Qarshi davlat universiteti xorijiy tillar fakulteti ingliz tili va adabiyoti kafedrasi

 
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616) 
 

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The greatest of all English authors and one of the greatest in the world literature William 
Shakespeare belongs to those rare geniuses of mankind who have become landmarks in the 
history of world culture. Thus it was Shakespeare who embodied in the immortal images of his 
plays all the greatest ideas of Renaissance and in the first place the ideas of humanism which 
means love for mankind blended with active struggle for its happiness. Moreover he was one of 
the first founders of realism, a master-hand at realistic portrayal of human characters and 
relations. 
No wonder that Shakespeare’s works were so cherished by the greatest minds of mankind, who 
regarded Shakespeare as the “the greatest dramatic genius the world has ever known”. 
William Shakespeare was born on the 23d of April 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon. His father, John 
Shakespeare, the son of a small farmer settled in Stratford and entered the trade. At the age of 
seven Shakespeare was sent to the local grammar school which he attended for six years. Besides 
reading and writing he was taught Latin and Greek. In 1577 he was taken from school and for 
some time had to help his father in his trade.
There are reasons to believe that Shakespeare distinguished himself at school for there is a 
tradition according to which he, in his young years, was a schoolmaster in his place. When still 
at Stratford Shakespeare became well acquainted with theatrical performances. Stratford was 
often visited by traveling companies of actors. In 1582 Shakespeare married a farmer’s daughter 
Anne Hathaway, 8 years elder than Shakespeare with three children. At the time Shakespeare 
arrived in London the drama was rapidly gaining popularity among the people. Shakespeare is 
known to have been an actor and playwright in one of the leading companies of players. Later on 
he became a shareholder of the theatre, which later was called “The Globe”. In his works 
Shakespeare was always keenly alive to events of contemporary life which made his plays 
extremely popular. Shakespeare’s activity as a dramatist, poet, actor and proprietor lasted till the 
year 1612 when he retired from the stage and returned to Stratford. Shakespeare died on the 23d 
of April 1616. The first complete edition of Shakespeare’s works was published by his fellow-
players and friends in 1623.