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Probably you've heard about Shakespeare(莎士比亞), and even have read or been taught some of his plays or poetry. How about Cervantes(塞萬提斯)? If not, have you heard of the funny story of a knight called Don Quixote(唐吉訶德)? Now, can you tell what's so special about the deaths of Shakespeare and Cervantes? The answer is: the two men died on the same date. And one more strange thing: but they did NOT die on the same day! What does that supposed to mean?
Two authors
First things first: let's get a bit familiar with these two great literary figures. William Shakespeare(1564-1616) is widely hailed(= praised) as the greatest author of the English language in history. He was an English playwright(= writer of plays) and poet, having written 38 plays and 154 sonnets(= poems having 14 lines, each containing 10 syllables), as well as some other poems. Many of his plays are extremely famous even now, like Romeo and Juliet(《羅密歐與朱麗葉》), Hamlet(《王子復仇記》), and A Midsummer Night's Dream(《仲夏夜之夢》).
As for Miguel de Cervantes(1547-1616, pronounced 'mi-GEL di sir-VAN-teez'), he is generally regarded as the greatest Spanish writer of all time. His magnum opus(= best and most important work), Don Quixote(《唐吉訶德》, often pronounced like Spanish, 'don ki-HOE-tay'), with the protagonist(= main character) bearing the name, is generally considered the first modern novel in history. His influence on the Spanish language is so great that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes - 'the language of Cervantes'.
Two calendars
You can see from the above descriptions that both Shakespeare and Cervantes died in the year 1616. In fact, they both passed away on April 23. That's why we say that they died on the same date. But why then do we claim that they did NOT die on the same day? It's because of the different calendars England and Spain was using at that time. The old one was called the Julian calendar, which the English were still using in 1616; but Spain was already following the new one, called the Gregorian calendar. The old calendar was ten days later than the new one. In other words, Shakespeare died ten days after Cervantes - so the two giants did NOT die on the same day!
Two World Book Days
Notwithstanding(= However), April 23 is still an important date in the literary world. Therefore, UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - celebrated World Book and Copyright Day(usually simply called World Book Day) since 1995, "to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity." But note that the United Kingdom and Ireland celebrate the World Book Day on a different date - the first Thursday in March.
UNESCO also mentions several literary names connected to this date: Inca Garcilaso de la Vega(an Inca expert, also died on April 23, 1616) and Josep Pla(Spanish journalist and writer, died on April 23); as well as Maurice Druon(French novelist), Halld卻r Laxness(Icelandic author), Vladimir Nabokov(author of Lolita) and Manuel Mej勇 a Vallejo(Columbian journalist and writer) - all born on April 23.
Questions
1. The full name of Don Quixote is Don Quixote de la ______?
2. Shakespeare is often called the B___ of Avon?
3. Into which three categories are Shakespeare's plays usually classified?
Answers
1. Don Quixote de la Mancha,
2. the Bard of Avon,
3. comedies, tragedies and histories. ■MT Ness
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