few; little, a little. few little . , few , , little - . , few books (pens, ships, engineers) (, , ), little water (time, energy, attention) (, , ). few little much many, 8 ( ).
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few, little , . . :
| We have few good pictures. | . |
| We have a few good pictures. | . |
| has little money. | . |
| had a little money. | . |
| had a little French. | () -. |
| I speak French a little. | -. |
, few, little , few, a little - .
| bear | [ bFq ] | , , , | 
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| besides | [ bi'saidz ] | , |
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| business | [ 'biznis ] | , , , |
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| certain | [ 'sq:tn ] | , ; be~ |
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| certainty | [ 'sq:tnti ] | ||
| classic | [ 'klxsik ] | , |
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| consist | [ kqn'sist ] | (of), (in) |
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| corn | [ kO:n ] | ; ; ( ) |
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| cut | [ kAt ] | , |
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| date | [ deit ] | , , |
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| daughter | [ 'dO:tq ] |
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| deal | [ di:l ] | , , |
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| dealer | [ 'di:lq ] | ||
| develop | [ di'velqp ] | () |
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| difficulty | [ 'difikqlti ] |
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| early | [ 'q:li ] | , |
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| educate | [ 'edZu:keit ] | , |
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| education | [,edZu'keiSn ] |
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| encyclopedia | [ en,saiklO'pi:diq ] |
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| entirely | [ in'taiqli ] | , | |
| Greek | [ gri:k ] | , | |
| happy | [ 'hxpi ] |
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| husband | [ 'hAzbqnd ] |
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| late | [ leit ] | , |
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| later | |||
| leather | [ 'leDq ] | () |
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| leave | [ li:v ] | , , |
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| magazine | [,mxgq'zi:n ] |
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| marriage | [ 'mxriG ] |
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| meat | [ mi:t ] |
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| mind | [ maind ] | , , ; ; ; - |
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| mother | [ 'mADq ] |
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| native | [ 'neitiv ] | , ; , |
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| pair | [ pFq ] |
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| period | [ 'piqriqd ] |
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| playwright | [ 'pleirait ] |
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| poem | [ 'poum ] | , |
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| poet | [ 'pouit ] |
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| probably | [ 'prObqbli ] | ||
| roof | [ ru:f ] |
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| school | [ sku:l ] |
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| son | [ sAn ] |
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| storey | [ 'stO:ri ] |
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| strange | [ streinG ] |
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| street | [ stri:t ] |
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| sum | [ sAm ] |
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| thoroughly | [ 'TArqli ] | , , | |
| town | [ taun ] |
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| village | [ 'viliG ] |
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| wife | [ waif ] |
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| window | [ 'windou ] |
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| wool | [ wul ] |
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| writer | [ 'raitq ] |
1. (, ) .
2. to leave to develop.
3. , -:
My son goes to this school and so do his friends. I bought a green leather bag and two small red ones for my daughters. I do not remember the name of the street but my husband probably does. We brought them two English magazines and three French ones. It is strange that he speaks less about this business than other people do. She dances as well as her mother did when she was her age. Shakespeare was born at Statford and so were his children. We know as much about Shakespeare's early as we do about those of Cromwell.
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4. :
I have few friends. We have a few friends in that city. We can do it now, we still have a little time. She says she has little time for reading, but she reads a few books every month. She knows him a little. We know very little about him, we only saw him for a few minutes.
5. , , :
consists, corn, father, to many, school, son, strange, street, thoroughly, wool
The crop of... has increased. I'll also send my... to this.... The edition... of twenty-five volumes. Shakespeare's... dealt in meat and leather. Children must not play in the.... He is too young.... This is a very... idea. The dress seems to be made of.... His mind is... developed.
6. :
1) ; 2) (., , ); 3) ; 4) (., , , )
son, factory, tower, husband, magazine, coal, street, dictionary, pen, roof, to teach, meat, wife, smoke, encyclopaedia, daughter, the Underground, poem,
child, bridge, newspaper, baby, school, research, writer, story, corn, picture science, brother, house, to study, station, test, car, father, building, story, library, wool, town, sister, works, playwright, pitch, city, pencil, park, book, notebook, oil, gas, glass, gold, mother, to read, lesson, rubber, leather, to many, marriage, academy, college, paper, fuel, education
7. -, :
1. When was William Shakespeare most probably born? 2. What do we know about his early years? 3. Who was his mother? 4. Did Shakespeare's father and his wife live in a large house? 5. To what school did Shakespeare go? 6. How old was he when he left school? 7. What was the reason that he did not go to school again? 8. How many children have Shakespeare when he left his native town? 9. Have you any of Shakespeare's plays in your native language? 10. Do you want to read them in English?
