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Inspired by Spring: The Bard of Avon
April 01, 2026
T.S. Elliot once wrote, “April is the cruelest month,” but William Shakespeare certainly didn’t agree with that.
While most “bardolaters,” or those who adore Shakespeare and his writings, wish him a happy birthday on April 23rd each year, his exact date of birth is actually unknown. Records do show that he was baptized on April 26, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, and it was customary at the time to baptize infants three days after birth. Ironically, records also show that he died on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52.
But did you know that April is one of the most common months to be found in the writings of Shakespeare?
Shakespeare frequently wrote about the month of April and springtime in England. In his writings, spring is often used as a metaphor for youth, love, renewal, and beauty.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1, Scene 1, Shakespeare describes April as the time when “wheat is green, when hawthorn buds appear.” This is common in his other sonnets as well, as he often references April as the beginning of spring and the renewal of nature.
Here are a few other examples:
The April’s in her eyes. It is love’s spring,
And these the
showers to bring it on.—Be cheerful.
- Antony and
Cleopatra, Act III, Scene 2
It was a lover and his lass,
With a hey, and a ho, and a
hey-nonny-no,
That o’er the green cornfield did pass
In
springtime, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey
ding a ding, ding.
Sweet lovers love the spring.
-As You
Like It, Act V, Scene 3
April is often regarded as a month of renewal, growth, and new beginnings. Shakespeare himself once said, “April, dressed in all his trim, hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” This month, think of the Bard of Avon as you walk around enjoying the budding green and the blooming flowers, and consider how you might be inspired to write on the beauty this season brings.
Rick Valicenti, Macbeth, lithograph, 2024.10.11.
Theo Zasche, Siepel As Hamlet / To Be Or Not To Be,
lithograph, 1922, 2020.1.434ii.
Lori Turner, A Spell with the Nectar of Cupids Violet- A Scene
from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, oil on board, 2001, 2001.078.1.
Artist Unknown, Romeo and Juliet (Act V, Scene II),
photogravure, 1888, 2007.487.37a.
Anita Gilleo, Costumes for MacBeth, mixed media on paper, 2024.49.23.