April 23 is, of course, World Book Day!
This from UNESCO:
23 April: a symbolic date for world literature for on this date and in the same year of 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo. It was a natural choice for UNESCO's General Conference 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.
As we all know it is St. George day as well, and therefore the National Poet's birth is celebrated. Had not time and bad luck intervened (taking the long view) he would have been 444 this year. Happy Birthday Mr. Shakespeare. The illustration below shows the traditional birthplace pictured as it was in 1762.
Now, as we are all aware, the actual date of Shakespeare's birth is unknown, but assumed to be the 23rd just because, well, because it is St. George's day, it is the death day, and no one knows a better one. The romantic essayist De Quincy speculated that the 22nd was the actual day, it being the marriage day chosen by his granddaughter Elizabeth in 1626. This on no better evidence than a hunch. As good as any, one supposes. It was once thought that the traditional period in Elizabethan times between birth and baptism was 3 days, but not necessarily, a close inspection of records shows (and few records have been more closely inspected). So there is a chance it was the 23rd, but just that. The baptism definitely occured on the 26th, and is documented as such, but the actual birth is a bit more elusive.
A bit of confusing evidence comes from the funerary inscription beneath the famous bust in Holy Trinity Church.
It takes good eyes, but the subscription in the lower right says he died in the year 1616 on 23 AP. AETATIS 53. Now, if he was one day past his 52nd birthday, he would have been in his 53rd year, but this neither was nor is the common method of reckoning age. One would still have said, normally, he was 52 for the entire year of April 23, 1616 through April 22 1617, had he lived. The 53 may well simply be a mistake, a slip of the graver's chisel, as it were. The author of the English doggerel, and the rather more obscure Latin tag (meaning approximately, "A Nestor in wisdom, a Socrates in genius, a Virgil in poetic art; Earth covers him, the people mourn for him, he is with the gods." Nestor was referred to in the Iliad as "Pylian Nestor," thus "Pylium." Virgil's name is Publius Vergilius Maro, thus "Maronem.") may have been the poet's son-in-law, Dr. John Hall, but this is not known for certain. Some authors have stretched the AETATIS 53 inscription to indicate that Shakespeare was born prior to April 23, but again, we cannot be absolutely sure.
In any event, while wrapped up in your World Book and Copyright (!) day frolics, give a little thought to our great poet as he looks down upon us among his chums Socrates and Virgil (or is it up at us)? If you would like to visit one of the world class veues devoted to Shakespeare, you might click on over to one of the following on the 23rd:
Shakespeare's Birthday Open House at the Folger
Shakespeare's Birthday Party at the Globe Theatre
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Birthday Celebration web site
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