The records show that he was baptized on April 26, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small town 100 miles northwest of London, far from the cultural and commercial centre of England. We know when Shakespeare died, but we are not exactly sure when he was born. It is surprising, then, that of the life of the man considered by many to be the greatest writer of all, very little is known. Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon / Image: Diliff He considered Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannos as a play that "expresses the consciousness of a whole people." The very same words could be said of the greatest English writer William Shakespeare. In Literature and Revolution (1924), Trotsky wrote: "A new class does not begin to create all of culture from the beginning, but enters into possession of the past, assorts it, rearranges it and builds on it." He presents Aristotle along with Goethe as the peaks of human achievement. " He was not of an age, but for all time." (Ben Jonson on Shakespeare) For centuries after his death his star has not dimmed but shines as brightly as on the first day. His works have been translated into every language. His impact on world literature was arguably greater than any other writer. Like a blazing meteorite he shot across the firmament and cast a glorious light on an entire period in our history. Shakespeare transformed English literature, reaching heights that before were unheard-of and which have not been reached subsequently.
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