Leseprobe Read On April 2024

4 April 2024 Read On 

National Shakespeare Day 

LITERATURE Every year on April 23, the Bard of Avon is celebrated all over the world. 

mit Audiodatei und 

By Siobhan Bruns 

1 WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 

is the author of some of the 

world’s most well-known plays 

and poems. Sometimes, great 

men are remembered on the day 

of their birth; others, on the day 

of their death. In the case of William 

Shakespeare, it’s both … 

probably. 

2 April 23 was already an important 

date for the English long 

before Shakespeare was born. 

The day is the feast day of St 

George, England’s patron saint, 

and marks the day the saint died. 

3 How fitting, then, that England’s 

greatest literary figure also 

died on that day. What’s more, he 

was likely born on that day, too. 

4 At the time William Shakespeare 

was born, dates of birth 

weren’t written down. But 

churches recorded the date a person 

was baptised, and that was 

usually around three days after 

birth. Shakespeare was baptised 

on April 26, 1564, so April 23 could 

very well have been his birthday. 

5 In any case, as his gravestone 

shows, Shakespeare died on April 

23 in 1616, and the date is used to 

celebrate his legacy. And what a 

legacy it is. 

Übungsmaterial 

6 Shakespeare wrote many 

poems, including at least 154 

sonnets, and around 38 plays. 

Shakespeare’s plays have been 

translated into every major living 

language and are still performed 

throughout the world today. And 

many popular modern stories are 

a retelling of a Shakespearean 

tale. 

Photo: Getty Images 

| 

7 Examples include The Lion 

King, which is the story of Hamlet, 

10 Things I Hate About You, 

which is the story of The Taming 

of the Shrew, and, perhaps most 

famously, West Side Story, which 

is the story of Romeo and Juliet. 

8 Being inspired by the Bard’s 

tales shows no sign of stopping: 

Succession, the hugely popular 

American television series, is obviously 

based on Shakespeare’s 

King Lear. 

9 Just like in King Lear, the main 

character in Succession, Logan 

Roy, has a kingdom, corporate 

in this modern version, which 

he knows he will have to pass on 

to his three (undeserving, in his 

eyes) children when he is gone. 

Surely, even his name is meant to 

remind us of the Shakespearean 

character – it starts with an L, and 

Roy (Roi) is French for “king”. 

10 Whilst Shakespeare’s influence 

on the arts has been great, 

his influence on the English language 

has been even greater. 

11 More than 400 years on, 

many people can quote something 

he wrote: “Shall I compare 

thee to a summer’s day?” (Sonnet 

18); “To be, or not to be, that is the 

question” (Hamlet); and “O Romeo, 

Romeo, wherefore art thou 

Romeo?” (Romeo and Juliet) are 

well-known examples. 

12 But, even when they are not 

quoting Shakespeare, people are 

“quoting” Shakespeare: “love is 

blind”, “the world’s your oyster”, 

and “heart of gold” are some of 

the many English idioms which 

come from Shakespeare. 

13 However, what is even more 

astonishing is how many words 

– common, everyday words – are 

used in English today because of 

Shakespeare: alligator, bump, 

crossword puzzle: Shakespeare’s plays 

Can you guess the play from the short description? If you need some 

help, the plays are in the orange box. 

Put the orange squares in the correct order to find the answer below. 

Solution on page 8. 

Across 

2 Three witches hint at what the 

future holds. An ambitious 

wife encourages her husband 

to get ahead – by killing his 

rival 

6 See 11 Down 

7 (Together with 4 Down) 

Brutus and others plot the 

assassination of their leader 

9 See 11 Down 

10 (Together with 3, 7 Down) 

Teenagers from feuding 

families fall in love, but things 

don’t end well for them 

12 A young man comes home to 

find his father has died and 

his uncle – who may have 

killed him – has married his 

mother 

13 See 11 Down 

14 See 11 Down 

Down 

1 A man’s supposedly loyal friend 

lies to him about his wife to make 

him insane with jealousy 

3 See 10 Across 


5 (Together with 8 Down) A father 

loses his kingdom and then loses 

his mind 


8 See 5 Down 

11 (Together with 6, 9, 14, and 13 

Across) Petruchio wins the love 

and acceptance of the not-easyto-please 

Kate 

14 

Othello • Macbeth • Hamlet 

• The Taming of the Shrew • 

Romeo and Juliet • King Lear 

• Julius Caesar 

11 

1 

2 3 4 5 

7 

6 

9 10 

12 13 

Something needed to perform a play – it’s in a famous line from Shakespeare’s As You Like It: All the world’s a —— —— —— —— —— 

8 

The Taming of the Shrew 

Illustration: Getty Images 

|

Read On April 2024 

5 

countless, eventful, generous, 

gloomy, laughable, road, 

suspicious, and many, many 

more. 

