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Tribune News Network
Doha
ON the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, Vodafone and the British Library have made some of the earliest and rarest editions of Shakespeare's plays available to all, allowing people to download the Bard's most popular works from specially-designed wallpaper featuring virtual library bookshelves.
Four hundred-year-old versions of Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet are among the original works which can be downloaded. Shakespeare's plays began to be printed in 1594 and appeared as pamphlets called 'quartos'. Affordably priced and pocket-sized, the creation of these editions made Shakespeare's works available to the masses in print for the first time, and today they are the earliest printed records of many of his greatest plays.
The Digital Library is providing access to free digital copies of the quartos by allowing people to simply scan the QR codes printed on the virtual books as the 'digital library' tours the UK and appears in locations around the world. The wallpaper will also provide digital links through to the British Library's Discovering Literature website, revealing more about the world of Shakespeare and his plays, from King Lear and madness to the violence of Romeo & Juliet and the life of the Bard himself.
The Digital Library's first official appearance was part of the Feast of St George celebrations in Trafalgar Square on April 23, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. The Digital Library will be taken on a tour across the UK and will appear in public spaces and schools in countries around the world, including Albania, Qatar and the Czech Republic.
In Qatar, the wallpaper is being displayed at Doha College, one of the oldest British curriculum schools in the country for their community of more than 1,900 students, teachers and parents. The school's English Department has long played a role in inspiring students' life-long love of learning and becoming passionate readers.
