WORLD BOOK DAY

23rd April 2010

WORLD BOOK DAY

World Book and Copyright Day (also known as International Day of the Book) is an event celebrated every year on 23rd April, organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and copyright. The day was first celebrated in 1995.

WORLD BOOK DAY 23rd April is a symbolic date for world literature because

on this date and in the same year,1616, Cervantes and Shakespeare died.

• The idea for this celebration originated in Catalonia, Spain, in 1923. On 23 April, Saint George's Day, a rose is traditionally given as a gift for each book sold. In this region, it has been traditional since the medieval era for men to give roses to their lovers and, since 1925, for the woman to give a book in exchange.

• In the UK and Ireland this celebration takes place on 6th March.

WORLD BOOK DAY Although 23 April is often stated as the

anniversary of the deaths of both Shakespeare and Cervantes, this is not correct. Cervantes died on 23 April according to the Gregorian calendar; but England still used the Julian calendar. So Shakespeare died on 23 April by the Julian calendar, but he died ten days after Cervantes. This coincidence was used by the UNESCO to mark this date as World Book Day.

WORLD BOOK DAY Why is Shakespeare considered the greatest

writer in English Literature? Why is Don Quixote considered to be one of

the great masterpieces of world literature? What happened the 23rd of April 1616? What do we celebrate the 23rd of April every

year?

To answer these questions, we are going to learn about Cervantes and Shakespeare.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra “In a village of La

Mancha, the name of which I have no desire to call to mind, there lived not long since one of those gentlemen that keep a lance in the lance-rack, an old buckler, a lean hack, and a greyhound for coursing…”

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was born in 1547 in the city of Alcalá de Henares, near Madrid, Spain. He was a Spanish dramatist, poet, and author. He studied philosophy and literature in Italy. He enlisted as a soldier in Naples in 1570. Aboard the ship Marquesa he lost the use of his left hand 'by a musket-shot in the battle of Lepanto' (1571). His nickname was “the cripple of Lepanto”.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

• In 1584 he started writing plays and poetry. His first published work was a pastoral romance in verse and prose, La Galatea (1585). But his most famous work was Don Quixote de la Mancha, Part I, in 1605.

• The second part of Don Quixote was published in 1615 .

• He died on 22nd April 1616, but was buried on 23rd.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Some other works by Cervantes: The Exemplary Novels of

Cervantes (Novelas ejemplares) (1613)

Persiles and Segismunda (1616).

Questions on Cervantes

1. In which century was he born?

2. When was he born?

3. In which town was he born?

4. What did he study?

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

5. Why is Cervantes´ nickname "the cripple of Lepanto"?

6. When was Don Quixote, Part I published?

7. Name some of his works. 

8. When did he die?

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

• William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright. He is considered the greatest writer in the English language. He wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets.

• Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, on 26 April 1564. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and owner of a theatre company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men. He retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later.

• He is usually known as the “Bard of Avon“, the name of a river in Stratford.

William Shakespeare• Shakespeare wrote

between 1590 and 1613. His first plays were comedies and histories. Later, he wrote tragedies until 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth. He also published 154 sonnets.

William Shakespeare

Some works by Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet (1597) A Midsummer Night's Dream (1596) The Merchant of Venice (1596-1598) Much Ado About Nothing (1599) Hamlet (1601) Othello (1603) Macbeth (1606) The Tempest (1610)

Questions on Shakespeare1.In which century was he born?

2. When was he born?

3. In which town was he born?

4. How many plays and sonnets did he write?

Questions on Shakespeare

5. True or False: Shakespeare was an actor, a poet and a playwright

6.What was his nickname?

7.Name three Shakespeare's plays.

8. When did he die?