Shakespeare is dead !!

He  died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52, within a month of signing his will, a document which he begins by describing himself as being in "perfect health". No extant contemporary source explains how or why he died. Half a century later, John Ward, the vicar of Stratford, wrote in his notebook: "________, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and, it seems, drank too hard, for ________ died of a fever there contracted", not an impossible scenario.   At his time, he was a Bard; originally bards were a specific lower class of poet, contrasting with the higher rank known as fili in Ireland and Highland Scotland.  However, in later days, the   term has loosened to mean a generic minstrel or author 

          Before his  time, written English was, on the whole, not standardized. His works contributed significantly to the standardization of grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. He  introduced 1,700 original words into the language, many of which we still use (despite significant changes to the language since his time). These words include: “lonely,” “frugal,” “dwindle,” and many more; many more. In addition to all these words, many phrases that we use daily originated in his works.  When you talk about “breaking the ice” or having a “heart of gold,” or when you use any number of other phrases, you’re using his  language.

By now you would have figured it out – William Shakespeare. 

Canal 26 is an Argentine news pay television channel operated by Grupo Telecentro, a cable television provider from Buenos Aires. It broadcasts from La Matanza Partido, although its studios are located in Capital Federal, Capital City from Argentina. Founded in the mid 1990s as a variety channel, it soon evolved in a 24-hour news channel, although it also shows some music and special interest shows.

Back  home, immediately after the election results had been announced, the Chief  minister-elect of Tamil Nadu M K Stalin  announced that journalists working amid the raging coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in the state will be considered as ‘frontline workers.’ "All media persons working in newspapers, visual and audio media at the risk of their lives due to rain, sun and floods will be considered as frontline employees in Tamil Nadu," the  DMK  chief announced on Twitter.  A few days earlier, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee also declared journalists as Covid-19 warriors as she said that they "have taken risk and worked on the field all these days like other Covid warriors."

William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616)  was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist.  He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.  Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best work produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language .. ..  .. and he died recently ! 

An Argentinian TV news channel made an awkward blunder after announcing the 'important writer' William Shakespeare had just died in an evening news report. Viewers were left completely baffled on Thursday evening when Noelia Novillo, a newsreader on Canal 26, reported that William Shakespeare, 'one of the most important writers in the English language', died this month. The ultimate comedy of errors came after an 81-year-old man from Coventry called William 'Bill' Shakespeare died five months after getting the Covid-19 vaccine and was mistaken for the 16th century playwright.

According to The Guardian, Novillo announced on air: 'As we all know, he's one of the most important writers in the English language – for me the master. Here he is.  'He was the first man to get the coronavirus vaccine. He's died in England at the age of 81.'  

William Shakespeare famously died in 1616 after penning 38 famous plays, including Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Twelfth Night and As You Like It. While Bill Shakespeare, who was the second person in the world to get the Pfizer vaccine in December last year, died of a stroke on May 20, which was unrelated to his Covid-19 jab. Viewers were quick to take to Twitter to point out the monumental TV blunder, pointing out that although the two men share a name, more than 400 years had passed since the Bard's death. 

But in the days after his Covid jab, Coventry-born Bill Shakespeare's family did claim that he had been believed to be related to the Hamlet author. His niece Emily Shakespeare, a PhD candidate at Waterford Institute of Technology in Ireland, said relatives thought the connection was very likely. She tweeted at the time: 'Around 86 per cent sure we are. Bill's ancestors closely follow Coventry's past with the industry there. And I have glimpsed a connection with the 'Kerseley branch' of the Bard's descendants.' Ms Shakespeare added that her uncle was 'English through and through', and there was no link to Ireland.

He was the second person to get an approved vaccine after Margaret Keenan, 91, got hers at the same hospital moments earlier. Mr Shakespeare, who was a long-term patient at the Coventry hospital's frailty ward, died after a period of illness at the same hospital where he famously received his vaccine. He leaves behind his wife Joy, their two adult sons and four grandchildren.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
30^th May 2021.