14 Shakespeare’s “works provide 

the first recorded use of 

over 1,700 words in the English 

language. It is believed that he 

may have invented or introduced 

many of these words himself, often 

by combining words, changing 

nouns into verbs, adding 

prefixes or suffixes, and so on”, 

the website for the Shakespeare 

Birthplace Trust writes. 

15 Some celebrate National 

Shakespeare Day by reading his 

poetry or seeing one of his plays. 

Others really get into the spirit of 

things by dressing up in Elizabethan 

clothing and speaking like 

Shakespeare on April 23 – using 

thou and thee and putting “th” at 

the end of verbs: Thou goeth to 

the shops, I see. 

16 But there’s an easier way to 

honour the Bard on National 

Shakespeare Day – just speak 

English. 

0 – 2 THE BARD of Avon “"eIvń‘ der Barde von Avon (Spitzname für Shakespeare) 

— great bedeutend — feast day of St George “fi…st‘ Georgstag; feast 

day Gedenktag eines(-r) Heiligen — patron saint “ÆpeItrń"seInt‘ 

Schutzpatron(in); saint Heilige(r) — to mark erinnern an 

3 – 5 fitting passend — literary figure “"lIt´r´ri‘ Literat(in) — what’s more 

überdies — to record s.th. etw. schriftlich festhalten — to baptise s.o. 

“bœp"taIz‘ jdn. taufen — very well sehr wohl — in any case auf jeden Fall — 

legacy “"leg´si‘ Erbe 

6 sonnet “"--‘ Sonett (Gedicht aus 14 Verszeilen) — major “"meIdZ´‘ groß 

— throughout the world auf der ganzen Welt — retelling Nacherzählung — 

Shakespearean “ÆSeIk"spI´riń‘ shakespearesche(r, s) — tale Geschichte 

7 – 8 The Lion King dt. Titel: Der König der Löwen — 10 Things I Hate About 

You dt. Titel: 10 Dinge, die ich an Dir hasse — The Taming of the Shrew 

“"teImIN; Sru…‘ dt. Titel: Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung — Juliet “"dZu…li´t‘ — to 

show no sign of stopping kein Ende nehmen — succession “s´k"seSń‘ Nachfolge 

— hugely äußerst — obviously “"Åbvi´sli‘ offensichtlich 

9 – 10 kingdom “"kINd´m‘ Königreich — corporate “"kO…p´r´t‘ h.: in Form eines 

Unternehmens — to pass s.th. on to s.o. etw. an jdn. weitergeben — undeserving 

“ÆøndI"z‰…vIN‘ unwürdig — gone tot — to be meant to do s.th. etw. tun 

sollen — influence “"Influńs‘ Einfluss 

11 – 12 ... years on ... Jahre später — to quote s.th. “kwÚt‘ etw. zitieren — thee 

“Di…‘ dich — wherefore warum — art bist — thou “DaU‘ du — love is blind 

Liebe macht blind — the world’s your oyster die Welt liegt dir zu Füßen — 

heart of gold Herz aus Gold — idiom “"Idi´m‘ Redewendung 

13 astonishing “´"stÅnISIN‘ erstaunlich — common gewöhnlich — everyday 

alltäglich — bump Beule — countless zahllos — eventful ereignisreich 

— generous “"dZen´r´s‘ großzügig — gloomy düster — laughable “"lA…f´b´l‘ 

lachhaft — suspicious “s´"spIS´s‘ verdächtig; misstrauisch 

14 – 16 work Werk — to introduce s.th. “ÆIntr´"dZu…s‘ etw. einführen — prefix 

“"pri…fIks‘ Präfix — to get into the spirit of things “"spIrIt‘ sich auf etw. einstimmen 

— to dress up sich verkleiden — Elizabethan “iÆlIz´"bi…Tń‘ elisabethanisch 

— clothing “"klÚDIN‘ Kleidung — to honour s.o. “"Ån´‘ jdn. ehren 

Othello 

Macbeth 

language corner 

Shakespearean idioms 

By Siobhan Bruns 

Julius Caesar 

Hamlet 

1 WHAT SHAKESPEARE 

wrote over 400 years ago lives on 

in many common English idioms 

we still use today. Here are some 

of them, together with their modern 

meanings: 

2 Dead as a doornail 

Dead beyond any doubt. 

