William Shakespeare (1564–1616), a poet who needs no introduction on a poetry page, was (needless to say) the greatest writer of English verse — and one of the greatest poets of any language — to put pen to paper. According to historical records, Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564, but to bestow on his biography the same symmetry with which he imbued his sonnets and his plays, most historians have accepted his birth and death on the same day, 52 years apart — April 23. Although his day of birth was based on an 18th-century mistake in scholarship, this date marking both his birth and death is especially fitting on the grave marker of England’s greatest poet, as it is also the day on which England celebrates its patron saint – St. George.
William Shakespeare (1564–1616), a poet who needs no introduction on a poetry page, was (needless to say) the greatest writer of English verse — and one of the greatest poets of any language — to put pen to paper. According to historical records, Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564, but to bestow on his biography the same symmetry with which he imbued his sonnets and his plays, most historians have accepted his birth and death on the same day, 52 years apart — April 23. Although his day of birth was based on an 18th-century mistake in scholarship, this date marking both his birth and death is especially fitting on the grave marker of England’s greatest poet, as it is also the day on which England celebrates its patron saint – St. George.
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