A Month With Shakespeare-By G.Sayadyan

      A Month With Shakespeare

I have heard about this outstanding playwright but I haven’t had any opportunity to get to know him closely so far. Our English club activity provided me that chance. It’s already a month that we have been studying  his biography-early life,theatrical activities and his creations. We have read a passage from the tragedy of prince of Denmark-Hamlet especially hamlet’s monologue. At first  we read it in original then we compared it with the Armenian version of translation by Maseyan.It was surprising  for me to enjoy that famous monologue in both languages equally well. I also liked Shakespeare’s sonnets especially sonnet 130 which we learned by heart with pleasure. What impressed us most of all was the inscription on his grave which goes as follows.

Shakespeare was buried in the chancel  of the Holy Trinity Church  two days after his death. The epitaph carved into the stone slab covering his grave includes a curse against moving his bones, which was carefully avoided during restoration of the church in 2008:

Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare,
To digg the dvst encloased heare.
Bleste be  man  spares thes stones,
And cvrst be he  moves my bones.(Modern spelling: Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear, | To dig the dust enclosed here. | Blessed be the man that spares these stones, | And cursed be he that moves my bones.)

By Gevorg Sayadyan English club member