William Shakespeare

From 22 January, a book exhibition “The King of Poets” timed to the 450th birth anniversary of English playwright and poet William Shakespeare (1564–1616) runs in the National Library of Belarus.

William Shakespeare’s work is part of golden treasures of the world culture.

The thematic exposition includes more than 200 editions, among which there are collections, selected works, separate volumes of Shakespearian comedies and tragedies, biographic and critical researches, fascinating novels about Shakespeare’s life, books-assumptions, books-hypotheses, books-sensations. The exposition is designed with illustrations to Shakespearian works, portraits of the poet and heroes of his plays.

The exhibition section “The greatest legacy” features Shakespeare’s works published in both English and Russian in the late 19th century, and also collections and selected works.

The eminent Shakespearian tragedies, comedies and historical plays are presented in book series The Library of Foreign Classics, The Golden Classics, The World Classics. A book William Shakespeare. The best translations of selected works is particularly interesting. It includes Shakespeare’s selected works translated by eminent Russian poets B. Pasternak, E. Linetskaya, T. Shchepkina-Kupernik and illustrations by John Gilbert, the best illustrator of Shakespearian works.

Books collected in the exhibition section “Shakespeare on the stage and screen” are about the Influence of Shakespeare’s writing on the history of the world theatre including Belarusian theatrical art. The section features editions about great actors who portrayed the great Shakespearian characters.

Just like centuries ago, a meeting with these creations promises pleasure to those who discovers Shakespeare for the first time, and to those who for a long time knows and loves Shakespeare’s works, rich and inexhaustible as life itself. While people love and hate, enjoy and suffer, the works by the ingenious playwright are modern and demanded.