Читать книгу William Shakespeare - Jennifer Bassett - Страница 1

Stratford-upon-Avon, 1578. A boy is sitting at a schooldesk. He listens to the teacher, reads his books, learns his lessons. What is he thinking about?

London, 1587. A young man is riding into London for the first time. He listens to the noise of the crowded streets, sees the great walls of the Tower of London, looks down at the waters of the River Thames. ‘Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song.’

London, 1601. The boatmen on the River Thames are shouting to the crowds: ‘Hurry, hurry, hurry! The Globe theatre is filling fast!’ Two thousand people are crossing the river to see the latest play – Hamlet, by William Shakespeare.

This story about Shakespeare’s life is told by his friend Toby. Toby is not a real person – perhaps Shakespeare had a friend like that, but we don’t know. But all the other characters in the story were real people, who knew Will Shakespeare as a friend, actor, poet, and playwright. ‘Gentle Shakespeare,’ they called him, and they knew he was the greatest poet in England. His friend Ben Jonson wrote of him:

‘He was not of an age, but for all time.’