3rd Quality Comment-Once upon a time, 400 years ago, a writer named Cervantes...

          Once upon a time, 400 years ago, a writer named Cervantes...

Once upon a time, 403 years ago, two of the world´s best-known literary pioneers, named Cervantes and Shakespeare, who died on the same day: 23rd April, 1616. As a way to honour them, in 1995, UNESCO decided that the World Book Day (or The International Day of the Book) would be celebrated on 23rd April. But how much do we know about Cervantes and Shakespeare ? Let´s learn a few things about them.

To begin with, Cervantes was a Spanish writer, one of the greatest writers in the Spanish language and one of the world´s famous novelists. He was born in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, in 1547, and died on 23rd April, 1616, at the age of 68. Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor, one of the greatest writers in the English language and one of the world´s famous dramatist. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in 1564, and died on 23rd April, 1616, at the age of 52. While they both shared the date of death, they didn't die on the same day. Spain was using the Gregorian calendar while England was still using the old Julian calendar. So Cervantes in fact died 10 days ahead of Shakespeare.

Much of Cervantes´ life was spent in poverty and obscurity, as he was born to a deaf surgeon who struggled working in a field that was badly payed at that time. In 1570, he joined the Spanish military and was seriously injured in the Battle of Lepanto (1571). He served as a soldier until 1575, when he was captured by Turkish pirates. After five years in captivity, he was rescued, and returned to Madrid. In contrast with Cervantes, Shakespeare was born into a wealthy family and was the third of eight children to a prominent businessman and official. At the age of 20, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer and playwright.

Cervantes´ first significant novel, titled ¨La Galatea¨, was published in 1585. He achieved fame after publishing the first part of the novel ¨El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha¨, in 1605. The second part of the novel was published in 1615. Don Quijote is described as the first modern novel and the world´s most translated work after the Holy Bible. Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. The first reference to Shakespeare as a playwright came in 1592 as he had written the three parts of Henry VI. Among his most famous plays, there are the tragedies ¨Macbeth¨and ¨King Lear¨, the comedy ¨A Midsummer Night´s Dream¨and the romance ¨Romeo and Juliet¨.

Cervantes is not known so much for enriching Spanish vocabulary, but Shakespeare, instead, had a greater influence in changing the English language. English is frequently referred to as the language of Shakespeare, while Spanish is often called the language of Cervantes, which has changed less than English has since then. One thing they both have in common is that their works have inspired musicals, such as ¨Man of La Mancha¨ -from Don Quijote , and ¨West Side Story¨-from Romeo and Juliet.

In my opinion, both Cervantes and Shakespeare are giants in the world of literature who have had huge influence not only on their own languages but across the world. Even though they didn´t have too much in common, they both deserve the same recognition in the universal literature.