World's greatest playwright in brief

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, England (JP): William Shakespeare was assumingly born on April 23, 1564 based on a Parish register at the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-Upon-Avon on his baptism day.

The record stated that William, the son of Johannes Shakespeare, was baptized at the church on April 26, 1564.

At the time, only middle-class families could afford to bring their newly born babies to churches for baptism and registration.

Little William was the eldest son and the third child of eight. His two older sisters died in infancy from plague.

His father was a glove maker and also traded in wool, property and occasionally lent money at high interest rates for which he once was prosecuted. Johannes, believed to be illiterate, was even elected mayor of Stratford-Upon-Avon at one point.

Having come from a relatively prosperous family, William might have been sent to the local King Edward VI grammar school (which still exists) but he never went to university. It is likely that the heavy curriculum and the strict school discipline enabled William to master Latin, and probably French and Italian as well.

At the age of 18, William secured a license on Nov. 27, 1582 to hastily marry Ann Hathaway, who was eight years older.

Six months later, their first child, Susanna, was born. Sex before marriage was then considered a serious sin.

Twin girls, Hamned and Judith, followed in February 1585.

At the age of only 20, Shakespeare had to feed a family of three children.

At 25, Shakespeare made his first debut with the first part of his historical play on Henry VI, the Lancastrian King of England.

In 1592, there are indications that he left for London with actors who had visited his village with touring theater companies. There he wrote plays and made money but never settled down. Shortly after his arrival, Shakespeare became an established figure in London theater, both as an actor and a playwright.

After working with different companies in the earliest stage of his career, he became a leading member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men troupe -- named after its financial supporter -- in 1594.

He remained with the group, renamed the King's Men in 1603 when James I brought it under royal patronage, for the rest of his career.

Based on historical references, historians estimate Shakespeare wrote at least 40 plays, two of which are still missing, and three poems before he stopped writing in 1614, two years before he died on April 23, 1616.

Ten of Shakespeare's plays are tragedies, most of which he adapted from real stories of kings or heroes, tailored with his gifted imagination to make them more thrilling. His other works were romances, comedies and plays portraying certain problems.

With a supreme use of language and extraordinary poetic imagination, Shakespeare set vivid scenes, expressed powerful emotions and revealed characters in highly original ways that inspire others to this day.

His famous plays, most of which have been performed, translated, interpreted and adapted into hundreds of languages all over the world, include Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, All's Well that Ends Well, Measure for Measure, and The Merchant of Venice.

At the end of his career, Shakespeare spent his retirement days at his house here, now called New Place, and died at 52.

His contribution to the world of arts has gone far beyond his own imagination. Some of the words first used by him are still in use today such as ecstasy, leapfrog, submerged, fretful, barefaced, dwindle, lonely and countless.

His works have inspired others to create their own versions of his stories and works of art -- from paintings and films to songs and cartoons.

Shakespeare's Macbeth and King Lear are filmed in Japanese settings by world-renowned director Akira Kurosawa under the titles The Throne of Blood and Ran respectively.

Indeed, all's well that ends well. (bsr)