LONDON, March 16 — In a coincidence worthy of one of his plots, William Shakespeare is said to have been born, and died, on April 23.

This year, the 400th anniversary of his death, in 1616, has prompted an all-the-world’s-a-stage outpouring of productions, concerts, exhibitions and events in the build-up to that day.

To celebrate the great Bard, Penguin Books is re-releasing the complete Pelican Shakespeare series with new cover designs.

The first quartet to be released on March 29 will be the great tragedies of Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet.

The strikingly modern designs were done by Manuja Waldia with art direction by Paul Buckley.

Check out the cool animation of the new covers above.

The cover of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ captures the tale of the doomed lovers. — Picture from PenguinRandomHouse.com