Break the ice 

To do or say something that 

makes people who do not know 

each other feel more comfortable. 

A charmed life 

A lucky life, without problems. 

3 Good riddance 

To be happy when someone or 

something is gone. 

In a pickle 

To be in a difficult or uncomfortable 

situation. 

Mum’s the word 

To keep a secret; to stay silent. 

4 Night owl 

A person who stays up and is active 

late into the night. 

Send someone packing 

To send someone away forcefully; 

to insist someone leave. 

Wild goose chase 

A search that is unsuccessful and 

pointless. 

Vanish into thin air 

To suddenly and completely disappear. 

0 – 3 SHAKESPEAREAN 

“SeIk"spI´riń‘ shakespeare sche(r, s) 

— idiom “"Idi´m‘ Redewendung — 

dead as a doornail (fig) mausetot — 

beyond any doubt “bi"Ånd; daUt‘ ohne 

jeden Zweifel — charmed vom Glück 

gesegnet — good riddance “"rIdńs‘ 

Ein Glück, dass wir den/die los sind! 

— mum’s the word kein Wort darüber 

— to stay silent “"saIlńt‘ schweigen 

4 owl “aUl‘ Eule — forcefully 

energisch — to insist “-"-‘ darauf bestehen 

— goose Gans — chase Jagd 

— pointless sinnlos — to vanish into 

thin air “"vœnIS‘ sich in Luft auflösen 

(to vanish verschwinden) 

King Lear 

Romeo and Juliet 

Images: Getty Images 

|

Worksheet by Jennifer Kerr 


Read On • April 2024 • page 4 Page 1 of 7 

Pre-reading 

The article you are going to read is about Shakespeare. See how much you already know 

about Shakespeare by answering the following questions. Work together in pairs, and 

discuss your answers. 

a) What is Shakespeare’s first name? 

Ο 

Ο 

Ο 

James 

Edward 

William 

b) What was Shakespeare’s nationality? 

Ο 

Ο 

Ο 

English 

American 

Canadian 

c) What was Shakespeare’s occupation? 

Ο 

Ο 

Ο 

Painter 

Writer 

Singer 

d) When was Shakespeare born? 

Ο 1364 

Ο 1564 

Ο 1864 

e) Which of the following works are from Shakespeare? 

Ο 

Ο 

Ο 

Ο 

Ο 

Ο 

Ο 

Romeo and Juliet 

Faust 

Hamlet 

Macbeth 

Oliver Twist 

Pride and Prejudice 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 

© 2024 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.



Grammar 

Below are the first three paragraphs of the article, but here they contain grammar mistakes. 

There are seven mistakes in total (a–g). 

Find and highlight the mistakes, then write the corrections on the right. Check with your 

partner. 

1 William Shakespeare is the author of some of the worlds most wellknown 

plays and poems. Some times, great men are remembered on the day 

of their birth; others, on the day of there death. In the case of William 

__________(a) 

__________(b) 

__________(c) 

Shakespeare, it’s both … probably. 

2 April 23 was already a important date for the English long before 

Shakespeare was born. The day is the feast day of St George, england’s 

__________(d) 

__________(e) 

patron saint, and marks the day the saint died. 

3 How fitting, then, that England’s greatest literary figure also was dead 

on that day. What’s more, he was likely born on that day, to. 

__________(f) 

__________(g) 

Reading comprehension 

1. Read the article once all the way through. Then write down five pieces of information 

about Shakespeare from the article. Write in full sentences. Then compare your five facts 

with those of your partner. 

- ___________________________________________________________________________ 

- ___________________________________________________________________________ 

- ___________________________________________________________________________ 

- ___________________________________________________________________________ 

- ___________________________________________________________________________ 




2. Now decide if the following statements are true (T), false (F), or not mentioned (N) in the 

article. Then write corrections for the false statements in the spaces provided below. 

Read the article again if needed. 

