English Essay by Brian Southwick

38 Shakespeare

ＲＥＡＤＩＮＧ (slow) (fast)　

　 Many essays ago I wrote about one of my hobbies, reading books.  One of the writers I enjoy reading is William Shakespeare.  Have you ever read Romeo and Juliet, or seen a movie version of the famous story?  The play was written by Shakespeare more than 400 years ago, and it is still popular today.  In this essay I will tell you a little about the life and work of the “world’s greatest writer”.  
　  Shakespeare was born in England in 1564.  Each year many people visit Stratford-upon-Avon, the town where he was born, and tour the house where he lived as a child.  We know little about Shakespeare’s childhood, but he later moved to London to work as an actor and a writer of plays, or playwright. 
　　 Shakespeare wrote 37 plays: comedies, tragedies, and histories.  The Taming of the Shrew is one of his most famous comedies, and it was the first of his plays that I read.  The play is about a woman with a strong personality and the man who loves her. I was a high school student at that time, and I remember thinking that Shakespeare was very funny, but difficult to read.  I also read the tragedy Romeo and Juliet.  Perhaps many Japanese students know the sad story of the two lovers whose parents were enemies.  Another play I read in high school was the history play Julius Caesar.  This play is about the life and death of Caesar, the powerful Roman general.
　　 Since high school, I have read many more of Shakespeare’s plays and some of his poetry, too.  I like Shakespeare because his English style is unique.  In my opinion, no one writes English as well.  The characters Shakespeare created in his plays will never become old or die.  Even though Shakespeare wrote hundreds of years ago, many people today are still moved by his work.  Why don’t you visit your school library and check-out one of Shakespeare’s plays?  I think you will enjoy it.




<注>　
essay（エッセイ），hobby（趣味），William Shakespeare（ウィリアム・シェークスピア），
Romeo and Juliet（題名「ロミオとジュリエット」），version（版），Stratford-upon-Avon
（英国の地名，ストラトフォード・アポン・エイボン），
where（関係副詞，whereの後ろがtownを修飾していると考えて訳すとよい），tour（見て回る），
childhood（子供時代），actor（俳優，役者），play（演劇），playwright（劇作家，脚本家），
comedy（喜劇），tragedy（悲劇），The Taming of the Shrew（題名「じゃじゃ馬ならし」），
personality（個性），whose（関係代名詞所有格，「その恋人たちの〜」と続けて訳すとよい），
Julius Caesar（題名「ジュリアス・シーザー」），death（死），powerful（強力な），
Roman general（ローマの将軍），poetry（詩），style（表現方法），unique（独特の），
as well（同様に），character（登場人物），create（創造する），even though（たとえ〜でも），
work（作品），check-out（よく調べる）


Question and Answers:  Please answer the following questions
in English in a complete sentence, with a subject and　a verb.

Q1. Where and when was Shakespeare born? 

A1.

Q2. What kinds of plays did Shakespeare write?

A2.

Q3. What is the name of the play about a Roman general?

A3.

Q4. Was Shakespeare difficult for Brian to read in high school?

A4.

Q5. Why does Brian enjoy reading Shakespeare?

A5.


＜解答例＞
A1. He was born in England in 1564.
A2. He wrote comedies, tragedies, and histories.
A3. It is Julius Caesar.
A4. Yes, it was.
A5. (He enjoys reading Shakespeare) because his English style is unique.