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Many of Shakespeare's plays, such as "Hamlet" and "The Merchant of Venice," are still performed in many countries today and are probably familiar to Japanese people. Not only are they read as plays, but they have also transcended the realm of stage plays and been expressed in a variety of artistic media, such as as subject matter for film, painting, and music.

According to a survey conducted by the British Council, which promotes international exchange of British culture, targeting 5,000 young people in Brazil, China, Germany, India and the United States, the name that came first to mind when people thought of Britain was not Queen Elizabeth or former England soccer player David Beckham, but Shakespeare.

The year 2014 marks 450 years since Shakespeare's birth, and 2016 marks 400 years since his death. To commemorate the playwright's 450th birthday, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London is touring Hamlet for two years, visiting over 200 countries around the world, fittingly named the Globe.

As you can see, there is no doubt that Shakespeare will be a big hit all over the world in the next few years. Why not take this opportunity to experience the charm of Shakespeare?

Shakespeare has continued to attract many fans across borders and 400 years, but what is it about his appeal?

The biggest reason is that they depict universal human themes. Most of Shakespeare's works are based on famous stories that have been passed down among people for generations. Because they are based on essential human emotions that have remained unchanged from the past to the present, such as life and death, love and hate, meeting and parting, and because they are open to diverse interpretations and allow for free expression, they are able to take on new looks as modern works of art and appeal to people all over the world.

By the way, there is a field in Shakespeare studies called "textual criticism," which is, in a word, a field that studies what Shakespeare actually wrote. It may seem surprising, but no manuscripts written by Shakespeare himself remain. Therefore, based only on the individual volumes published during his lifetime and the collected works published after his death, revised versions of Shakespeare's works began to be published one after another in England from the 18th century onwards. At that time, parts that were difficult to understand were judged to be typos at the time of printing, and various revisions (and sometimes alterations) were made.

Furthermore, translations into foreign languages were also actively carried out. Since the Meiji period, Japan has produced a number of excellent Shakespeare translations. For example, the famous line from the tragedy "Hamlet," "To be, or not to be, that is the question:," has been translated by various translators as follows:

"To be in the world, or not to be in the world, that is the question" (translated by Shoyo Tsubouchi), "To be alive or not, that is the question" (translated by Tsuneari Fukuda), "Is it okay to stay like this, or not, that is the question" (translated by Yushi Odashima), "To remain alive, or to disappear, that is the question" (translated by Kazuko Matsuoka).

Dialogue in plays has been written in verse since the time of classical Greek tragedy. In other words, all plays have been poetic dramas. Shakespeare's plays are no exception. Nearly 80% of the dialogue he wrote is written in "poetic" language. It is an extremely difficult task to completely translate the flavor of the original poetic text, such as the subtlety of rhythm and wordplay, into Japanese.

Shakespeare's works have been eagerly adopted by later writers, translators, directors, and actors, and because of the above background, they have given rise to a variety of interpretations. This is why there are so many novels, plays, performing arts (kabuki, kyogen, rakugo), music, paintings, and more that have been inspired by Shakespeare's works. For many artists, Shakespeare is a challenging artistic content that allows them to express themselves.

So, what kind of life did William Shakespeare lead? From the documents that remain, we can only get a vague idea of his true character. However, this is not surprising, considering that it was over 400 years ago. He lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when England surpassed Spain and rose to become one of the great powers of Europe.

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in central England. It was a peaceful countryside on the banks of the River Avon, surrounded by hills and elm trees. His father, John Shakespeare, seems to have been a glove leather manufacturer. There is a record that William was baptized on April 26, 1564, as the eldest son and third of eight children.

The next time Shakespeare's name appears in a biography is in 1582, when he was 18 years old. At the time, in order to get married, it was necessary to announce the marriage three times in succession during Sunday church services, but he requested that it be done "only once." His partner was Anne Hathaway, a girl from a nearby village. But why did he want to announce it only once? In modern terms, it seems that this was a "shotgun wedding." The following spring, his eldest daughter Susanna was born. After that, twins Hamnet and Judith were born, and he already had three children by the age of 21.

