04/09/99

In Love with Shakespeare

William Shakespeare, the world's most performed playwright, was born in April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, about 100 miles northwest of London. As with most sixteenth-century births, the actual day is not recorded, but according to the records of Stratford's Holy Trinity Church, he was baptized on April 26. Since it was customary to baptize infants within days of their birth, and Shakespeare died 52 years later on April 23, it has become traditional to call April 23 the birthday of England's famous bard. Happy Birthday Shakespeare!

Blue Mountain Arts: Shakespeare's Sonnets

The majority of Shakespeare's sonnets were written between 1594 and 1597, when it was popular to circulate personal poems among one's friends. It was probably never Shakespeare's intent to publish his sonnets, but because there were no copyright laws in sixteenth century England, Thomas Thorpe published these 154 sonnets without the author's consent. Today, courtesy of the Web's largest electronic greeting card site, you can email any of Shakespeare's sonnets to your e-friends, complemented by your choice of color scheme and background music.

IPL Shakespeare Bookshelf

No need to panic when you've left your Shakespeare homework in your locker at school, you'll find the complete text of all Shakespeare's plays neatly arranged on this Internet Public Library bookshelf. Although the texts themselves are stored at a separate MIT site , I liked the bookshelf metaphor of the IPL interface. Visit also for the links to scholarly criticism, a Shakespeare search function, and a single downloadable file of Shakespeare's complete body of work.

Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet

For scholarly research, or just plain fun, this well-organized site is my pick of the day. It includes both original content (such as a time line of Shakespeare's life) and annotated links to a wide assortment of external sites. These links range from the useful (online Shakespeare courses) to the bizarre (a Star Trek site which is offers Shakespeare in its "original Klingon form.") Want even more? Try the recommended five-diamond Shakespeare sites listed under Best Sites.

Shakespeare Web Poetry Applet

"To question or not to suffer: that is the fortune." Is it Shakespeare? No, it's Shakespeare's Magnet Poetry Applet. Take the famous quote from Hamlet ("To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?") and scramble it up to make your own Web poem. This fun Java applet works just like the magnetic poetry that hangs on your refrigerator door. Try it. It's fun.

Surfing with the Bard

"Many of my students have asked me if people really spoke the way they do in Shakespeare's plays. The answer is no. Shakespeare wrote the way he did for poetic and dramatic purposes." Teacher Amy Ulen explains how to make sense of Shakespeare's sometimes confusing words in Shakespeare 101: A Student Guide. Don't miss it! The rest of her "Shakespeare classroom on the Internet" is divided into zones for teachers, plays, discussion and fun.

Please send questions or comments to feldman@surfnetkids.com.