Writer William Shakespeare and World Records

William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. William Shakespeare's career has brought him world records that he may not have imagined during his lifetime. According to journalist Kevin Lynch, as of 2014, William Shakespeare is the world's most "successful" playwright, with sales from his plays and poetry exceeding four billion pounds in nearly 400 years since his death. He is also the third most translated author in history. Hamlet is the longest play among Shakespeare's 37 plays, written approximately between 1599 and 1601. This play consists of 4,042 lines, totaling 29,551 words. Hamlet also contains the longest monologue among Shakespeare's 1,277 monologues. Just the character Hamlet, in the role of the Prince of Denmark, has 1,569 lines, totaling 11,610 words.

First Use of the Word Related to Assassination

Assassination is the earliest word that Shakespeare used in English literature. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, this word appears in William Shakespeare's work Macbeth, written in 1605. The First Folio is the first book containing all of William Shakespeare's plays, printed in 1623. At that time, the publisher only printed 750 copies of the First Folio, and by 2014, researchers discovered that only 228 copies remained. On October 8, 2001, Christie's auctioned one of the five First Folio copies in New York City for $6,166,000 (£4,156,947). This is the highest price ever paid for a book published in the 17th century.

Records Related to William Shakespeare

Shakespeare is the author with the most plays and poetry adapted into films, with numerous versions. During his lifetime, he probably never thought that his plays and sonnets would be adapted into 420 feature films and television shows. Hamlet tops the list with 79 versions, followed by Romeo and Juliet with 52 versions, while Macbeth has been filmed 36 times. Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by John Madden. This film depicts a fictional romance between Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) during the time Shakespeare was writing the play Romeo and Juliet. It was a successful film, grossing $289 million worldwide and becoming the 9th highest-grossing film of 1998, notably winning 3 Golden Globe Awards; 2 Screen Actors Guild Awards; 4 British Academy Film Awards; and 7 Oscars at the 71st Academy Awards... Sean Shannon, a Canadian, can speak fluently at an incredible speed. He set the Guinness World Record for the fastest storyteller in 1995 after reciting the famous monologue in Hamlet "To be, or not to be" in just 23.8 seconds!

Another record holder is Adrian Hilton (British) who memorized all of Shakespeare's works in an impressive time of 110 hours and 46 minutes at the "Bardathon" competition, part of the Shakespeare Festival, held at the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London in 1987. On July 3, 2005, a total of 7,104 students performed about 368 works as part of the UK Shakespeare Schools Festival. This also set a world record. If the paintings of the artist Pablo Picasso are the most forged, Shakespeare's works are no less so. William Henry Ireland, the son of a bookseller and antiquities dealer, created several manuscripts, forging them as works of Shakespeare, appearing in London from 1794-1795. Journalist Kevin Lynch reported that among them were letters between Shakespeare and the Earl of Southampton; a letter and love poem sent to Anne Hathaway; two theater contracts; Shakespeare's confession of his soul; a letter from Queen Elizabeth to him; edits of some of Shakespeare's famous plays along with two unpublished historical plays. Initially, some reputable literary critics and other famous figures evaluated William Henry Ireland's "forgeries" as authentic, to the extent that Vortigern, one of the forged plays, was performed in 1796. Eventually, researchers recognized the forgery because some plays and documents were deemed suspicious: the dates were unaccounted for, some events might be unreasonable, especially there were some spelling errors, odd styles, and language that did not resemble William Shakespeare.

For the First Time in History, a Collection of Shakespeare's Plays Sold for Nearly $10 Million

For the first time in the history of literary auctions, the collection of plays by the great English writer Shakespeare, known as the First Folio, was purchased for an astonishing amount of nearly $10 million. CNN reported on October 15 that for the first time on the literary auction floor, a copy of the collection of plays by the English writer Shakespeare called the First Folio was bought for $10 million on October 14. According to CNN's assessment, the First Folio (full title Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories & Tragedies) has naturally become the "most expensive literary collection ever to appear at auction" to date.

The collection Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies was first printed in the 17th century. Two artists who lived at the same time as Shakespeare, John Heminge and Henry Condell, edited and titled the collection of plays as Comedies, Histories & Tragedies, based on the genre characteristics that the late writer employed in his works. Modern scholars studying the writer's plays have collectively referred to this collection as the First Folio. A total of 750 copies of the First Folio were made in history, but only 235 copies remain today, and among them, only 56 copies are truly the most complete collection, with the First Folio being auctioned this time being one of those 56 copies. In 2001, Christie's auctioned one of the versions of the First Folio for $6.1 million.

The Battle for the Book via Phone

After a rapid negotiation of "haggling" via phone among three buyers, finally, an antique collector, who owns several stores with rare photos and books across New York and Maryland (USA), Stephan Loewentheil, acquired the First Folio for exactly $9.98 million. For Stephan Loewentheil, this version of the First Folio is considered the "golden book in the book world." He also stated: "The First Folio is a great literary work in the English literary community, as well as an extremely significant work of the theater." Mr. Stephan Loewentheil did not forget to emphasize that he values the First Folio for its "originality." At the recent auction, there were a total of 7 items auctioned, including a Ming dynasty carpet from China that was "finalized" at over $1.7 million (the estimated price beforehand was between $800,000 and $1.2 million). The size of this carpet is quite large, believed to have appeared in the first half of the 17th century during the feudal dynasty of China.

A Brand That Attracts Customers

This is also the time when Shakespeare's hard work began to pay off. He prospered more as his early plays became popular. By 1598, Shakespeare had become a major brand, his name often associated with many sold-out plays. The works he created during this early period mainly focused on historical and comedic themes such as Henry VI, Titus Andronicus, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant Of Venice, and Richard II. One of his most famous tragic works, Romeo And Juliet, was released during this period. On the occasion of the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth, the Globe Theatre organized a world tour of Hamlet, lasting 2 years. The tour will pass through Germany, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and the USA. Additionally, the Royal Shakespeare Company organized many special events and a fireworks display after the performance of part 1 of the historical play Henry IV. In the final years of Queen Elizabeth I's reign, Shakespeare had become a renowned poet and playwright. After being invited to perform at the court of the Queen, Shakespeare continuously achieved success, and in 1602 he moved to live in the upscale Silver Street area, near present-day Barbican. This is where he wrote his famous tragic works Othello, Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth. Nicholas Rowe, Shakespeare's first biographer, recorded that a few years before his death, he left the capital London and returned to Stratford. In fact, in 1608, he was still active in London as an actor. In a document written by Cuthbert Burbage, the owner of the Blackfriars Theatre, on June 7, 1609, Shakespeare was described as "a nobleman, performing at the court of King James."

Works with Global Appeal

In 1609, the plague outbreak forced many theaters across London to close, severely impacting playwrights. From 1610 onwards, Shakespeare wrote fewer plays, and after 1613, he did not produce any more works. Shakespeare's last three plays were all written in collaboration with another playwright, possibly John Fletcher, who succeeded him as the playwright of the King's Men. Shakespeare passed away on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52. He was buried in the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon.

To this day, analysts still consider William Shakespeare the greatest writer and playwright in England, and the latest survey by the British Council shows that this assessment does not need to be reevaluated. Shakespeare's significant influence partly stems from the fact that he was a playwright ahead of his time. Since the late 16th century, his works have never gone out of style and continue to have global appeal. With captivating plots about murders, betrayal intertwined with love stories, passion mixed with jealousy, revenge, mystery, war, and racial conflicts... it can be said that the relevance of his plays remains very suitable for the modern world.