After that, there is a gap of about seven years in the biography. Various legends are told about this period, such as that he stole a deer from a nearby gentry's garden, felt uncomfortable in his hometown, and fled to London. Next, we come across Shakespeare's name in an unexpected place. A fallen playwright left behind a piece of writing that seems to be a sarcastic reference to Shakespeare. The piece reads, "Here comes a crow, beautifully dressed in our feathers, who thinks he is the only one in the land who can rock the stage." It has been thought that the expression "Shakescene" is a blatant dig at his name, Shakespeare. It is said that we learned of the existence of Shakespeare as a playwright thanks to the insults written by older writers.

There are actually several theories about these "lost years," but in any case, it appears that by the time this passage was published in 1592 (when Shakespeare was 28 years old), he had already begun his career as a playwright.

Shakespeare was a resident writer, actor, and shareholder in the theatre company he was a member of, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later renamed the King's Men).

The number of plays he wrote in his lifetime was previously thought to be 37, but it is now believed that he wrote 40, including collaborations. In his first complete collection of plays, "The First Folio," published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare's death, Shakespeare classifies his works into three genres: "Comedies," "Histories," and "Tragedies."

The comedies are almost all romantic comedies, and most end with the characters' weddings. The time and place are deliberately set far away from the Elizabethan era and London, emphasizing the festivity of love. There is no shortage of famous lines that tug at the heartstrings, such as "If music be the food of love, play it without ceasing" in "Twelfth Night." The characters are notable for many playing active roles, such as Portia in "The Merchant of Venice," who brilliantly defeats her enemy, the Jew Shylock, in court, and such smart and elegant heroines are the recipients of rapturous applause.

The historical dramas are based on the Wars of the Roses, a time when the English nobles, the House of York and the House of Lancaster, fought for the throne under the coats of arms of the White Rose and the Red Rose. At that time, the memory of this civil war was still fresh in the minds of the people. The line from Richard III, "The winter of our discontent is now turned to York's day, and to glorious summer in light," is probably a famous line that every English person knows. About 10% of the famous quotes and proverbs used in daily conversations in English-speaking countries come from Shakespeare's works. A good example is the line "A horse! a horse! My kingdom for a horse!", which ironically expresses the desperate desire for something worthless, and is also from Richard III. Even if you don't know the origin, it has become so common in English that you may suddenly blurt it out in a certain situation. In Japanese, the equivalent would be "Yuranosuke is late" (a line from the kabuki play Kanadehon Chushingura).

And finally, there is the genre of tragedy. Its representative works are the four great tragedies that are well known throughout the world: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. The tendency of Shakespeare's tragedies is that the protagonist commits an irreparable act due to the evil or shortcomings that dwell within himself. As a result, he causes a situation that shakes the order of the world, and is punished by losing his own life, but in the process, he reaches a certain philosophical self-awareness... This can be summarized as follows. The most interesting scene is when the protagonist awakens to the truth in the midst of his downfall. The lines that crystallize the protagonist's ``recognized'' view of life into a condensed expression are proof of Shakespeare's genius. Macbeth's lines, ``Life is but a walking shadow, a poor actor, who struts and barks on the stage, and is ignored when his part is over,'' are a perfect example.

So far, I have talked about Shakespeare's character and the appeal of his works, but the best way to get closer to Shakespeare is to experience a live performance. I would encourage you to experience Shakespeare at least once in a theater, engaging all five senses.

As mentioned at the beginning, 2014 marks the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth, and 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of his death. In recent years, many theater companies have been planning to perform Shakespeare's works.

Today in Japan, there are many familiar productions that capture Shakespeare with a youthful sensibility. Without getting too complicated, try enjoying an extraordinary space. If you end up thinking, "Ah, Shakespeare is interesting," then you've joined the ranks of Shakespeare fans.

(Published in 2014)