Statement T F N 

a) National Shakespeare Day is on April 23. Ο Ο Ο 

b) Shakespeare died in the year 1616. Ο Ο Ο 

c) Shakespeare had three brothers. Ο Ο Ο 

d) Shakespeare wrote at least 154 plays. Ο Ο Ο 

e) Shakespeare is more famous in America than in England. Ο Ο Ο 

f) 

Shakespeare wrote The Lion King. 

Ο 

Ο 

Ο 

g) 

The TV series Succession is based on Shakespeare’s work. 

Ο 

Ο 

Ο 

h) 

The quote “To be, or not to be, that is the question” is from 

Romeo and Juliet. 

Ο 

Ο 

Ο 

i) 

“The world’s your oyster” is a quote that comes from 

Shakespeare. 

Ο 

Ο 

Ο 

j) 

Shakespeare invented the word ‘play’. 

Ο 

Ο 

Ο 

Now rewrite the false statements from above, using the correct information from the article. 

____________________________________________________________________________ 

____________________________________________________________________________ 

____________________________________________________________________________ 

____________________________________________________________________________ 

____________________________________________________________________________ 




Use of English 

1. Find synonyms (>>) in the article for the words and expressions below. The paragraphs 

where you can find the words and expressions are indicated in brackets. 

a) significant (>>) ________________ (para. 1) 

b) big (>>) ________________ (para. 6) 

c) tale (>>) ________________ (para. 7) 

d) extremely (>>) ________________ (para. 8) 

e) clearly (>>) ________________ (para. 8) 

f) not worthy (>>) ________________ (para. 9) 

g) impact (>>) ________________ (para. 10) 

h) phrase (>>) ________________ (para. 12) 

i) surprising (>>) ________________ (para. 13) 

j) outfits (>>) ________________ (para. 15) 

2. Below are nine words from the article. 

a) First make sure you understand the meaning of all the words. You can check in a 

dictionary or ask your teacher. 

b) Now work in pairs. You are going to take it in turns to describe one of the words, but 

DON’T tell your partner which word you are describing. Your partner must try and guess 

the word based on your description. You cannot say any part of the word, so you must 

find other words (for example, synonyms) to describe it. 

feast day common sonnet 

corporate Elizabethan prefix 

Juliet patron saint kingdom 




Post-reading 

1. In small groups, discuss the following questions related to the article: 

a) Have you read any of Shakespeare’s plays or sonnets, seen one of his plays performed live, or 

watched a film version of his work? If yes, tell the group which ones you’ve read or seen. Did you 

like them? 

b) Do you think it is important to have days like National Shakespeare Day to celebrate historical 

figures? Why or why not? Can you think of any similar days in your country? 

c) Brainstorm some literary figures of similar standing to Shakespeare from other countries. Try to 

note down some of their most famous works. Use the space provided below. 

Famous literary figures 

and their works 

2. Now work in pairs, and try to complete this word search. There are three Shakespeare 

quotes and eight words thought to have been invented by Shakespeare hidden in the 

word search. They can be spelled horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. One is found for 

you as an example. 

Here are the quotes and words you need to find: 

to be or not to be heart of gold love is blind 

road suspicious countless laughable 

gloomy bump eventful generous 







Answer key 

Pre-reading 

a) William • b) English • c) Writer • d) 1564 • e) Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s 

Dream 

Grammar 

a) worlds → world’s • b) Some times → Sometimes • c) there → their • d) a → an • e) england’s → England’s • 

f) was dead → died • g) to → too 

Reading comprehension 

1. Sample answer: Shakespeare was baptised on April 26, 1564. • The Lion King is based on Shakespeare’s 

Hamlet. • The television series Succession was inspired by one of Shakespeare’s plays. • “Love is blind” is 

an idiom that comes from Shakespeare. • Shakespeare’s works introduced many new English words. 

2. a) True (para. 0) • b) True (para. 5) • c) Not mentioned (-) • d) False – Shakespeare wrote around 38 

plays and at least 154 sonnets. (para. 6) • e) Not mentioned • f) False – The Lion King was based on a 

play Shakespeare wrote, Hamlet. (para. 7) • g) True (para. 8) • h) False – “To be, or not to be, that is the 

question” is a quote from Hamlet. (para. 11) • i) True (para. 12) • j) Not mentioned (-) 

Use of English 

1. a) great • b) major • c) story • d) hugely • e) obviously • f) underserving • g) influence • h) idiom • 

i) astonishing • j) clothing 

Post-reading 

2. 

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