William Shakespeare is the most famous playwright that ever lived. His plays, sonnets and long narrative poems have inspired a generation.
Want to know more about this amazing man? Our podcast will help you learn more about the life of William Shakespeare.
Click the link below and listen to the podcast. Don’t forget to read our lesson notes below too!
Lesson notes –
William Shakespeare is probably the most famous playwright and poet in the world.
He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was brought up by his father, John Shakespeare – a glove maker and his mother, Mary Arden.
He married Anne Hathaway at 18 years old. They had three children; Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith.
He moved to London, became an actor and his career took off. He became not only an actor but a writer too. He also ran his own theatre company called “The Lord Chamberlain’s men.”
During his time in London, his many productions were very popular. He and his colleagues often packed the Globe theatre in London, everyone wanted to buy tickets to see his plays.
Today, we actually don’t know much about Shakespeare’s life however, we know that he produced most of his plays and sonnets between 1589 and 1613.
Sadly, William Shakespeare passed away on the 23rd of April 1616 at the age of 56 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote a total of 39 plays, 154 sonnets and 3 long narrative poems.
Definitions –
1 – “to bring up” – Phrasal verb meaning to care for a child until it is an adult. To explain who was the person who cared for a subject, use the phrase “PRONOUN + TO BE + brought up + by.” Not the use of by as the preposition.
2 – “twin” – A twin is a child born at the same time as their brother or sister, by the same mother.
3 – “to take off” – Phrasal verb to explain something rising. This could be used for physical objects, “the plane takes off from the airport.” Or something abstract, “Shakespeare’s career took off (irregular past tense) when he moved to London.”
4 – “to run” – to run is not just physical activity, but also a synonym of to operate something, for example “he ran the business for 5 years.”
5 – “colleague” – A colleague is a person that you work with. This is not a comment on your relationship with them, positive or negative. Simply a person you work with.
6 – “packed” – As an adjective, “packed” refers to being full, many people are there. Perhaps no more people can enter.
7 – How to say years! So, in the text, the year is broken down into two parts. To say a year for example “1589,” first you say the first two digits as one number, so 15. Then you say the final two digits as one number, 89. So together you say 15-89.
8 – “to pass away” – This is a more polite or respectful way to say that someone has died. So, for example, “Elvis passed away at the age of 42.
9 – “sonnet” – A sonnet is a poem, which has fourteen lines.
Now you have listened and learned about William Shakespeare, why not book one of our online English classes? Book a class today! 🙂
